How To Get Off Suboxone Successfully - Step By Step (Page 10)

If you are struggling with getting off Suboxone successfully, you may want to take the time to read this. I have read a ton of hype about Suboxone being impossible to get off. How the withdrawal symptoms carry on for days, even months. Below, I would like to encourage you and let you know that it can be done. I AM LIVING PROOF YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH THIS FEAT!!! I have been free of Suboxone and all other drugs and alcohol for 3 months and I have never felt better in my life!!!

THE WAY THAT SUCCESS HAPPENED FOR ME AND CAN HAPPEN FOR YOU:

For months I read Suboxone blog sites in the effort to gather some element of hope that would encourage me to make the “jump” to get off my final 1/8 tab (1mg) of Suboxone. At the point I started reading these blog sites, I had come down from 2.5- 8 mg (total 20 mg) tablets of Suboxone. It was fairly easy to get down to 1/8 tab (1 mg). Don't get me wrong, I had moments of mood swings and depression that would fool me because of the way that the mood swings would creep up on me. I felt bipolar during the final ½ tablet to ¼ tablet and finally to 1/8th tablet before I “Jumped off”: The good news is that earlier dose decreases do not affect you as much as you would think. I went from 2.5 tablets to 2.0 tables per day in one week. I didn't even notice any withdrawal. Then, in just two weeks I had the courage to go down to 1.5 tablets per day…. Still, only slight mood swings. Then, I went down to 1 tablet per day a week later. Then 3 weeks later I went down to ½ tablet per day. Again, at this point only mild mood swings that I could deal with because I was expecting much worse. NOTE: I ALWAYS DIVIDED THE DOSES TO AM / PM DOSES.. IT HELPED.

THE BEGINNING OF THE CHALLENGING PART:

Going from ½ to ¼ tablet per day it started to get a little tougher for the first week in terms of mood swings and a tricky onset of depression. Expect bipolar behavior. Tell your family and whoever is in your life if you can. Let them know that they can pray for you if you or they are believers in God. If you don't believe in God, don't stop reading this posting.. I will get to the Spiritual side of things later in this posting. For now, it is my heart and hope that you will read this method of getting off Suboxone. No punches held though, I will be up front with you, I am personally a believer in the one true God- Jesus Christ. He is the One who encouraged me to get on this website and help you with encouragement, hope and truth about what to expect on this tough, but wonderful journey of getting off Suboxone. The choice to believe in God is yours, but I will say that the prayers of my dad and wife were powerful and effective. There was times when I simply could not pray for myself because I didn't feel sane enough to even pray at times, though I still gave it my best. I brought up the prayers right now for you because the bible tells us in Psalm 145:18-19 "The Lord is near to all who call on Him; all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him. He hears their cry and He saves them". That said, let's begin the final jump shall we.

THE FINAL JUMP FROM 1/8 TABLET:

NOTE REGARDING SUPPLEMENTS: I wish that BEFORE I jumped off at 1/8 tablet, I would have used these endorphin boosting supplements. They can be found at just about any health food store. DLPA 1000 mg twice per day, GABA 500 Mg twice per day, Reloria two capsules twice per day, and 5HTP two capsules per day. I would have been better off to have started these supplements a couple of weeks prior to my final jump, but I strongly believe that they helped the process probably more that I could imagine. I am still on these supplements, now some 3 months off Suboxone. (I am not a doctor, nor am I acting in the role of a doctor, so as always please consult a physician prior to starting these supplements)

When I was on 1/8 tablet for 2 weeks I tried to completely stop taking Suboxone and had such a bad first night that it scared me into staying on 1/8 tablet per day, taken in the morning, for 2 months. The problem now lay in the fact that I was going through withdrawal in the middle of the day and a few times I even chose to drink alcohol in the afternoon. I didn't connect that the withdrawal was actually causing my fiending for drugs and alcohol. Those two months were not good times for me. When I finally came to the conclusion that I might be better off just getting off Suboxone completely, it was time to plan. I work for myself and I could hardly afford to take the time off work for fear that I might lose all my clients. I wasn't sure how long it would take to get off Suboxone and get back to a working state of mind? Drum roll please…. Here is how long it takes to start feeling better….

IT TAKES 6 DAYS BEFORE YOU START FEELING BETTER THAN YOU EVER IMAGINED!!! DO NOT LISTEN TO ANY LIE!!!

What You Can Expect:

Day 1: This morning skipped my morning, and only dose of Suboxone. I worked out pretty hard lifting stretching and lifting light, high repetition weights. Don't forget to push yourself to work out even if you don't feel like it. It is hugely important! That night I took two Benedryl and it didn't work like I hoped it would. I was so miserable, achy body, cramping in my calves, a "drive a person crazy" kind of feeling. At this point I had gotten 2 mg tablets from the Dr. because I told her I needed to be able to cut them down while I weaned myself off of them. So I cut a 2 mg film tablet into ¼ which is .5 mg of Suboxone. In summary, I chickened out the first night. I did sleep after that for about 5 hours. For those of you who still have the 8 mg. tablets, this means that you would have to split one up into 1/16 which is pretty hard to do, but possible if you have good eyes and you don't cheat and take the bigger portion. :)

Day 2: The .5 mg from the night prior made this morning like a fairly normal morning. So I stretch for a long time and then worked out hard. After work out, I felt even better, but by afternoon the withdrawal set in again. Felt like I drank all kinds of coffee but I didn't . I was agitated and twitchy, making my mind and physical body feel terrible. To combat it, I stayed very busy all day with cleaning and yard work in the effort to keep my mind and body occupied. I couldn't focus on God yet…. My mind was too messed up. Yes, a person's mind can be too messed up to “feel” God, but trust me He was there with me. Hind sight I see that He was with me every step of the way. I just couldn't believe that He would let me go through such agony, but He is a God who loved me enough to let me feel the pain enough so that I would remember it. This way I would not go back!! Night came and I became scared that I would give in again, but instead about two hours before bed I took another couple Benedryl and this time it worked a little I slept about 4 hours and was miserable the rest. I recommend taking lots of warm baths or showers when you can't sleep, instead of just lying there.

Day 3: Day 3 and Day 4 are the worst. The greatest advantage you have though is that you are starting to get used to the twitchy, feeling like you are crawling out of your skin feeling. Go ahead and stretch your calves as frequently as you can. Flex them as often as possible. I heard from one doctor that it helps work the withdrawal out of your body. I did manage to get out in the yard and work on Day 3. I waited until I felt my best, then took advantage of the moment and went out and "spazzed out" on yard work as much as I could handle it. I even broke a sweat which lifted me up considerably. I took a couple of Benadryl before I went to bed, but only slept a total of about 2 hours the whole night. I couldn't focus enough to read, nor pray, nor watch a movie. None of that was going to happen, so I would either jump in the bath or shower or even find something to do I could tell that sleep was not an option. The first part of the morning on Day 4 is among the greatest challenges I have ever faced. Glad I did not have much planned, because Day 4 morning was the worst of the whole experience.

Day 4: Morning was awful because I was up the night before almost the whole night. That lack of sleep will mess with your head and try to get you to go back. On this day the middle of the day gave me a few very small ½ glimpses of hope. I felt my first surge of my own endorphins come back. Only a couple ½ hour spurts, but hey it gave me hope to NOT turn back. I figured I went this far, I might as well finish this.!! I thought I was going to sleep well this night, but it didn't happen…. Only 4 hours combined , but hey that was progress from the night before. Remember, baby steps. Celebrate the small victories. Relish them! Stay tuned and hang in there because the reward came to me in Day 5!!

Day 5: I worked out first thing in the morning. I pushed myself to do it. I started with a stretch routine. Then I felt like working out. So, try stretching first, then consider working out. I have in my notes 50/50 written down. This means that half the day I felt bad and half the day actually felt good. Did you hear that?…. I felt good. …. That is right … you can get past this. For half of Day 5 I felt better than I ever felt on Suboxone. It was natural and it was the way that God designed me to feel. My own endorphins made their first appearance and they showed up in fine fashion. The bad parts of this day caused me to want to take a nap, so if you have the liberty to do so, then by all means, indulge in that nap. Nap , nap , nap. Because if you answer the call to the mid day naps you will wake up feeling better each time. Don't worry about the extreme tiredness on day 5 and 6, just become a temporary nap person. Listen to you body and what it wants. God is trying to let you know what you need.

Day 6: Congratulations!! You have made it to the other side. I may have had 2 hours of bad feelings today , but the rest was AWESOME. I was productive, back to work, working out hard etc.

Day 7 and 8:

I am putting day 7 and 8 on here because I did hit some tired spells and down times but only a couple hours each day total. I encourage you to nap when you feel like napping. Also be encourage that it only gets better and better from here on out.

Why I Got Off Suboxone:

Everyone will have their reasons for getting off Suboxone. I can only share with you what my reasons were. If you have read this far then you must be pretty determined for your own reasons.

I started feeling like I was feinding for other drugs when I was on two " 8 mg tablets per day, so I asked my Dr. to increase the dose to 2.5 tablets per day. Two months later I started feinding for other drugs or alcohol again. So I asked my Dr. to up the dose to 3.0 tablets per day. Two months later I started feinding for other drugs, chew, alcohol etc. Are you starting to get the picture? This may not be the case for everyone, but it seemed to be the case for me. The whole purpose of Suboxone in the first place was to decrease these cravings and for a time, Suboxone was effective. It gave me enough time to get it through my head that I didn't want to be a heroin or pill addict anymore and that I wanted to get my life together.

Another reason that I decided to get off Suboxone was that I was also curious if it would feel better to just be on nothing? (Except the supplements that I mentioned above) The outcome that I came to is that I feel way better than I ever have in terms of physical, mental, and Spiritual well being.

THE TESTIMONY:

If you have read this far you may as well keep reading because the best part is yet to come. Remember, I am of the opinion that it was my faith in God that led me down this long and intricate road that I just described above called, "How To Get Off Suboxone " Successfully". God worked in ways that I never would have dreamed. I could have strategized all month long and never came up with the plan, method, or the outcome that God came up with. The Bible says in the book of Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways my ways", says the Lord.

You may not believe in God, or maybe you do, or maybe you know God, but stopped believing. If you are one who is running away or does not believe in God, know this, drugs and alcohol can certainly fog your view of God. It is my opinion that first you must get clean and sober then you have a better chance of making an informed decision as to God's authenticity.

Whether you believe in God or not, you will one day face Him. Either he will be welcoming, or judging you. I have chosen to give Him my life and submit to everything that is written in the Bible. I accept it as truth. The bible says that the Word of God is Living and Active. It also says that every word within it is inspired NOT by man, but by God. I have chosen to believe this and it has changed the way I think. Romans 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

If this part of my testimony and experience sounds too Churchy to you, then at least do yourself a favor, … Ask God to help this "Christian talk" make sense to you. Seriously, have you even told Him that the "Churchy Stuff" makes NO sense to you? Have you even told Him that? Have you bothered to share that with Him? Do you know that He cares and wants to hear that come from your mouth? He wants to hear you humbly express to God that you don't know. Have you opened yourself up to the fact that if you open yourself up to Him that He will begin to show you the "mysteries" of His Word like you never imagined possible? 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land."

If you have read this far then, then I believe that the Spirit of God is calling you…. Listen to it!!! Jesus states that "My sheep hear my voice"

The place where you are if you are reading this is not a comfortable place. I have been right where you are. With all sincerity, I want you to get to where I am. True Joy is in my heart every day that I awake. There is a peace that surpasses all understanding that guides me now. I strongly encourage you to seek God first, because I want to see the peace of God enter your heart and mind.

RELAPSE PREVENTION:

For me, I have found that devoting myself to praying and studying my Bible and reflecting on what God has done and what He promises has been life changing. The Bible says, "Who is going harm you if you are eager to do good" 1 Peter 3:13, It also says, "a prudent man foresees evil and hides himself" Proverbs 27:12

I have a half hour to 45 minutes carved out each morning to spend reading my bible, praying much thanks and reflecting on what the bible is saying. I also listen to J. Vernon McGee on Through The Bible .org the web address is ttb.org. You can't claim to not understand the Bible, because this website WITH AUDIO walks you through the Bible verse by verse in an exciting way. And it is FREE!! If you don't believe the Bible at this point, try listening to the Dr. J. Vernon McGee's audios. There is a new one posted every day. Or check out the archives.

CONCLUSION:

I do hope that you put some thought into all of this. If you can't think straight right now because you have already started your final descent off Suboxone, then wait until you feel good enough to really absorb what I just shared with you through the "Testimony" section of this posting. I am not trying to sell you on anything… I simply care for you because that is what God has put on my heart. I have been through what you are going through and I want to encourage you. I would like to leave you with this scripture:

Revelation 3:20

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

May God Richly Bless Your Life.

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REPORT

Day one for me!!! So far clammy and goose bumish...then again I live in Ma we just got nailed with winter storm Juno. I read over several times and u are giving my the strength through your post!!! I was only taking .5 mgs for a month so Today is first official day I did not take my sub...I am at the begining of my journey. I keep sneezing and yawnig. wish I coukd take a nap but can not with my kids home its the weekend. Fourtunatley this should keep me busy enough to get my mind occupied! I am about to do a little cardio and stretch folliwed by hot shower. I have started my journal. But wanted to say THANKS FOR SHOWING ME THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL IS REAL. I AM READY FOR THE STRUGGLE!!! I will update in my journal and keep ya posted :-)

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So awhile back i posted iwas going off 24mg cold turkey.my stupid ass did. I made it a over a week and wasn't getting any better. Hospital twice ,one by ambulance.i screamed with stomach pains for the last two days till myown mother found me in my apt. Laing in my own puke. They finally carried me to the doctors and i got my subs.all for my boyfriend that gave me a choice.then he dumps me yesterday. It took me one more week to recover from the damage i did to my body. How dumb.but i do wanna ween off properly. Any advie would help.t.y. and i should have listened.

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My best advice to you would be to ween down as low as you possibly can before attempting again. 24 mgs is a super strong dose. More than most people need. I was able to easily ween down to 2 mgs a day with very little withdrawal symptoms after 2 years at 16mgs a day. Once you get to 2 mgs and lower it gets tough though. Even the smallest drop in dosage sent withdrawal creeping in and I would cave. I've read from MANY people that the last 2mgs are the hardest. Anyway, I eventually have up and jumped at 2mgs and I went through some pretty tough WDs for about 3 weeks. I was able to function. No throwing up or ER trips but I certainly felt awful. No sleep, crazy RLS, anxiety, depression, lethargy, stomach pains, you name it. Then i had PAWS for about 3 months. just no energy, no appetite, no focus. I've read from alot of people and forums that getting down to .25mgs is the only way to avoid serious WDs. It sounds crazy because it seems like a tiny dosage but its really not. I though people saying that jumping from 1mg were just imagining WDs because of cravings but I was wrong. From what I understand, in Europe they even make a 1mg pill and its standard to ween patients down to .25mgs or even lower before considering stopping maintenance. It's a long taper to get that low from where you are, 6-12 months, but it's possible and in the long run, will be easier to do with less likelihood of relapse. This is just from my experience. If I could go back in time and do it again I wouldn't have jumped from 2mgs. I would've lowered below alot further. I hope that helps. Don't hesitate to ask for advice. I've been on the same road as you and I know how hard it can be!

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Good luck in your recovery! Keep us posted as to how you're doing and don't hesitate to ask for advice or just somebody to listen. It helps!

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Well my first post was On Sat it is now Thursday, and well it was not nor is easy to do. You should def talk to your doctor and get comfort meds. I ended up getting colonodine three times a day and it helps. Also Remeron at bedtime makes me sleep like a really good sleep. Still feel a little crappy but I mean I go about My day just the same. Def lacking pep in my step but I am alive I did not die. Nor will u!!!!!!! If I can do it anyone can!!!

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l actually read this post a year ago when I first decided I was going to get off Suboxone. I've been on suboxone for 7.5 years and as much as I know it's me who's responsible for being on suboxone, I wish SO bad I would've known how addictive suboxone is and how difficult it is to get off. I wish I would've just gotten off heroin. Suboxone is much more difficult to get off of, the withdrawals are much worse, and takes longer to detox. Last year when l decided I was going to get off Suboxone, I got through one day! My 2nd day I actually refilled my RX & stayed on it since at 4mg's, which I've tappered down to 2mg's a day. I've been planning to get off completely sometime in the next 6 months but while I was randomly searching information about getting off, I found your posting again. This time it REALLY hit me and I want to try again starting tomorrow! I'm hoping that maybe by replying to this, it might help me stay committed!
l want to thank you for your posting and for everyone else that is openly sharing their experiences/success and wanting to help others, like myself, stick to their plan to get, and stay, Off!

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Ive been on subs for almost two years and i want to stop. please help me. Ive got a couple left. its still running my life, although it's a lot better then where i was before on the pills; but i work and go to school and im a single father. plz help

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I kicked them. I weaned down to a sliver a day n once they were gone I got melatonin to sleep and vitamins b-12 for energy support and zinc for my immune system. Im on day 10 and sneezing and cold sweats still. But the worst is over. Do not believe what everyone says because everyone is different. I finally slept through the night last night n today I can see the end is in sight!!!! Stay strong tell yourself u have a bug. And pray!!! Pray for God to help give u the strength....I was on em for 5 yrs and trust me im not dead so it could not be that bad!!!

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This was absolutely amazing to read. I need the strength to do the same and need help. I'm so scared.

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The key to successfully quitting subs is to ween down as low as you possibly can. I quit at 2mgs a day after 3 years on them and went through some pretty rough wds followed by paws but I know people who got themselves down to .5mgs a day or even in some cases .5mgs every other day and fr them it was a lot milder and not as long. Start taking a multivitamin before stopping, exercise and a positive mind set. Exercise will help your brain to start producing endorphins on its own again. The lack of these endorphins when you stop is the top contributor of wds. That's why people feel depressed and anxious. If you can combat that symptom the rest is manageable. If the RLS gets too bad ask your Dr for gabapentin. It's a non narcotic nerve pain medication but it helps with the RLS, muscle aches an insomnia. It was a life saver for me.

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Thanx for your encouring story, I am 2 days clean off suboxone and don't feel the best but this has helped I really feel like using but am going to try and stay strong I'm sure it will get better I just handed my life to god am believe that there is something better out ther 4 me thank you for ur info from a grateful person in Australia

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Hello everyone.. I am from a small town in India... I keep on reading the threads and to add the posts have really boosted me up mentally. I have been on bup for abt 2.5 years now and now I have weened down to 0.2 mg per day continuing for a month now. I want to get advice on when I should be going to 0.1 and how will I have to deal with the withdrawals. I work a general shift and it is hard for me to get off.. I am 26 and want to be clean with nothing in my system. I used bup to replace my 2 years of heroine addiction. I started at 8mg per day and since then have been down to 0.2.. Please help.

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Hi. My name is Karie. I have been on suboxone for 6 years. I have tried numerous times to get off of this drug, but have never been successful. I have called dozens of detox facilities and they all suggest that I go to a 30 detox. Minimum 30 days. Suboxone stays in your system for a VERY long time. The withdrawals are awful. I wish you luck.

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Thanks April 13 made a month and we r now almost in May. I still sneeze every morning but other than that I feel like as normal as I think I can feel. I have not had any urge to use what so ever and I even stopped smoking pot so It is safe to say I AM 100% DRUG FREE. It was not something I ever want to relive and go through again which is my strength to stay clean. If your truly ready U CAN DO IT TOO

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I'm on day 1.....took 1/2 strip yesterday.....the anxiety is what I am battling with and I'm going cold turkey

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Candy, that is a really high dosage to jump from... you should ween yourself down first. The anxiety and lack of sleep is what got me. It's tough.

Wow Kelly to be doing that well that quick is awesome.. how many were you taking a day??

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thanks for responding well I have an appointment to see the doctor this weekend decided that due to the cost and expecially me not wanting to be dependent on them anymore and to get my life back is what prompted me to do this.....I simply do not want to be on them anymore and I believe God is going to get me through it......

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Thank you. I needed to hear this. Trying too hard to do this. It gives me hope to hear this story. Hope you are still doing well.

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Helllo, I am looking for some serious help here! I started on Zubsolv 5.7 mg Wednesday. I have taken one pill a day since then, so today is day 5. After reading so many horror stories I am seriously considering quitting cold turkey. I have abused hydrocodone for 17 years and on and off (around 70mg - 100mg a day on and off for the past 8 years). I have been through withdrawals countless times. I last used hyrdrocodone on Thursday 4/23 and Went to an "addiction specialist" Dr. on Wednesday 4/29. I had already been through withdrawals and I was interested in a long term solution- so I would not relapse and go back to hydros. The Dr put me on subsolve (5.7 once a day) with no explanation of how long he intended me to be on it. After reading all over the internet in the past few days, and reading the horror stories, it looks like I may be better off to quit the subsolv and go another (non-medication) route. My question is, "After 5 days at 5.7mg, will I suffer the terrible withdrawals everyone is talking about? Do I need to do a slow taper? Should I do a faster taper 1/2 pill, then 1/4, then 1/8, for the next several days?" I'm shocked that the Dr. put me on this now that I am reading online forums! Should I see if I can get Valium prescibed for a few days and quit cold turkey?" If you have some wisdom about this, I would greatly appreciate it!

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May god bless you to the fullest! Your words have helped and I was already on day 3 dreading the next days to come but with your words you reminded me that god is so powerful in everything we do and with his spirit we can fully over come anything!

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