how long does withdraw symtoms last from Subutex

[jeremyinscrh]

I have been taking Subutex for 2 yrs now. I have stopped "cold turkey", 9 days ago. I am having anxiety problems, irritability, suicide thoughts, leg pains,sweats, chills, and anger. I want to know what i should do and bout how long this may last??

[cl_steele]

Considering its usually scripted as an alternative to heroin it would be tapered not cold turkey.. but either way the feelings would be the same as any opiate last about 2 weeks [the nasty ones] feeling like a very bad case of flu then about a month give or take of mental cravings then its in the wind, you'll probably still desire it for a while but the bonus to this type of medication is withdrawal is neither very dangerous nor too long..
There can be some side effects such as pain and the like but these are not too common unless you're taking it for pain to begin with in which case it will hurt a lot im afraid.

[clean_in_ks]

Welcome to the forum Carmen (and you, too, CME4ME)~
This thread won't get much visibility because it's from 2011.  You can both go the the top of the page and hit the green post a question tab and post a new comment or question and all the current forum members will be able to see and respond to you that way.

Carmen....I am familiar w/ TN's new law but my interpretation as I read it was that the criminal charges only applied to PG Moms that were on ILLEGAL drugs....NOT prescribed.....and the one's on illegal/illicit drugs would NOT be charged if willing to enroll in drug treatment.  

[CME4ME]

I can TOTALLY RELATE...i was also a single mom of 3 who had NO ONE 2 TURN TO & when I left the kids dad i left with an addiction to EVERYTHING I COULD GET MY HANDS ON BY THE TIME WE WERE FINISHED..I ALSO didnt want the same thing my kids were already addicted enough through out that whole relationship, so I found myself on methadone...13 yrs later...had I known what I know now...just because my mindset was NO MATTER WHAT IM DONE!!!ATTITUDE..SO methadone wasnt probably the best way for me to detox...I would have just gave myself a wk of LOTS OF POT SMOKING & ANXIETY MEDS & EVEN A FEW SHOTS WHEN KIDS WENT TO BED & THEN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN OVER...
BUT I DID WHAT EVERYONE TOLD ME THE THING I WAS SUPPOSE TO DO BECAUSE THATS JUST WHAT YOU R SUPPOSE TO DO...BUT I PERSONALLY FOUND METHADONE (ALTHOUGH) HELPED W/CRAVINGS & NO SICK TIME...I WAS ONLY ADDICTED TO HEROINE   FOR 2 YRS VRS' 13 YRS OF METHADONE & STILL HAVING ISSUES..SO WEIGH YOUR OPTIONS & WHERE YOUR HEAD & HEART  IS AT B4 THIS HUGE LIFE ALTERING DECISION...MIGHT NOT B THE RIGHT WAY THAT i LOOK BACK & WISH I WOULD HAVE DONE IT BUT **** IT ...ITS MY THOUGHT MY EMOTIONS
CME4ME

[Carmen711]

I'm 31 weeks pregnant and I refuse to give birth on Subutex.. I just moved here to Tennessee and the laws here are different, they can arrest you is you give birth to a baby on Subutex regardless if it's proscribed!! And besides I been wanting to come off before I found out I was pregnant but just been so depressed and emotional.. Ok so I was on a low dose to begin with when I first found out I was pregnant and since then I've tapered down to about .5mg a day!!! You think I'm ready to jump off?? My doctor said as long as I fell ok, I can quit.. MY new OB here in Tennessee doesn't know I'm on Subutex.. For fear they can arrest me! I know it's crazy right! You can look it up under "Tennessee Pregnancy Law".. It's bad..
Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated! Thanks

[Iwant2Bclean]

I was on Sub's for 8 months. Started on 16mg a day and my Dr cut me by 2mg each month. I jumped off at 2mg. I didn't have hardly any WD's except on days 5-6 I had mild anxiety and restless legs. After day 6 I was feeling ok. The thing with Sub's is the have such a long half life you build them up in your system. My Dr told me if you take 8mgs 37.5 hrs later you will still have 4mg of it in your system.That's why I didn't feel any effects of not having any for 5 days. Anyways about the energy.... I am 207 off Sub's and my energy still has NOT come back. I am starting to think it might just not come back, but then again my addiction was for 13 years so that has to play a huge roll in it. Good luck and if I was you I would make the last of those pills last you as long as you can.

[JephWyte]

Ouch. That's a big jump and I feel for ya. The lack of energy is deffinitely a difficult aspect of wd's. A lot of people here can reccomend many different things to ease the pain. Some I would suggest for energy would be L-Tyrosine (you can get at GNC, helped me out firsthand) and vitamin B-12. I'm sure taking too much of ANYTHING can be bad. But a friend of mine said he would take 8-10 B-12 pills in a day (not sure the dosage per pill) and it boosted his energy a lot. I've heard reccomendations for clonadine for the discomfort and RLS. I would speak to a Dr. before trying to combine anything though. I hope this helped. Check the health pages as there is always some helpful info there. Good luck
          -Jeff

[sistah808]

Aloha, this is my 1st time on here.  I find it really helpful to see other stories jus to kinda get an idea of how its gonna be.  

Well ive been taking subutex for over a year, i got on it cause i detoxed fron hydros, went to hospital for 7 day detox but when i went home i had no energy so i relapsed.  Then i found a doctor outside of the hospital who perscribed subutex. Went to him to see what i could do cause i found out i was almost 3 months pregnant.

Because withdraw symtoms can be fatal to the fetus it was then decided for me to take subutex through out the pregnancy & maintain it.  

Finally gave birth & the doctor continued to give me the same dosage which was 8mg, 2 1/2 tabs daily so that was 20mg daily.

My medical coverage was discontinued so i can no longer get subutex, so i only had like 6 pills left.  I started to break it down cause i knew i had to stretch it out & try & tapper off myself.  so i went from 20mg to 8mg a day!! BIG JUMP........  so now im on the 2nd to the last day(only 1 1/2 pills left)!!  i can feel the withdrawals, not too bad when i jus take the sub BUT i really feel it like an hour later.  But i have to deal with it cause i only can take the other half for the rest of the day!!  

MY BIGGEST FEAR......im gonna relapse cause its too heavy for me to bare.  

I HAVE NO ENERGY which makes me pop energy pills& energy drinks which makes my stomach more nauseated!!  HOW & WHAT CAN I DO OR TAKE TO GET ENERGY WITHOUT GETTING A REACTION???

So once i take my last dosage of subutex is the withdrawal gonna really be bad??
i feel it already by having to cut down.....so pretty much im going to be cutting off cold turkey cause i have no choice.

My only issue is i might relapse cause i cant afford to be down & sick, Im a mom of 3.  I have a 2yr old jus about to turn 3 so ya'll should know that keeps me on my toes all day then i have a 4 month old that needs 24 hour care.  I dont want them to be neglected in any way or form because of my withdrawal.

PLEASE someone give me sum advice to what i can do?????

I really & truly want this to be the end, i have 3 children that need me, thats the whole reason i went onto subutex but now i have no other choice but to get off ALONE with no medical help!!!  

[Iwant2Bclean]

I was one of the lucky ones that had very little problems coming off it. Jumped off at 2mg.  I had mild anxiety and restless legs on day 5-6. Day 6 anxiety was gone and day 10 restless legs was gone. I didn't feel bad but I didn't feel 100%. 186 days later I still don't feel like I am 100% like I hoped I would be. My main problem is I don't have any energy or motivation. One thing that really helped me was staying as busy as possible and keeping my mind off of not having any Sub's. The minute I would start thinking about it I would automatically start feeling bad. For me it was more mental than physical. I was always one to dwell on the fact I was out of my drug of choice and in turn I always had the worst withdraws. I am not trying to tell you what you are feeling is all in your head but it is a huge factor. I hope you get to feeling better soon!!!
Best Wishes
Krissy

[gnarly_1]

HI sub is a funny drug some people come off it at 2mg with little or no withdrawals others take the stuff down to crumbs and suffer.....no rhyme to reason ....we really need more info to help you here like what dose you jumped from if its significant you can be in for a reff ride for a wile
believe I know the drill I detoxed off methadone and was sick for months give us a little more ifo to go on and will try to help you just know you can jump from any amount and make it we has a member jump off from 24mg it wasn't pritty but he made it look forward to hearing from you post back and will see if we can help you good luck and God bless.......Gnarly  

[JephWyte]

Well some of it depends on what dose you were at during the majority of those two years, how long and gradual of a taper, and what dose you were at when you jumped cold turkey. If you jumped from a few mg's or higher, the heavier wd's should be getting near the end. The bad news.. PAWS (post acute withdrawl aymptoms) take a loooong time from maintenence drugs like methadone and subs. You will feel anxious and out of energy and occasional difficulty sleeping for months. Just keep in mind that there will be occasional ups and downs, but over time things will continue to improve. You've made it nine days, get one more, then worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes and so on. Then you'll be posting to addicts in your position when you have multiple years clean and be able to look back and know you beat this. It's a long haul, I got a month clean and got discouraged, angry, and confused when I still had no energy. I ended up gettin back on the stuff and am gradually tapering down now. Theres a page with a lot of information on subs that will answer almost all of your questions. I'll do some digging around and try to send you the link :) You stay strong brotha!
  God bless,
            -Jeff

[sudie58]

i thought it was a program you were on when taking it, i dont think your supposed to be on it that long, or stop cold turkey,
someone with more experience will answer your questions soon, so welcome, and you will get good help on here, take care.