question about sub

[mdan9mm]

Hey everyone, hope all is well. This is day 16 for me on the sub and i saw my dr today. among other things we talked about was this website as i tell him i've learned alot of important things about the use of sub on this site and that everyone here truely seems down to earth and really cares about each other, as were all in the same boat, sort of. Among what we talked about was my concern about the  " severe wd's " from the sub when it is finally time to stop. Again, this is only my 16th day on it and im doing 6 mg per day, down from 16mg a day. I'm doing fine, no wd's, no cravings for the hydro's, go to work, play with the kids, pretty much just back to being " normal ' , whatever that is...lol..!!.  I also have been on seraquel and trazadone to sleep since getting out of detox, and since i started the sub, I have NOT taken ONE of those to sleep as im getting about 6-8 hrs a sleep a night just from being on the sub. I'm still taking the 20 mg lexapro for the depression though, but thats it. My dr said im getting too worried about the wd's when i stop (from what i've learned from you guys). He asked me then to post a question on how did those of you on the sub, finally stop (taper off) as im sure it worked wonders for most of you, AND that most of you did not experience severe wd's ( at least i hope not !! ). Like i said its only my 16th day and i know ill be probably be on it for a while longer, and i dont have a problem with it as long as I feel good, and i dont have any craving to use again. I go to a one on one with my dr once a week, and am going to start those group meetings hopefully in a few days. Thanks, Mark...

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

Now are you certain that you are taking 40mg of suboxone twice daily?  Thats over the ceiling of the medication.....I believe that the max effective dose is at 32mg....that would mean that you are taking 48 more milligrams than will even be utilized...Something is off base here.....your SubDoc should know that the medication is to be dosed once daily...and thats an important part of the therapy according to our SubDoc... Post again or PM me ... I would like to discuss this with you.............

[BAdams7848]

It has been 3 weeks now since I stoped taking Saboxin 40mg. 2 times a day for one year.   Dr. said to cut down 20 per day for 4 days.  I am still so very sick shakes, cold sweats, hot flashes and debelating depression.  Was on Vicodan for 2 years before.  Have been on this sight for 1 and half weeks which is the only way I know about saboxin w/d and I think everyone.   I guess what I am asking is it ever going to get better?  I am so desperate at this point.  Cannot eat except juice or ice cream. Vicodan only took about 2 weeks which I have done too many times.  Took 1/2 tramadol last night for the restless legs.  Is this a bad idea?  I've tried to take all the advice on this board can anyone help me at this point?

[girlybuff]

I took sub for about 17 ays or so. I started off at 12 mg then went down to .25 mg every other day for 3 rounds.  My withdrawals were VERY minimal.  I had valium and that was able to really REALLY help.  I got up every day and felt like **** for a week or two but it was NOTHING compared to the numerous times I tried quitting my 30-40 10mg perc a day habit.
I believe from MY experience that because I stuck to a taper, which again, was easier to stick to than the taper from a full agonist opiate, stayed hydrated, took vitamins, exercised (and I HATE to exercise) and did the crumb every other day thing, that it wasn't that bad.
There is a site heroin-detox ******* (can't put it in the exact format) that has forums specifically for people on and coming off of sub that you should check out.
I hitnk that your best best is to get off within a month and get down to the lowest possible amount you can handle.  I didn't feel ANY of my dropsi n dosage until I got to the very other day dosing.
BUT, if you get on and off within a month and don't do anything afterwards you will inevitably find yurself back inthe same boat beause NOTHING CHANGES IF NOTHING CHANGES.
Sub might help physically and it might work better for some than it does for others BUT if you don't work on the core issues of why you wound up having to take it in the first place, you WILL relapse and the second time is SO MUCH harder than the first.  I know everyone LOVES to say that relapse is part of recovery but it doesn't have to be and I hope for you it isn't.

[laurel453]

thanks for both, your experience and the congrats !

shelwoy, i've always take as a big truth the sayin that there are not illnesses but patients ( i'm not sure about my translation but you know what i mean .. :) ) i can see from your words that sub is helping you with your life not only with your addiction to opiatesin other aspects  and as long as it's being good for you, i can not and don't want adding more, great  then . i can understand very well. yeah.

and good luck , yes , the best luck  for all of us in whatever we choose for us ...)

at the end, we are all trying to do our best ...

[refusingbondage]

I guess at the end of the day it is a very personal choice and decision based on your specific needs.  Regardless of anyones opinions on suboxone or even methadone, the bottom line is that most of us take these drugs because we want to change our lives and be free of our addiction.  I would never discourage anyone from doing whatever they had to do to get to that place in their lives.  I do feel a bit unlucky when I hear positive sub stories from people who have used long term AND gotten off sub long term without too many problems --because it wasn't that way for me..I followed my doctors advice to the tee.. he also had me talking to a psychologist he worked with.  There were months when I struggled with tapering, like going from 8mg to 4mg and would see the doctor right away when that happened.  He told me to up the dosage for a few more months.  A bit of mild withdrawal came to me with every taper.  When I finally got down to 2mg he said I should be fine quitting that cold turkey.. but after 5 days of severe withdrawal I went to see him and he said cut it down to 1mg.  I quit after taking 1mg for about 4 months.  The day before I quit I left his office all teary eyed cause I was so happy it was over - I got a big hug, a big pat on the back and a promise that I would have very little to zero withdrawal.  I can't say he lied cause he is a good doctor who treated me well, but he was not fully informed.  Withdrawal is a price we have to pay for being addicts.  Sub is something that works wonders to give people (myself included) a sense of well-being and normalcy in their lives.  At the end of the whole thing, having used drugs, having used sub and having quit sub, I think that beyond the physical he11 of sub withdrawal and the length of time that withdrawal lasts, for me it was purely the mental part of the withdrawal - the depression and very dark places I went mentally over the past 48 days.  Ive used for years and detoxed many times.  I know withdrawal and I also know that depression comes with any detox.  I have never been a depressed person but have experienced it at other detox times.  But the entire sub detox was different for me and I relate it to the long term sub use and have spoken to others with the same.  However my experience will not be everyone elses and I truly believe that we are all just trying to get clean and live differently and I commend and applaud all of us for making these decisions and doing everything we can to stay in it.  Best of luck to all.

[mdan9mm]

Ahhhhhh so there are some positive stories on how the sub helped, with minimal wd's, thank god they werent all negative !! I agree with Shelwoy on her outlook about being on the sub, as long as it is helping her lead a " normal ' life and she not using, than be all means why not be on it ? This is only day 17 or 18 for me, and like my dr told me, " if i had diabetes and i had to be on medication to treat that for an extended time / or life, i would do it ? right ? I agreed with him. As long as im not using, nor have the urge to use, and i'm feeling good, like my old normal self than why would i opt not to use it ? I know what almost everyone here said about the severe wd's when it is time to stop, but did they, and please dont take this the wrong way or be angry with me, but did they follow their  dr's advise, treatment plan, take the sub according to the directions, go to weekly meetings, therapy, group meetings,and then taper while being in close contact with their dr's ? If so then I apologize and guess i have a long road ahead of me and i really do appreciate all the advise all of you have given. I am tapering down like i said i would, started at 16mg a day, now im down to 6 mg a day, and today i took only 4mg which im going to do for the next 2 or 3 days then taper down even more...all the best to all of you.......Mark.