I know it sounds a little dumb to be thinking it's somehow possible to get off the suboxone without withdrawaling but I truly need to. In the beginning before I started taking it, I was on oxycodone 30mg a day basically and the same thing happened -- I didn't want to withdrawal from the oxys so I got on suboxone. And I was extremely misinformed that suboxone helps you get off oxycodone and you have no withdrawals if you taper yourself off slowly. Obviously that's not true, because literally every forum i've read says they did the same thing and withdrew horribly. Suboxone is NOT a good drug no matter what people tell you, yeah it doesn't give you cravings to take opiates but the withdrawal from suboxone is extremely worse than from the opiates. So, I need to figure out a way to get off suboxones, and not withdrawal. I've heard that if I was to just quit subs right now and wait 36-48 hours and then take a oxycodone or any opiate for about a week or two and then quit taking that and withdrawal from that, that it would be so much easier because opiates give you less withdrawal symptoms than suboxone. So, basically my question is that --- If I did stop suboxone, and start back on the opiates and take the opiate for 2 weeks and then quit, would I be withdrawaling from both suboxone and opiates or would it just be the opiate withdrawal? (And please don't tell me that i'll get addicted to it again because I can't afford to and i'm so ready to be normal and sober that I would give anything for it.) But I refuse to withdrawal for a month or more from subs and have extreme painful withdrawal and suicidal thoughts and all that stuff. I need an answer... Someone tell me how I can do this. & that if I do start taking the opiates 48 hours after taking my last suboxone will I have absolutely any sub withdrawal? Or will it be gone from taking the opiates? And then when I stop the opiates will I be withdrawaling from subs and opiates or just opiates since the sub will be out of my system? I'm just extremely confused and I need an answer... FYI: Here's what i've been taking -- Suboxone 8mg, one a day, for 3 months.
How can I get off Suboxone without withdrawing?
Question posted by radicalrainbow on 7 April 2011
Last updated on 6 February 2023 by Domp1313
22 Answers
It's different from person to person but 3 weeks
Start with a 2mg.1 in the am and 2mg at 6PM.do that for a week. So week 2 2mg in the am and 1mg at PM. Do that for 3 days. Then1mg in the PM like 2. Next day half mg for 2 days. Just remember it's all in your head you are not sick.you can do anything good luck.
Initial Dose: 16 mg/day
• Day 1: An immediate reduction of 25 percent resulting, in 12 mg/day
• Day 6: Reduce dose from 12 mg/day to 8 mg/day
4 mg/day
• Day 11:
2 mg/day
• Day 16:
- 1.50 mg/day
• Day 31:
1 mg/day
0.75 mg/day
• Day 39:
0.50 mg/day
• Day 45:
• Day 51: oas mg/day
- 0.13 mg/day
• Day 56.
• Day 60:
0 mg/day
I agree I had no withdrawal using a similar taper. When down to 2mg I started taking a big dose of vitamin c and magnesium. There are tables on the internet telling you how much to take dependant on your weight. I'm 6 months clean, very easy, nothing like I expected
I agree I had no withdrawal using a similar taper. When down to 2mg I started taking a big dose of vitamin c and magnesium. There are tables on the internet telling you how much to take dependant on your weight. I'm 6 months clean, very easy, nothing like I expected
I’m my opinion you need to be at 2-1 mg for at least two weeks and then get Clonidine and stomach meds. If you take .10 -.20 Clonidine about every 4 hours the first two days then cut in half the next 5-7 you will have mild withdrawals. I just went through it and day 2-4 were worst but manageable and I was on my fee here and there. After day 4 you will Be amazed. If u can get 60 Clonidine use it up in a 2-3 week period and I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed almost no sickness
I’m my opinion you need to me at 2-1 mg for at least two weeks and then get Clonidine and stomach meds. If you take .10 -.20 Clonidine about every 4 hours the first two days then cut in half the next 5-7 you will have mild withdrawals. I just went through it and day 2-4 were worst but manageable and I was on my fee here and there. After day 4 you will Be amazed. If u can get 60 Clonidine use it up in a 2-3 week period and I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed almost no sickness
How did this work for you? I am trying this now. I realize this is from 2011 ,but maybe you Still read these. Hopefully you are drug free.
Have u tried to take a serotonin booster like citalopram? It will help alot with depression during withdrawal.
I know this is a very old thread but this sub taper method is still relevant even today. I did the taper mentioned and have had great success and I get down to 1 MG and go right back up its not hard to go down to 1 MG but I don't seem to be able to get past this point and it's not the withdrawal symptoms it's my brain telling me I'm in for a bad trip and don't rightly know how to get past this point in my taper
It's really not as bad as people make it seem. I actually did a really fast taper when I found out I was pregnant and my worst symptom was insomnia. The insomnia lasted for 6 weeks. Other than that I had diarreah for a week and felt really tired.. I never got sick, I never got depressed. I had very minor restless legs, but I took hylands restless legs medicine which is all natural, and it worked. I went from 8mg to 6mg over night. I took 6mg for 2 days..and cut down to 4mg down the next 2 days... and I did the same cutting it down until I got to .15mg and jumped off. After the insomnia went away I felt back to normal. But like you i mentally waited and waited for all hell to break loose. The more i googled, the more sacred i was. So i stopped googling and Hope for the best, and I was ok ! Hope this helps .. good luck !
Fg1982 I did about the same as you but went from 16 Mg to 8 mg over night and then the next week I went to 4 the next to 2 then 1 and have been down to .5 mg then right back to 1 mg can't seem to be able to go any further down and I know it's all in my mind because I can skip days and not think about it then I will take again for no reason I very told my dr. I wanted off as I've been on for 5+ years and he said oh your not ready but I've been on 1 mg now for 4 months and not told him because the waiting list is to long for me to stop going to the dr. And then have to just go back So I keep my monthly visit but only get what I need for the month in sub four 8 mg strip
It's definitely in your mind and I get it, but only you can help that aspect of it. You can do it, if I cam, you can. I did it pregnant and with 2 other young kids to take care of. It's been 5 months and I feel great. I would never go back ! Good luck.
I too have been able to cut my sub 8mg strip down to 6 to last for 6 days for 6 months. My doctor reduced my strips to 2 mg strips and I thought taking 1 mg per day would be fine but the strength per mg amount was not even close! The weaker the strip it feels like it is not same as measuring the same dose witha more potent strip. The hardest drop is under 1 mg or .50 a mg, from reading everyone's posts. Just move slowly with the lower doses and stash any extra. Leave the doctor our of it.. I mace a 4 week supp,u last 8 months and then I was able to save money. When I was one my last month I set up a new appointment... Hope the helps someone..
I too have been able to cut my sub 8mg strip down to 6 to last for 6 days for 6 months. My doctor reduced my strips to 2 mg strips and I thought taking 1 mg per day would be fine but the strength per mg amount was not even close! The weaker the strip it feels like it is not same as measuring the same dose witha more potent strip. The hardest drop is under 1 mg or .50 a mg, from reading everyone's posts. Just move slowly with the lower doses and stash any extra. Leave the doctor our of it.. I mace a 4 week supp,u last 8 months and then I was able to save money. When I was one my last month I set up a new appointment... Hope the helps someone..
I am seriously so upset. I’ve been tapering for a month. I’ve literally been taking the TINYEST piece of sub each morning. I thought my withdrawals would be non existent! Boy was i wrong. I’m so scared right now. I was in full blown withdrawal today . How is this possible? I was barely taking hardly any pill. Anxiety , hot and cold sweats , depression and today’s my freaking birthday. I wanted start this year of right. I can’t miss work and work 10 hr days. I ended up getting one more and took seriously hardly any of the pill and immediately the withdrawals went away. Am I a prisoner for life? Please help!
You should not withdrawal bad if you've only been taking it for 3 months... Your best bet is to tough it out... I know it's going to be hard but that'll be your best bet.
Helpmetogetoffdrugs.com has a tapering calculater I have been using. U punch in your current last 10 days dose and it calculates your doses for the next 10 days so u can wean off with minimum withdrawals. You use the chart and your own body judgement. Great info on the page also!! You guys we got this! We can do it!! I'm taking the big leap and I'm in good spirits! Stay positive<3
Love your attitude. Anyone on these sites please be open minded about psychosomatic symptoms. People are paid to post... scare you into not stopping and some to sell their products to ease the withdrawal. The only thing that EVER works for me when I can't afford my $150 sub appt and $309 plus in pills is tramadol for withdrawal. No other p.p has ever worked on the depression except tramadol. I told the owner of my sub clinic that and he actually got mad... not sure what that was about but he's sure rolling in the bucks!! Don't get me started ;)
LeapOfFaith can you clarify this website helpmetogetoffdrugs.com? when I searched for it it brought up a domain that was "for sale" and I didn't see anything about a taper calculator. I'd love to check that out, so if you or anyone else can redirect me I would be so grateful!
Hi, I'm I need of help I'm on suboxn
(illegally) because I cant afford going to the doctor and I need to come off of it without bad WD I have a 1 year old so when I've tried to just quit it's been to hard with taking care of him. I'm doing a half a day and have been for a year how do I ween off of it?
One more thing.. clonidine the blood pressure med is highly known for easing most wd symptoms. I don't have access to that but if it helps most of it then I'd stick to just one med.. But the gabapentin and relaxers helps so much!
I am now tapering down after a year and a half. I am currently on 8mg (film strips) not the pills. I take 2 of them a day. I cut them in half and take in morning, afternoon, dinner-time, and before bed. I remember when I first began taking them over a year ago... They made me feel so good that I was taking more than I should have been taking, and i'd run out about 2 weeks early sometimes... And I went ballistic. I was sweating like a pig. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep, and I really mean that, I got maybe 2 hours of broken sleep a night, thats it. So please guys, take as prescribed, I learned my lesson well and now follow it to a t. You will succeed in tapering. It won't be hard. Do not listen to some stories that scare you. Trust me please, it won't be that hard. Just follow exactly what the dr. Says and you will be fine. I do have to say that I gained about 40-50lbs from taking this stuff, and after you take it, you sweat like a pig.
So what you really gotta do to let it work right is take it, sit comfortably in front of a fan blowing right at you, and either take a 20-30 minute nap, or read a newspaper. Thats the best way to let it work. You must be calm when taking it or it wont work. We all have different ways of dealing with this I see from different comments, so Im sure some will agree and totally disagree with me but thats ok, because thats life. I'm not a dr. So don't listen to my advice without consulting your dr. First. Im just here to give my story. But remember, suboxone doesn't come to and end ever. If you need it you can always tell your dr. And he can keep you on it, or at a certain dose for a longer period of time. It will never just go away. You can always tell your dr. You believe you still need it. Or need at least a smaller dose to get through the days of maybe feeling withdrawal. Trust me on this one. But remember, this is all our own faults why we are on this. We did this to ourselves. We dug our graves, now lets fill them in with dirt and go back to living a normal life. That's all I want. A normal life. No pills, no drinking, smoking, absolutely nothing. It's going to happen, I have faith in myself and more importantly, god above. That's my belief. Good luck to all here and if you ever need to talk about anything I will always be willing to talk about it. Have a good day all and remember, it will pass. All it takes is time. God bless you all. You are not alone!!! Remember that!!!
Pigs don't sweat
I am on 12 mg a day. Strip. I quit smoking cigarettes. I can probably do this. I was reading about a supplement called Calm Ease and heard great reviews. Mind over matter and willpower is key. I'm asking my Dr about a taper this month. I'm willing and ready. Eventually I will get better. Time. Success stories will encourage me. Please send to me.
Ok folks here is my honest to God Story! I had to take opiates for an immune disorder that attacked my muscles for six years. My Dr. prescribed 240 oxycodone, 180 Norco and 15 Fentynyl patches per month and the numbers increased regularly. I discovered a juice that actually cured the immune disorder, but I was left with the opiate addiction. Yes, my body was addicted! This same Dr. took the course for Suboxone just for me and started me on it. Long story short... after taking only 1/8th of a pill per day for over four years, I decided it was time to see if the pain from the immune disorder was completely gone. For one week I reduced the Suboxone dosage to 1/16 of a pill and then just stopped. In hindsight I would have taken this reduced dosage for two weeks. Since I do not have an addictive personality, I was able to use Lortab to ease the withdrawal symptoms.
Lortab will not work for at least four days so be prepared to have the worst flu in your life. Lortab (1/2 pill once to twice daily) will help with the restless legs and sleep. Unfortunately, your opiate receptors will be thrilled to have opiates again, but I was desperate for sleep. There is much more I can share, but I want to keep to answering the question.
Get Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C , yall and stop the madness, Vitamin C is a pain blocker right away. 3 to 5 thousand milligrams in juice will stop the pain. when the pain comes take it.
@guitarslim. I have recently discovered the form of vitc you are referring to - can you elaborate a little more about using it for withdrawals from sub. Im on 32mgs daily over last 2years and want to begin tapering off. Thanks
I was taking 200 mg of oxycodone a day for a little over a year. I quit cold turkey on jan 31st and made it 20 days before I gave in and took 1 10mg Percocet . After the first 5 days of feeling like I had the flu and that impending doom feeling the next 15 days was a lot of anxiety and ok sleep. That 1 Percocet led me back to oxy and within 2 weeks I was back up to around 120 mgs. I stopped again on feb 26th and decided to try this sub taper. I waited 18 hours after my last oxy dose the took only a half a mg of sub around 6 am. I felt ok for 4-5 hours then took another half. By the end of the day I was able to get by and feel ok on only 2mgs total. So I took the 2mgs for 3 more days taking half around 6 am and the other around 3. After the 4 days I cut down to 1.5 a day for another 4 days again breaking that dose in half. Then down to 1mg/ 4 days then .75 / 4 days then .50/ 4 days. Still taking half in the morning and half in the afternoon.
Then I dropped to .25 once per day(took in the morning) for 4 days. After that I skipped a day then took .25 then I skipped 2 days took .25 then skipped 3 same thing . Then I quit. The most withdrawl I felt the whole Time was a little bit of anxiety and some mornings Id wake up soaked. No impending doom feeling at all. I also tried to walk at least 1 mile per day and took a multivitamin and vitamin b. after a week or so after stopping the subs I felt pretty close to 100 percent. Most people on these boards have a hard time coming off because they were mislead by their doctors and were on ridiculously high doses for a long time so it had built up in their systems. No horror stories here. Just put in the work and don't cheat with your doses or youll only hurt yourself. If I could do it , anyone could. Oh and I'm not a dr. Just wanted to share my experience with suboxone
see you did it the right way straight from the beginning. just got on to get off oxy at a low dose and then took even smaller doses for a few weeks and then stopped. thats what i should have done but ended up stayin on subs for 2 months. now im deeply regretting that and desperately trying to get off subs completely. there doesnt seem to be any other way besides slowly tapering. i forced myself to cut down from 8 to 4 immediately and now im cutting to 2 mg. within a week im going to cut to .5 per dy and stay on that for a week or 2. i figure even if its rough, taking .5 every morning is better than nothing. hopefully it works out.
Just try and figure out the lowest dose that you can tolerate. 2 months is not that bad, some people started on 16mg a day or more. You shouldn't reduce before taking the same dose for at least 4 days because the long half life of the sub. If your stable in 2mg just drop to 1.5 for 4 days and see how you feel. If your ok then drop to 1.mg and so on. You won't feel perfect but good enough to do what needs to be done .
ruthebro- can you give me a brief description of how you did your taper? I've been addicted to opiates, oxycontin and oxycodone 30s specifically, for 2 years up until 2 months ago when i started taking suboxone(illegally). I take between 4-8mg per day. Last sunday i took 4 mg and didnt take another dose until tuesday and then again on wednesday which was 8mg total. i then did not take another dose of 4mg up until an hour ago, as the withdrawls were too unbearable. So i made it 6 days, and in a nine day span only took 8mg. Usually i can just stick it out and make it through the WDs but right now i have too many responsibilities and cannot endure 2 weeks of sub withdrawal. I've been through it one time before and at exactly two weeks felt completely better. literally day 13 i was withdrawling and then day 14 felt so much relief. So if you could it would help a lot to know how you did your taper.
I'm in good shape and during withdrawls i work out which helps. I have a high threshhold for pain so im not expecting it to be painless, just bearable... Thanks a lot, i really appreciate it.
I believe you are doing the right thing. You are supposed to take suboxone for about 2-3 weeks (just to get you through the withdrawals) and then stop. I am not a doctor but have read so much about this medication which is a wonder drug if used correctly. Listen to your body and mind and keep up the exercising!!! That will help to get your brain receptor's to start working on their own quicker. Good luck and I'd love to know how everything went or even how you are doing. Larsy :)
thanks for the encouragement Larcy;) are you trying to get off suboxone yourself? because you don't really want to do it the way i described before. when you're dependent on it and you stop for a few days, and then go back on and off etc. all it does is set you back right to where you were started. it would only drastically drag out your withdrawl. the only way to get off is to completely stop and allow your body and mind to get back to square one. thats why youre suppossed to taper so that when you do stop completely, you're able to bare the withdrawls and not relapse again. you're right about suboxone being a good drug short term to bypass opiate withdrawl, but its a whole different animal when trying to get off it after long term use. due to the extended half life, it takes a lot longer for the drug to get out of your system and the wds are much longer. i did it once before and it was hell.
to be completely honest i am taking low doses of opiates right now everyday to get through the withdrawl. i hadnt used in 3 months so with no tolerance, if i stop after two weeks, i wont experience any withdrawl from the opiates and ill have gotten through the rough part of sub withdrawl.. if youre trying to get off yourself i wouldnt neccesarily reccomend doing what im doing at all. i just desperately want to not feel like a robot everyday and get off the subs asap. i cant wait the months it would take to taper. but experiencing intense wds for 2 weeks and not being able to function isnt an option either. Kinda a sticky situation i got myself into lol. also if your doctor would be willing to prescribe clonodine it does wonders. it completely takes the edge off and allows you to still function. im seeing my doctor this week to see if he'll put me on it so i dont have to continue taking the opiates.. lmk if you have any questions. im not a doctor either, and although my methods may not be the best, i am veryy well educated on all aspects of suboxone and could give you good advice.
@cleandream09 Can u PM me? I added u as a friend
I am on 2mg per day and am trying to get off completely. I have read a lot of our ideas. Does anyone out there while they are on the sub complain of extreme fatigue and severe depression? If anyone has successfully got off it and noticed that the depression and fatigue go away?
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