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Suboxone Taper
I am somewhat new to this site but I find it very helpful and I love to encourage and support others. I am asking for help during the next couple of months...maybe longer. I am currently undergoing a self imposed suboxone taper and I am going to chronicle it here so that perhaps it may lend insight to someone else that may be struggling with the same thing. A bit about me:
I am a 48 year young woman that has struggled with addiction from the age of 18. I hit all the major markers for the "classic addict"....neglect and abuse as a child, molestation, trauma, and rape. I say "classic addict" only because these are the questions I'm asked to answer during each clinical interview I've ever participated in regarding addiction. I also want to state that I view this as a disease, chronic, progressive, and fatal if not managed. Opiates are my DOC but I've also been addicted to alcohol and cocaine at various periods throughout my using career. I have participated in just about every form of treatment this country has to offer, and a times, managed to gain significant "clean time" by being completely abstinent. At other times, I've managed my disease with the use of therapeutic methadone maintenance. This illness has also taken me to the darkest places anyone could ever imagine. At present I consider my case a success for the shear fact that I am still alive
This go round began approximately 2.5 months ago. I have been prescribed tramadol off and on for 10 years and never considered it a problem until 2 years ago when I purposely took more than prescribed and noticed the nice feeling it gave me. I guess because I'd been clean for some time from the harder stuff I'd used I was able to feel the affects I'd never noticed. With the help of my husband (a recovering alcoholic) I was able to nip that slip in the bud. Fast forward to July of this year. Things were going well...so well that my meeting attendance (12 step NA) and my sponsor contact drop significantly. My chronic pain (hip, joint, and knee) intensifies. Throwing caution to the wind I ask my new GP, whom I've told of my addiction, to prescribe me tramadol. Now I knew exactly what I was doing. I was going to "enjoy" my pain relief. Short story shorter--in 2 weeks I was up to 15 a day. All my old thinking/behavior patterns returned. I had whispered to myself at the beginning that this would not be the case but.... 4 weeks things had not improved. I would try to stop or take less but couldn't.
Due to the fact that I could not get hold of enough tramadol to do do a really slow detox I opted for suboxone therapy/taper. I had used it 2 other times in the past but the circumstances were totally different. I've decided to chronicle my detox. I will check in daily if possible and note my progress. I also take celexa, trazadone, and neurontin if needed.
Day 1- I'm dividing each 8.2 mg strip into 10 (.82) pieces. I dropped approximately 1.5mgs today. I feel fine.
I am a 48 year young woman that has struggled with addiction from the age of 18. I hit all the major markers for the "classic addict"....neglect and abuse as a child, molestation, trauma, and rape. I say "classic addict" only because these are the questions I'm asked to answer during each clinical interview I've ever participated in regarding addiction. I also want to state that I view this as a disease, chronic, progressive, and fatal if not managed. Opiates are my DOC but I've also been addicted to alcohol and cocaine at various periods throughout my using career. I have participated in just about every form of treatment this country has to offer, and a times, managed to gain significant "clean time" by being completely abstinent. At other times, I've managed my disease with the use of therapeutic methadone maintenance. This illness has also taken me to the darkest places anyone could ever imagine. At present I consider my case a success for the shear fact that I am still alive
This go round began approximately 2.5 months ago. I have been prescribed tramadol off and on for 10 years and never considered it a problem until 2 years ago when I purposely took more than prescribed and noticed the nice feeling it gave me. I guess because I'd been clean for some time from the harder stuff I'd used I was able to feel the affects I'd never noticed. With the help of my husband (a recovering alcoholic) I was able to nip that slip in the bud. Fast forward to July of this year. Things were going well...so well that my meeting attendance (12 step NA) and my sponsor contact drop significantly. My chronic pain (hip, joint, and knee) intensifies. Throwing caution to the wind I ask my new GP, whom I've told of my addiction, to prescribe me tramadol. Now I knew exactly what I was doing. I was going to "enjoy" my pain relief. Short story shorter--in 2 weeks I was up to 15 a day. All my old thinking/behavior patterns returned. I had whispered to myself at the beginning that this would not be the case but.... 4 weeks things had not improved. I would try to stop or take less but couldn't.
Due to the fact that I could not get hold of enough tramadol to do do a really slow detox I opted for suboxone therapy/taper. I had used it 2 other times in the past but the circumstances were totally different. I've decided to chronicle my detox. I will check in daily if possible and note my progress. I also take celexa, trazadone, and neurontin if needed.
Day 1- I'm dividing each 8.2 mg strip into 10 (.82) pieces. I dropped approximately 1.5mgs today. I feel fine.
Glad to see you updating your thread! That will help lots of people facing the same thing!
So, you're down to 12mg? I think you'll see that until you get down to about 2mg (give or take), your dosage reductions shouldn't cause you any bothersome symptoms. That was consistent with patients. Most of them did wonderfully on the reductions at the higher dose, some of them even being able to halve their dose.
You're doing great! Keep up the good work and keep doing the "work" too! Sounds like you have a very solid recovery plan and sounds like you're very dedicated to it.
So, you're down to 12mg? I think you'll see that until you get down to about 2mg (give or take), your dosage reductions shouldn't cause you any bothersome symptoms. That was consistent with patients. Most of them did wonderfully on the reductions at the higher dose, some of them even being able to halve their dose.
You're doing great! Keep up the good work and keep doing the "work" too! Sounds like you have a very solid recovery plan and sounds like you're very dedicated to it.
Day 5-6 of a really slow suboxone taper. Not too much to report other than anticipatory anxiety....wondering when it will begin to get hard. So far I've gone from 16mgs down to about 12mgs. No big difference but i did notice something with another medication I take, gabapentin. I ran out about a week ago so I made the unsupervised choice of not refilling it just to see if I'd miss it and by the second day I couldn't hold my eyes open. It was a sleepiness I couldn't fight off. I slept 4 hours(extra) that day and 6 the next. On the 3rd day I got a refill because frankly, I need my job.
Anyway...no w/d's yet from the sub drop but I no longer have the feeling I had for the first 4 weeks....a feeling of incredible well being.
Anyway...no w/d's yet from the sub drop but I no longer have the feeling I had for the first 4 weeks....a feeling of incredible well being.
Day 3-4 and I'm a little down. I've cut back 1.5mg suboxone in the last 3-4 days. I had quit taking gabapentin which was prescribed to help with addiction issues and I didn't realize I would experience w/d from that but by this AM I was so tired and sleepy I didn't want to get out of bed. Once I figured out what was going on I filled my script and I've had 2 so far...300mg, and it's 3:30 and I'm feeling way better than I felt this AM. I have no issues with the sub taper but I'll keep posting.
Thank you so much for your posts...this has really made my day.
To nursegirl: I deeply appreciate your input. I do go to a clinic and get them legally and have decided to taper at my own pace. They are great in the way they let us do that and continue to prescribe normally. I have not placed any time constraints on my taper and plan to adjust to each decrease before going any lower.
I have wonderful support at home from my husband who is also in recovery. He puts absolutely no pressure on me and supports my decisions. He is also very helpful with fitness and nutrition and does "pressure" me in that aspect but I welcome that. I know on days when I just want to give into the sofa he will see to it that I don't :) He doesn't overdo it though....if I'm really not well he's kind and understanding to my needs.
I also have outside support from NA and a sponsor. I am upping my game in this department because it had really gotten lame lately and I KNOW the benefits of participating fully in my recovery. I also participate, along with my husband, in my personal faith, which is a tremendous help as well.
I look forward to sharing my thoughts and feelings and how I deal with them during this process. Thank everyone who chimes in with support or simply have questions for me to answer.
To nursegirl: I deeply appreciate your input. I do go to a clinic and get them legally and have decided to taper at my own pace. They are great in the way they let us do that and continue to prescribe normally. I have not placed any time constraints on my taper and plan to adjust to each decrease before going any lower.
I have wonderful support at home from my husband who is also in recovery. He puts absolutely no pressure on me and supports my decisions. He is also very helpful with fitness and nutrition and does "pressure" me in that aspect but I welcome that. I know on days when I just want to give into the sofa he will see to it that I don't :) He doesn't overdo it though....if I'm really not well he's kind and understanding to my needs.
I also have outside support from NA and a sponsor. I am upping my game in this department because it had really gotten lame lately and I KNOW the benefits of participating fully in my recovery. I also participate, along with my husband, in my personal faith, which is a tremendous help as well.
I look forward to sharing my thoughts and feelings and how I deal with them during this process. Thank everyone who chimes in with support or simply have questions for me to answer.
Hi there! I don't have any personal experience with subs, but just wanted you to know you have my full support. Nursegirl is one of the go to gals for the subs. I'm sure others with personal experience will chime in soon. Just know that we are here for you. You are never alone. Good luck to you in your journey into recovery. Take care and please keep us updated.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and deciding to journal your current and upcoming experience! I don't have an experience with subs but I've seen many on here that do and many more that are lost, scared, and looking for someone to relate to. This will help them immensely. I look forward to watching your journey and I know that you're going to be very successful. Congrats on taking your life back!
Hello there!
Journaling your journey is awesome, it will help others who find themselves in similar situations.
Just a few basic things, and probably most of this is stuff you know anyway. The most successful sub tapers involve a slow and gradual taper process, tapering down to the lowest dose possible before making that final jump. It's the people who try to jump off at 2mg+ that really struggle. 2mg doesn't SOUND like a high dose, but in the world of sub, it's significant.
Typically, the initial dosage reductions at higher doses are very easy to tolerate. It's usually when a person gets to about the 2mg point when the reductions become a lot harder. Most people find that they can drop down significant amounts at the higher doses with little to no w/d symptoms. When one gets to the lower doses, it's helpful to make the reduction increments much smaller than at the higher doses. A stabilization period in between reductions is also very helpful. Many people think they can reduce their dose daily, or every other day....which they can, but it usually results in a constant state of w/d. It's better to allow the body to adjust to each new increment, treating the w/d symptoms and allowing them to improve before going down again. A typical stabilization period is about 2 weeks. Some people choose to make it longer, it's a personal choice for each person and their sub doc.
I assume you're getting your sub from a doc/clinic? If not, I strongly recommend that you do, it's just so much better to do it the "right" way. Keep your doc informed of your progress as you go, and don't be afraid to speak up if you feel he/she is going too fast, or dropping the dose too significantly. People who feel "strong-armed" by their docs don't do well, because there is already such a fear factor, that just adds a lot of extra pressure and anxiety.
One thing I found was helpful for patients when I worked in a sub clinic was letting the patient be in control as much as possible. Our sub doc would encourage people to reduce their dose on their own in between visits, to see how it went. She would give them guidance on an appropriate drop, and tell them to give it a shot, but not yet change their Rx to reflect the drop. The patients reported that they preferred this to the doc decreasing their prescription and in turn them being "forced" to adhere the new dose. This gave them a little more sense of control and took some of the pressure and anxiety off. The other thing that the pts found very helpful was group therapy sessions where the patients would discuss their tapering experience with each other. I sat in on those sessions from time to time, and it was clear that the support and encouragement they gave each other was very beneficial. One person would share that they got down to X dose, which would give someone on a higher dose the courage to try for themselves, knowing others had succeeded. If your clinic offers group sessions, definitely take advantage of that!
Lastly, I cannot stress enough that MUCH more important than the taper itself is the WORK you're doing on your recovery. You have to explore the reasons that led you to relapse on the tramadol. Relapse happens in stages, and it occurs LONG before a person actually swallows that first pill. Part of a good recovery program will help you explore what led you there, help you identify triggers and weaknesses in your recovery plan, so you can fix it. If you don't do the work that's necessary to STAY clean, you will be at high risk for relapse, especially when you first get off the sub completely. There's no doubt that the subs help to keep cravings at bay. A person needs to learn how to cope with those cravings when they start experiencing them again after the sub. Take the time while you're doing this taper to dive into your recovery program head first. Tale advantage of AA/NA meetings, therapy, outpatient recovery programs, self help books, etc. You can never do "too much", but you can definitely not do enough. People concentrate SO much on the detox/w/d process that they lose sight of the part that's going to KEEP them clean. A successful detox is no good if a person is going to relapse. Do you have a good support system at home? Have you eliminated your sources? Told your doctor/pharmacy to note your medical record that you're an addict? Have you confided in someone close to you, for support and accountability? Those things are crucial, and if you haven't done all of those, it's time to start working on that, a little at a time.
I wish you the best of luck and look forward to watching your experience. You can do this! We'll be here to help and cheer you on.
Journaling your journey is awesome, it will help others who find themselves in similar situations.
Just a few basic things, and probably most of this is stuff you know anyway. The most successful sub tapers involve a slow and gradual taper process, tapering down to the lowest dose possible before making that final jump. It's the people who try to jump off at 2mg+ that really struggle. 2mg doesn't SOUND like a high dose, but in the world of sub, it's significant.
Typically, the initial dosage reductions at higher doses are very easy to tolerate. It's usually when a person gets to about the 2mg point when the reductions become a lot harder. Most people find that they can drop down significant amounts at the higher doses with little to no w/d symptoms. When one gets to the lower doses, it's helpful to make the reduction increments much smaller than at the higher doses. A stabilization period in between reductions is also very helpful. Many people think they can reduce their dose daily, or every other day....which they can, but it usually results in a constant state of w/d. It's better to allow the body to adjust to each new increment, treating the w/d symptoms and allowing them to improve before going down again. A typical stabilization period is about 2 weeks. Some people choose to make it longer, it's a personal choice for each person and their sub doc.
I assume you're getting your sub from a doc/clinic? If not, I strongly recommend that you do, it's just so much better to do it the "right" way. Keep your doc informed of your progress as you go, and don't be afraid to speak up if you feel he/she is going too fast, or dropping the dose too significantly. People who feel "strong-armed" by their docs don't do well, because there is already such a fear factor, that just adds a lot of extra pressure and anxiety.
One thing I found was helpful for patients when I worked in a sub clinic was letting the patient be in control as much as possible. Our sub doc would encourage people to reduce their dose on their own in between visits, to see how it went. She would give them guidance on an appropriate drop, and tell them to give it a shot, but not yet change their Rx to reflect the drop. The patients reported that they preferred this to the doc decreasing their prescription and in turn them being "forced" to adhere the new dose. This gave them a little more sense of control and took some of the pressure and anxiety off. The other thing that the pts found very helpful was group therapy sessions where the patients would discuss their tapering experience with each other. I sat in on those sessions from time to time, and it was clear that the support and encouragement they gave each other was very beneficial. One person would share that they got down to X dose, which would give someone on a higher dose the courage to try for themselves, knowing others had succeeded. If your clinic offers group sessions, definitely take advantage of that!
Lastly, I cannot stress enough that MUCH more important than the taper itself is the WORK you're doing on your recovery. You have to explore the reasons that led you to relapse on the tramadol. Relapse happens in stages, and it occurs LONG before a person actually swallows that first pill. Part of a good recovery program will help you explore what led you there, help you identify triggers and weaknesses in your recovery plan, so you can fix it. If you don't do the work that's necessary to STAY clean, you will be at high risk for relapse, especially when you first get off the sub completely. There's no doubt that the subs help to keep cravings at bay. A person needs to learn how to cope with those cravings when they start experiencing them again after the sub. Take the time while you're doing this taper to dive into your recovery program head first. Tale advantage of AA/NA meetings, therapy, outpatient recovery programs, self help books, etc. You can never do "too much", but you can definitely not do enough. People concentrate SO much on the detox/w/d process that they lose sight of the part that's going to KEEP them clean. A successful detox is no good if a person is going to relapse. Do you have a good support system at home? Have you eliminated your sources? Told your doctor/pharmacy to note your medical record that you're an addict? Have you confided in someone close to you, for support and accountability? Those things are crucial, and if you haven't done all of those, it's time to start working on that, a little at a time.
I wish you the best of luck and look forward to watching your experience. You can do this! We'll be here to help and cheer you on.
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