SRS [ANON THREAD]Opiate Detox and Suboxone/Buprenorphine Maintence Therapy

[i killed tupac]

[THREADSTARTER]
Has anyone gone though rehab and detox/suboxone maintenance therapy for OxyContin or other opiates? If so, what are or were your experiences? Was the program successful; i.e. are you clean or have you stayed clean since finishing or beginning the therapy? The 8 subutex I got for my first 3 days completely rid me of withdrawal symptoms, and I have a 1 month (45 8mg buprenorphine: naloxone 4:1 pills, 1.5 per day). I've used suboxone I bought from friends before when I was withdrawing from opiates, and in that experience I only needed 2mg/day, or even every other day. I feel a little bit like 4 mg 3x daily is a bit excessive, even if it can be titrated down; I want to try and be on suboxone as briefly as possible as I've heard horror stories about withdrawal from THAT from people. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you!
[/THREADSTARTER]

 

[Aronomy]

Although there are better forums for this which will get you many quicker responses, I am on 2mg in the morning, 2mg in the evening at the moment, I've done this before too, and it was successful (detox with suboxone), but then I relapsed, so I'm here again. I've never seen anyone do 3 doses per day, start with 4mg morning, 4mg evening.

Generally you can decrease by 25% every 4 days without noticing the difference at all, so after 4 days at a stable 8mg (4mg, then 4mg) per day dose, you can go down to 6mg (3mg morning, 3mg evening), then 4 days later...2.25mg morning/evening, then four days later..1.5mg am/pm, then 4 days later...

You get the idea. But that's the best possible way to detox the quickest off suboxone, good luck! I'm doing it too....again....

 

[{hydro}]

I had to quit heroin cold turkey and go to AA or NA meetings.

I actually got high on suboxone for 2 years before I ever did heroin...

In my opinion it's a whole lot better than using oxy or heroin but what are you going to do when you stop taking suboxone?

I've watched heroin/oxy addicts flip flop from methadone/suboxone so many times. I did the same little routine for a while too when I couldn't afford my habit.

From going through this I realized that when I stopped using drugs I needed to fill the void with something like aa/na meetings, or I always went back to using more drugs/drinking.

This is based off of what I've gone through and witnessed or heard from dozens, if not hundreds of people.

I hope this is helpful.

 

[more off]

i always went back to the hard stuff when using suboxone

i finally went to detox for 3 days then a 21 day treatment center and quit cold turkey

been sober for over 10 months now

i'd recommend just suffering for a bit and getting clean then stringing yourself along on a different addiction

 

[depht]

I know this thread is kind of old, but if anyone has questions about quitting opiates with suboxone, please post in here or PM me. Like someone said, there are better forums - but I can help. I've helped quite a few people online and offline quit opiates with suboxone, and only stay on suboxone for a few weeks. Don't substitute one addiction for another, you CAN do it without the pain and agony of withdrawals. Please do contact me, I'm glad to help

 

[Sooka]

I have been on Suboxone maintenance for the past two years.

It's just that, maintenance. You are still dependent on, even addicted to, a drug that you need to take every single day to feel somewhat normal, although not even really normal because the side-effects have a toll on your mind and body. I have tried quitting four times in the past two years and each time I ween myself down to 1mg a day but in a rush to just stop taking it I don't stay on the 1mg dose long enough and don't ween down to .5mg a day and then .25mg a day like you are supposed to. The first time I detoxed off Suboxone the intensity of the withdrawals wasn't that bad at all, but it lasted for about three weeks. I ended up getting through three weeks of withdrawals and then like an idiot I got right back on Suboxone because I had so much trouble with focus and motivation as I was working full-time and going to college at the time. It can take months, sometimes even up to a year or more for your brain to completely get back to normal and the stress, lack of energy, and inability to focus just got to me.

I've tried three more times in the past two years but each time I made the exact same mistakes and failed, always rushing through my tapering process rather than taking it nice and slow. The withdrawals have gradually gotten worse and worse the longer I have been taking it, and at times I actually raised my dose all the way up to 8mg per day.

Right now I have been down to 2mg per day for over a month and I am ready to lower my dose to 1mg per day. I am going to do whatever I can to take my time and not make the same mistakes again, staying on 1mg per day for at least several weeks before lowering to .5mg and then finally down to .25mg per day. Despite my desire to rush through things and try to get them over with quickly, it just doesn't seem to work with Suboxone, the withdrawals alone are on average around three weeks long. So I plan to stay on .25mg per day for at least two weeks before lowering down to a very minuscule dose of .1mg per day. After a week or two at .1mg per day I am going to jump off again for the fifth time and I am going to use every bit of willpower and determination left in my mind and body to succeed this time.

I really want absolutely nothing more than to stop using Suboxone and become completely drug free (except for maybe an occasional recreational ganja or beer session). I don't get high from Suboxone while I still always feel low and it's just a strain on my life, a ball-and-chain of sorts that just holds me back and keeps me from living a normal life that is full of emotion, socialization, dedication, and a sense of purpose. I haven't touched traditional opiates/opioids in over a year and I don't plan on ever touching them again, even when I have been offered some for free I have turned them down time and time again through the past year.

Every day I sit on the toilet and pray to god for either the addiction/dependency to end or for my life to end. I just hope he answers my call this time and answers one of my two prayers, although it is really up to me, but I would rather die tomorrow than continue to succumb to this curse for the next decade of my life, it really is that miserable for me.

 

[i killed tupac]

have you ever tried an NA type of program?
Would you be willing to consider abstaining from all drugs, including alcohol and pot, if it meant a better chance at getting off the opiates?

 

[Sooka]

have you ever tried an NA type of program?
Would you be willing to consider abstaining from all drugs, including alcohol and pot, if it meant a better chance at getting off the opiates?

No I have never tried NA, I know AA is heavily based on religion and that is a turn-off for me, although I'm not sure if NA is the same.

Yes. I don't drink alcohol often, I have one bottle of craft beer about once a week or so, I don't even get a buzz from it I mainly just drink for the taste. I literally haven't gotten drunk in over a year. As for pot, I used to be a huge pothead and smoked every day but I quit six months ago and have only smoked about once a month since then. I used to not realize how pot just made me so content that I just wanted to sit around and not do anything, but after having stopped smoking regularly, every time I smoke once in a blue moon I realize how happy, but lazy, it makes me.

I think that a contributing factor to my inability to quit Suboxone in the past was the fact that I was smoking pot day and night during my detox, and although the pot helped a lot at night in terms of relaxation and sleep, during the day it just made me tired, lacking energy, and unmotivated.

I am not going to say that I would be fine with never smoking pot again in my life, because in my mind pot is something I could always fall back on without developing a serious dependence on. But I definitely want to abstain from all drugs for a long period of time to get completely and entirely sober. The thing is that I never had an alcohol problem, I always knew when to stop and I was never unable to control my drinking, I don't even drink often at all. While I've had a pot habit for some time, I never found it to be something that I have been truly addicted to, because every time I choose to stop smoking pot I can easily do so for a long period of time without any noticeable withdrawal effects.

So for the next year or two I would definitely be willing to abstain from all drugs, period, in order to recover from my opiate/opioid addiction and heal my mind, body, and soul in order to become a healthy person again who doesn't need to depend on any drug. I just can't say that I will never use pot or alcohol again because of my opiate addiction. Once I am fully clean and my brain has recovered from opiates, I still want to be able to use pot and alcohol occasionally in a purely social/recreational manner, but I have no problem with not having pot or alcohol in my life until I have taken several years to return to a normal state of being.

 

[{hydro}]

It's not a religious program.

 

[Sooka]

It's not a religious program.

I was forced to go to a series of AA meetings when I was on probation at the age of 18 because I got arrested for possession of cannabis, which made absolutely no sense considering I never had any sort of alcohol problem in my life. The AA meetings my probation officer sent me to took place in a church and they were very religious, where people were reading excerpts from the bible to each other and speaking about their religious experiences and how their religious faith had been allowing them to stay clean. Maybe it was just a different type of AA meeting and not all of them are like that, but the meetings I went to had religion heavily incorporated into them.

I have absolutely nothing against religion, but I am just not a very religious person and I don't like the idea of having to depend on religion to quit drugs. I want to quit for myself, not for Jesus or anyone else, I don't want Christianity or any religion to be the defining purpose in my pursuit of sobriety. I want to focus on my own life, the possibilities and goals of my own life, and not on religious faith and biblical excerpts that can be interpreted in different ways.

 

[{hydro}]

Idk about all that bible stuff.

Maybe it's worth another shot. It sounds like what you've been doing isn't working. I can guarantee you that you'll meet someone at a meeting with a similar story.

It doesn't matter if you had/have a drinking problem or not. Drinking was never my thing.

I'm just trying to help. It's the only thing that has worked for me.

 

[Sooka]

Idk about all that bible stuff.

Maybe it's worth another shot. It sounds like what you've been doing isn't working. I can guarantee you that you'll meet someone at a meeting with a similar story.

It doesn't matter if you had/have a drinking problem or not. Drinking was never my thing.

I'm just trying to help. It's the only thing that has worked for me.

I will look at what NA meetings are held in my area, I just don't want to go to another one that is in a church because the AA in church experience just wasn't for me. I'm just curious, were you also struggling with opiate/opioid addiction? Have you overcome it and stayed sober? If you have your story posted somewhere then I'd love to read it if you can post me a link to the thread it is in. Success stories are both always good inspirations for me, I just want to have as much faith in myself as you and others who have succeeded in overcoming addiction did.

 

[{hydro}]

Yeah it's called my official intro.. a few threads down.

I actually got high on suboxone for a couple years before I even touched the hard stuff. lol

I just had 14 months sober. The only way I got sober was by working on my recovery with other sober people.

I'll never overcome it but I have lost the desire to use.. I never thought I'd say that.

 

[i killed tupac]

I will look at what NA meetings are held in my area, I just don't want to go to another one that is in a church because the AA in church experience just wasn't for me. I'm just curious, were you also struggling with opiate/opioid addiction? Have you overcome it and stayed sober? If you have your story posted somewhere then I'd love to read it if you can post me a link to the thread it is in. Success stories are both always good inspirations for me, I just want to have as much faith in myself as you and others who have succeeded in overcoming addiction did.

12 years clean in NA, complete atheist.

NA was found because they were tired of AA's bullshit.

 

[ForgottenSpiral]

12 years clean in NA, complete atheist.

NA was found because they were tired of AA's bullshit.

I am an atheist in NA and I've been clean for 10 years. I avoided going to meetings at first because I was put off by the spiritual stuff too, but what I've learned going to meetings is that they have their own definitions of words like "god" and "spiritual". Don't assume that because someone uses those words that they mean what YOU think they mean. I know it's stupid and honestly I'm a proponent of not using those terms (which is why I never do when I share), but the fact remains that there are plenty of atheists in NA. If anyone tells you different (and there are some that will) they are misguided.

 

[D7]

That sucks you had a bad experience at a meeting Sooka. Different meetings will have a different "flavor" though. In my area meetings are started by an individual or a couple and then they put it on the schedule and see if it flies. I could attend different meetings throughout the week and they would all be different. You seem to have interest since you're posting in the forum so maybe try out a few other meetings and keep your options open.

Also 12 step is non religious as others have stated. My higher power is not a formal God as organized religion recognizes.

 

[Sooka]

That sucks you had a bad experience at a meeting Sooka. Different meetings will have a different "flavor" though. In my area meetings are started by an individual or a couple and then they put it on the schedule and see if it flies. I could attend different meetings throughout the week and they would all be different. You seem to have interest since you're posting in the forum so maybe try out a few other meetings and keep your options open.

Also 12 step is non religious as others have stated. My higher power is not a formal God as organized religion recognizes.

It's not that I had a "bad" experience, the people there were good and I have absolutely nothing against them. It's just that I didn't feel like I fit in at all and it was a very awkward experience, but it was an AA meeting that I was forced to go to because of probation even though I didn't even have any alcohol or drug problems at the time, I was just a teenager who got arrested for pot. Since that time I have developed drug problems though and I want nothing more than to get clean so I'm definitely willing to give NA a shot.

 

[D7]

It's not that I had a "bad" experience, the people there were good and I have absolutely nothing against them. It's just that I didn't feel like I fit in at all and it was a very awkward experience, but it was an AA meeting that I was forced to go to because of probation even though I didn't even have any alcohol or drug problems at the time, I was just a teenager who got arrested for pot. Since that time I have developed drug problems though and I want nothing more than to get clean so I'm definitely willing to give NA a shot.

I'm sorry for putting words in your mouth. I guess I said that because if I had that experience I would call it bad

 

[i killed tupac]

globally, most people think, something like 7/10, think christianity is a joke. NA is no different.

 

[depht]

So I plan to stay on .25mg per day for at least two weeks before lowering down to a very minuscule dose of .1mg per day. After a week or two at .1mg per day I am going to jump off again[/b] for the fifth time and I am going to use every bit of willpower and determination left in my mind and body to succeed this time.

Every day I sit on the toilet and pray to god for either the addiction/dependency to end or for my life to end. I just hope he answers my call this time and answers one of my two prayers, although it is really up to me, but I would rather die tomorrow than continue to succumb to this curse for the next decade of my life, it really is that miserable for me.

When you get down to .25mg like you say, you're close. Going down to an even smaller dose should help you too seeing as how long you've been on it, and how it affects you mentally. I'd go down to a sliver for awhile, then after 2 weeks of that - start skipping days. Skip one, and if you need a sliver the next day - do it. You've skipped one. Next time, try two, then three, then four. It might take some doses in between days, but once you get to four days without taking anything it would be a good time to try and completely jump off.

Secondly, suicidal thoughts are awful. I do understand where you're coming from, because it just feels like it's never going to end. You have a feeling of hopelessness, even when you're off, because your body still has to "adjust" to repair itself back to normal and like you said, that could take awhile.

Take it day by day and keep at it. You didn't build an opiate addiction in a few days, or even a few weeks (or with suboxone) so don't underestimate yourself. One day at a time.

I know this might seem strange, especially since I'm a "lurker" and not known here, but if you'd ever like to vent or want somebody to talk to please PM me. I have no problem discussing things with you and maybe giving you some positive words. Sometimes "talking" to a complete stranger can be a great help.

I'm hopeful for you, I believe you can successfully do this and leave all of this in the past. You should feel the same way about yourself. You've made some big steps some people can't even fathom getting to.

 

[Sooka]

When you get down to .25mg like you say, you're close. Going down to an even smaller dose should help you too seeing as how long you've been on it, and how it affects you mentally. I'd go down to a sliver for awhile, then after 2 weeks of that - start skipping days. Skip one, and if you need a sliver the next day - do it. You've skipped one. Next time, try two, then three, then four. It might take some doses in between days, but once you get to four days without taking anything it would be a good time to try and completely jump off.

Secondly, suicidal thoughts are awful. I do understand where you're coming from, because it just feels like it's never going to end. You have a feeling of hopelessness, even when you're off, because your body still has to "adjust" to repair itself back to normal and like you said, that could take awhile.

Take it day by day and keep at it. You didn't build an opiate addiction in a few days, or even a few weeks (or with suboxone) so don't underestimate yourself. One day at a time.

I know this might seem strange, especially since I'm a "lurker" and not known here, but if you'd ever like to vent or want somebody to talk to please PM me. I have no problem discussing things with you and maybe giving you some positive words. Sometimes "talking" to a complete stranger can be a great help.

I'm hopeful for you, I believe you can successfully do this and leave all of this in the past. You should feel the same way about yourself. You've made some big steps some people can't even fathom getting to.

I don't actually have suicidal thoughts like that it was more of an over-exaggeration of my want/need to quit and my feelings of misery the day I posted that and the past several months in general. Thoughts of wanting to die may come occasionally though especially when I'm in withdrawals but that's pretty much expected in an opiate addiction. They're not actual thoughts of harming myself they are just the "I wouldn't give a shit if my life ended right now" thoughts.

 

[i killed tupac]

I don't actually have suicidal thoughts like that it was more of an over-exaggeration of my want/need to quit and my feelings of misery the day I posted that and the past several months in general. Thoughts of wanting to die may come occasionally though especially when I'm in withdrawals but that's pretty much expected in an opiate addiction. They're not actual thoughts of harming myself they are just the "I wouldn't give a shit if my life ended right now" thoughts.

that's pretty usual rock bottom kinda stuff

 

[[email protected]]

I got myself into about a 2 year opiate addiction, and a few weeks ago began the worst withdrawals I've ever gone through. Over a 2-3 day period I had high availability to almost free opana 40mg's, and did 10 of them (400mg) during the binge. The next day was the worst day of my life and I decided then and there that this was the last time I would do this to myself.
A few times previous I had used suboxone to cover withdrawal symptoms, so I knew how my body would handle it. Morning and night for the first 3 days I took a half of the 8 mg (strip/pill, whatever I could purchase). If needed, I took some during the day to curb the pain. Then, I let my body fight the symptoms itself, to steer clear of becoming dependent on subs. I'm at day 17 now, and have only used suboxone for two days since the first few days. The trick is not using subs to get high, and definately not using them on a consistant basis - I used them to HELP withdrawal, not end it completely. Getting clean isn't easy, so if you want to stay clean you need to experience some of the weeks of hell.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

i just have to say the post that mentioned thinking while sitting on the toilet

i did a lot of thinking on the toilet too! fucking dope constipation is the worst. passed out and fell off the toilet onto my head once.

suboxone gets me high as fuck and lasts so long, it's amazing i could get off the shit. but moving to where dope costs 3 times as much and i didn't know anyone helped the most.

 

[i killed tupac]

I got myself into about a 2 year opiate addiction, and a few weeks ago began the worst withdrawals I've ever gone through. Over a 2-3 day period I had high availability to almost free opana 40mg's, and did 10 of them (400mg) during the binge. The next day was the worst day of my life and I decided then and there that this was the last time I would do this to myself.
A few times previous I had used suboxone to cover withdrawal symptoms, so I knew how my body would handle it. Morning and night for the first 3 days I took a half of the 8 mg (strip/pill, whatever I could purchase). If needed, I took some during the day to curb the pain. Then, I let my body fight the symptoms itself, to steer clear of becoming dependent on subs. I'm at day 17 now, and have only used suboxone for two days since the first few days. The trick is not using subs to get high, and definately not using them on a consistant basis - I used them to HELP withdrawal, not end it completely. Getting clean isn't easy, so if you want to stay clean you need to experience some of the weeks of hell.

are you taking all this stuff with the advice of a doctor?