What worked for me/ Sub

Question

Well, I am on day 10 of no Norco's 10/325. That is the longest I have gone in a long time. After MUCH research and going over the pros and cons of Suboxone, i decided to give it a try and here is why. I PERSONALLY think that tapering or cold turkey are the best methods, I really do. But after several failed attempts at both, I decided to go the Sub route, which again, in my opinion should only be used as a last resort and nothing else has worked and/or your health is in serious danger.I was steadinly/consistantly taking 50 + of the Norco's 10/325 a day, everyday. On my last month of using, I was up to 65 - 80 of the Norco's 10/325 a day, everyday. As soon as I would wake up in th emorning for work, I would take 15-18 pills just to get my day started and then take nother dose every 4-5 hours until bedtime. after talking with my Doctor, I again, decided that Sub was right for ME. I has already ended up in the ER from taking to many pills in a day (about 80) and my doctor rold me, "if you don't stop taking these pills your body WILL shut down and I am surprised it has not already. Well, I knew he was serious as I could already feel the effects the pills were having on me physically. So after much research (and fear for my life) I started the Sub 10 days ago. I am fully aware that I am going to have to face the w/d demon when coming off the Subs and that is not going to be easy. But for ME, I truly believe that the Sub saved my life. I am self employed with a wife and 3 kids. My wife is a stay at home Mom, so I am solely responsible for our income. I am greatful for that as she does a kick *** job and 1 of our kids has special needs and is in therapy a few days a week. My wife is a blessing beyond words. Anyway, I tried to quit c/t and that lasted for 3 days. i could not work, call my customers, or even do misc. paper work in the office. I am on day 10 of NONE of the Norco's 10/325 and I started out on 2 - 8mg of Suboxone a day. I am already down to 1 - 8mg pill a day. I spilt an 8mg pill in half and take 1 in the morning (4mg) and 1 in the late afternnon (4mg) I am trying the 21 - 30 day Sub plan. Now again, Sub is not for everyone and I Believe that you are not truly Sober (my opinion again, not everyones) until you are off the Sub as well as your doc. The Sub has been working well for me and I am able to function at work and at home as well. It has pretty much curbed my physical w/d's (as I know what those feel like) and has helped me to stay "alive" if you will. Again, I thing that c/t and tapering are the best methods and Sub is not for everyone, and neither are the other 2 messages. The main reason I am writing this is for the person out there who is near death, leterally, or is just tried everyother option and has failed time and time again. If you are taking a small amount of your doc, the I would sincerely try one of the other methods first. I also started taking a good amount of Vitamins/Supplements to help heal my body (kidneys, liver, mind, etc) from all of the damage I was doing to it. I would THOROUGHLY look into and talk with others AND a Doctor before you consider Sub as an option. For me though, it was the right decision and it has been working better then I expected. I NEVER thought I would stop taking "those" pills. I never thought I could. Well, I (you) can. One way or the other. Good luck and blessings to everyone here and thank you to all of you who have encouraged/supported me along the way. I appreciate this site and the people that are on it.

TysonRed · Answer

Just wanted to stop by and give you the best of luck. I know your fully aware of the issues that are facing you, your positive attitude towards recovery will only benefit you in the long run. Dont feel bad for taking suboxone, in your case it was absolutely the right choice for you to get clean and sober. I cant stress enough how important aftercare will be, the mental issues linger on for days, so please do the necessary work to remain clean. I wish you all the best man, its a tough road but with your insight and determination anything is possible. Good luck & Take Care!

road2recovery · Answer

Sounds like you are doing your body good....I know for me i lost alot of weight while using....The major difference for me is my digestive system...my doctor made a comment to me once that a healthy gut, is a healthy body...Well we all know how constipated that posion made us...I took a stool softener for so long ,when using, but  now it is just weird that i go on a regular basis, and not to be gross, but no more of that poison smell, or pain...
The stuff i take for my liver is called "Liver Anti-Oxidants"  with milk thistle(silymarin), Artichoke, and turmeric (curcumin), It is made by "Procaps labortories, and although very very expensive i will take it for the rest of my life...My liver worries me so much..I also have been looking into garden of life online to purchase their supplements...They have a great in dept web site, and someone that i know that use to work at a GNC for 10 yrs told me to never get things there..., because he found out that they dont' have what they say in their products, and this is where he gets his supplements...I sure wish the FDA could get into the vitamin's etc, to let us know about all of that..
I think it was Savas that was here, that told us some things about this....
Well keep it up, and i agree lots of water, and good food, will help you too..
good luck to you!!
r2r

whattodo10325 · Answer

As far as supplements go, I am taking the following. That and I have almost completely changed my diet. I am eating a lot healthier (and more) now that I am off the Norco's. I use to way about 185lbs, when I was in the middle of my madness with the pills, I lost about 18lbs, which is a lot from someone like me.
I also spoke to a nutritionist about my situation and this is what he recommended I take........... So thats what I am doing. I to, am afraid I have already done some damage to my liver. 

I take a total of 6 pills (3 in th emorning and 3 in the late aternoon) of a Multi-Vitamin. These things are loaded with all kinds of good stuff. I mean loaded. They are like horse pills and I am taking 6 a day. Thats almost a small meal, hahahaha. They are manafactured by "Super Nutrition" and it is called "Mens Blend" - Antioxidant Rich Multi Vitamin. I can feel the difference since I started taking them. 

I am taking Liver Detox I (2 pills in the morning) and Liver Detox II (2 pills at night) They are different pills in different bottles, but they work hand in hand. They are manafactured by "Renew Life"

I am also taking MIlk Thistle, 2 pills a day. I don't have the bottle with me so I am not sure who it is made by.

And I am taking "CranActin" which is manafactured by "Solaray". I take 3 pills throughout the day. Is says Urinary Tract in bold letters on the bottle and "Guaranteed Bacterial Antiadherence Activity" at the bottom. 

Plus a tab of two or Vitamin C. It is funny, I went from pretty much destroying my body one day, to feeding it health and life the next. The poor thing is probably sucking on these Vitamins and Supplements like a kid with a lollipop. They do help though, I can tell you that. I am also trying to drink a lot of water. Most of the bottles of Vitamins I have say to drink water when taking them but I also know that water is just plain ghood fur us. 

As far as aftercare goes, I start meetings, again, this coming riday night at my Church. I use to attend and they did help. I will be going every Friday. It will be good for me to connect with others who can understand and relate to what I am going through. Have a good weekend

whattodo10325 · Answer

I will keep you guys posted. Again. I think it is a good option for those addicts that are in REAL danger, health wise. Yes, I did a lot of research and pondering the Suboxone treatment before I decided to go with it. I actually sat on the idea for about 3 weeks. meanwhile I looked it up on line and talked with others (online) who had taken it in the past and some who had taken it and are now off of it. There are a lot of pros and cons to it, as with most things in life. I know it is going to be hard when I come off the Sub, I am sure of that. But for today, all I can tell you is that my body feels better and I am alive. My Doctor told me starighht out "with the amount of pills you are taking, you could die" that and the trip to the ER sealed the deal. The sub curbs the physical w/d's fairly well, and my mind is learing how to function without being dead/numb. I think it is a good choice for certain addicts, definitely not everyone though. Thanks for getting back to me

road2recovery · Answer

Congrats...I have to say you made the right choice IMO...That is alot of pills per day, and i don't think without tapering it is a healty choice to c/t on that amount....You sound great, and I am sure your family is glad to have you back...
What supplement are you taking for your liver??  I take milk thristle, as i am still afraid i have damaged my liver...
I pray all goes well with you, and let us know how things go...Also, I am one that beleives in after care now...I realize i could not do this alone...
Thanks for sharing your story with us..
God bless
r2r

posteman · Answer

please let us know how the withdrawl of the sub goes..[well we hope]..i am sure many people are considering this method and your posting of your recovery would be helpful for the other people in your situation...it sounds like your plan is well thought out...all the best in the coming days................

whattodo10325 · Answer

Thank you for your insight. I am actually going to start attending meetings (for recovering addicts) at my church this Friday night. I use to go to them back in the day and they were a huge help. They are every Friday evening, so it will work out well. I am looking forward to connecting with others who are in a similar place on there road to recovery. I agree with you, the amount of Tylenol could have (was going to) shut my liver down. It scared me when my doctor told me that "It can shut your liver/body down at night when you are sleeping and you might not wake up. The ER was scary enough, but after hearing that, it helped me make the decision. It is hard to quit pills when you have a "good source" for getting them outside of your primary care doctor. The Sub helped me also to quit calling my "guy" as it helped curb the physical w/d's. Thanks again for the encouragement. This site has been a blessing in so many ways. I actaully never heard of Sub before I came to this site, I just thought I was stuck. After hearing about it here, I then had the courage to open up to my Doctor about my addiction and discuss the treatment of Suboxone with him. This site gave me the info and encouragement to get me where I am at today. That, and Gods grace is a winning combination for anyone!!!

avisg · Answer

In your situation with the amount of pills you were on I fully believe it was the best choice the amount of Tylenol you were taking daily was enough to shut down your liver and perhaps cause death.Now while you are using the sub you have to get SOME RECOVERY CARE.Have you looked into na or therapy yet ? This is what will help you stay clean once you stop the sub...You can do this.

stephaniejo · Answer

Very wonderful post. You can tell that you are wanting to give back to other's recovery since you have been supported by this site, I think that is very important to tell your story. Everyone is different and different things work for different people. I recently met a recovering heroin and OC addict and they told me they takes a sub just every once in a while. If it has and is helping you get off the other pills, keep it up. I wish you the best. Be strong!

whattodo10325 · Answer

What I forgot to mention about the Sub, is that it does not NUMB your mind and feelings like the Vicodin/Norco's do/did. mentally is has been difficult, but still manageable. I am no longer NUMB to life and all that is going on around me. I am waking up to the fact that I have been a horrible husband and father for sometime now. All things I am starting to work on. I took my wife out to breakfast this morning and last week I took my wife and all 3 kids to dinner and bowling. These are things that would NEVER happen while I was taking the Norco's.