How Long After You Stop Suboxone Do You Have Withdrawal Symptoms? (Page 2)

My 63y/o mother survived chemo and radiation for throat cancer but was unable to stop the morphine 15mg twice a day without horrible withdrawal symptoms. Her MD put her on Suboxone 8mg/2mg once a day in June. She even took half the strip on most days and the doctor was very pleased and anticipated that she would be able to stop altogether in November. She unfortunately had a stroke 14 days ago and has been in the hospital. The first 7 days she was confused from the stroke but now she is weak and forgetful but is no longer disoriented. She told me tonight that she thought she needed her Suboxone. She said she thought she was going thru withdrawal. I was floored. She is not having any outward signs of withdrawal: no back/stomach pain, no nausea/vomiting, no sweating or tremors. Isn't 14 days long enough for the Suboxone to be completely out of your system and for withdrawal symptoms to have come and gone??? Any answers will be greatly appreciated.

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Amen to that. I just fear that some people do not feel strong enough to quit or taper down on their own. Im fairly strong willed, and it wilted me like a baby during those first 32-35 days.....thats what happens when you take suboxone for 8 years non stop and dont taper down.

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Today is day six without any and I would have to feel better to die! After taking hydrocodone and oxicodone for a few years I went to my Dr and told him I wanted off! He put me on 16mg of suboxone a day. I only took them a few months and every time I would get my script filled I would decrease my dosage on my own. I was down to 8mg a day when my insurance decided they wouldn't help with the cost anymore and I refused to pay more for suboxone than what I could buy opiates on the street for. If I had known that withdrawals from this drug was going to be as bad as the withdrawals from the codone and last longer I would have never taken it. I have read where it has took people over ninety days to feel better!! I can not imagine feeling like this another two and a half months

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I honestly would take the withdrawls from oxy codone any day of the week over suboxone withdrawls/PAWS. The good thing is, if I am reading correct, you have not been on Suboxone that long, which is a great thing. It took me about 40 or so days, 36 to be exact, to get over 95% of the PAWS. And I was on 6mg per day for 8 years. And just remember, its not the dosage, its the amount of years/time you are on it. And you are tapering, so it should not be bad at all. I did it cold turkey, biggest mistake I ever made in my life, but did not have a choice. 72 days clean today, the only thing I take are multivitamins. And strangely, Ive not had any relapse, or any craving to go back to pain killers, and especially not suboxone. That drug is 10x more potent than morphine, and more dangerous. Sure, it got me off pain killers, but what good is it, if its harder to get off suboxone, than it is pain killers, and its worse? No thanks, I get high on life now...and Im feeling so darn good.. Hope you can one day soon feel as good as I do.

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The majority of the severe withdraws will be over maybe ever so slightly feeling bad but 2 weeks off of them it would be a mistake to start taking them again it would just reset her withdrawals!

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3 or 4 years of opiate abuse turned into 6 years of methadone (180 ml per day) and the last 5 years on Suboxome. Started at 24 mg a day. Down to 2mg and today am going to try 1mg. I went cold turkey from methadone to Sub and almost died. I didn't taper and my doc allowed me to jump into it. I was in hell. Now I am trying to get off Sub. Is it safe to jump off at 1mg. Here in canada we don't get the strips. I am cutting a 2mg pill in half. I also don't have a lot of support to get through the hard days. Please help.

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I was the same way. I was on 2-8mg once a day for about 2 years . I had terrible neck inflimation due to bone spurs and disc in my neck once I stoped its like all the swellen went away.

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Eddie, you said " Is it safe to jump off at 1mg." Heck, I jumped cold turkey from 6mg per day, 8 years. To jump at 1mg, you will not even have remotely close to the PAWS I had. The first week might be a tad bit tough.... but again, nothing compared to the living nightmare I went thru. Its not the withdrawls, its the PAWs, and if you are jumping from 1mg, you should not have PAWS whatsoever, in my opinion. Yea, you will have some withdrawls that 1st week, and maybe a little longer.. but I would welcome withdrawls over PAWS any day of the week. Let me ask you, how long have you been on 1mg? If its been a year or 2, you might consider tapering down to 0.5 at least. Everybodys body and brain is different. that you must remember.

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Please. If you're an addict, praying to a higher power isn't enough. Did u read an na book and write some stuff as a way to entertain yourself? U sound ridiculous.

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Not sure whom you are speaking to. But praying to God, especially if you are a believer, certainly does wonders. If you are not a believer and are praying to God,then you are wasting your time. For me, I chewed tobacco/skoal for 35 years. And not only did I get off of Suboxone after 8 years, at the same time I asked God to let me stop this 35 year habit I had with chewing. And though I will admit, I went thru more than a month of hell, I came thru the fire a new person..No more nicotine, caffine, and no more suboxone. Maybe its because of my age, and I have more willpower, I dont know. Not everbody could do what I did, I get it. But without prayer, and my belief in God, I would not be sitting her typing this right now. Just how I believe and feel.

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I was on subs for 3 years maybe 4. Luckily i was sharing and only took 1 strip a day for the whole time and i tapered dwn to a half of a quarter. I did the taper in 1 month period of time.. Im on day 9 today feel lil bit better. Drs are the cause of this pain for me. this dr put me on 2 8mg strips a day to quit a norco addiction only was taken 5 a day tops and dr gives me same dose he gives a 10 year H addict! That's the problem! Paws does suck but I'm slowly feeling better accept sleep is blah but better every day and no energy. Plus its freezing cold where I'm at.. I wish i could go run outside but its 2degrees outside! This does suck bad but i truly believe i WILL feel normal and get back to my loving life ways.. Its impossible to love life when u depend on a orange strip! Subs are the worst but if i can do it so can anyone! Fyi i do have tiny cravings sometimes but its day 9 i would have to be a complete loser to relapse that's not happening! I do feel like a carona though.. Also my sub dr gave me .50mg trazodone for sleep i got script on day 6 its def helping! Good luck fellow users get and STAY clean for urself and others around u..

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November 14th 2013 was the last day I took suboxone. Its so fantastic to sleep 8 hours a night now..but those first 35-40 days, I never slept more than 1 or 2 hours at a time..the insomnia and restless leg were the worst. I did get a fast grip on my depression by using the amino tryptophan. Anyways, I am 75 days clean of everything.. I never thought the PAWs were going to end..they just seemed to last forever.. Hope you all can get clean, and start enjoying life the way it was meant to be

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I have been on suboxone for almost 2 weeks now. It started at 16mg a day and very quickly I took my self down to 8 mg then to 4mg and now 2 mg a day. If I keep tapering down like this will I avoid the withdrawals since I have not yet reached my 2 week mark yet?? I don't want to be addicted to subs at all. I just want to be fre from it all!!

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Also on a side note the reason I want off so badly is I have no energy at all... have been eating like I have a tape worm.... have serious emontional meltdowns and feel depressed... can't go to the bathroom.... and my doctor doesn't seem to care at all about any of these side affects! I mean really I can't move from my couch I'm so lazy and tired I just hate this! However I am terrified of withdrawals cause I have been there before!!

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You have only been on subs for 2 weeks? And I would not call what you did, Tapering.. I think what you have done is found your correct dose. But honestly, tapering takes time. 2 weeks on suboxone, you are still trying to find the right dose. Once you do that, then you can begin tapering. But you have not even been on it long enough to get PAWS..though you will have some withdrawls Im sure.. but should not be that bad at all.. everybody is different, and reacts different. I dont know your history, or what pain meds or drug you were on before subs.. so I really cannot give you advice. Except this.. do not stay on subs for years like I did.

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thanks for the reply the reason for the quick taper is the side effects they are horrible weight gain head aches agitaton mood swings depression I'm so miserable I am not affectionate to my family as I once was. I just sit on the couch like a shell of a person. My doc has no interest in my side effects I believe he is only in it for the money. I can't live my life this empty withdrawn and sad I want off of the subs asap and to live a normal life. My doa was norco 10/325 about 10 a day give or take for about a year if that helps. I knolw my addiction is not as severe as others but at the end of the day its an addiction and I tried cold turkey but the withdrawals ate me alive insomnia shakes shivers chills rls diarreha lost a ton of weight it was horrible I feel like its a catch 22 and there is no hope for me to find my way back to te normalcy I once strived off of!

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Hi azumpire,
You said you used Amino Typtophan. Where did you get it and under what label or brand is it?
I looked it up and its sounds like something that can be bought OTC. Thanks.

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You get the amino acids from The Vitamin Shoppe.. or you can go to any health food store, Spouts, Trader Joes, or you can order online. I just bought the generic brand for all 3 of the amino's I was taking. Once I was done with the 1 month of Tryptophan, I stopped, because I wanted to see if I could stay un-depressed without it, and I did.

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See, I had the opposite effect on suboxone. Instead of gaining weight, I lost 30 lbs. It was crazy. This is what I mean when I say this drug effects people differently, and the withdrals/PAWS effect people differently...Sounds to me like the doctor prescribed you the wrong dose out the door. Thats pretty much what happens when you start taking it, and your dose is almost more than double of what you should have started with. With me, they started me extremely low, 1mg per day.. I did not feel it was doing anything so they went up to 2, and I finally found that the correct dose for me was 6mg per day. But again, I regret ever starting on suboxone. If I had it to do over again, I would have tapered and done it right. But at the time, when you are tapped out on money, there is absolutely nothing you can do. I guess this is the way it was supposed to work out for me, and it did.

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Thanks azumpire for all the info. I am learning everyday how differently suboxone effects different people. I am a hot mess on suboxone it is crazy the personality changes and mood swings!! I am so depressed it gets worse daily! I think I am going to stay on 2 mg for a little time, then taper down and then jump off I would like to be off deffinately before 4 weeks time so my body or mind doesn't get dependent on it that's the last thing I want! Does anyone know what I can do while I am tapering down to get some energy and maybe lessen the depression anxiety and sadness??? I really need energy I am way behind on my house work and regular work because I don't have the energy to get off the couch!! The only thing that gets me off the couch is to stuff my face having gained nearly 25 lbs in 2 weeks from starting suboxone!!! Any help or advice on how to get ample energy or how to soothe my depression etc. Would be greatly apprecited while I finish this process!! I pray they aren't permenant changes!!!

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Your energy will gradually come back. Try and not do what I did. Suboxone made me so sleepy, that I drank coffee in the morning, and 1 cup in the evening. It worked, but coffee is very bad for depression. I would say, get on L-Tryptophan as soon as you can, as this is a great way to combat depression. As far as energy, I would go to the health food store, and get the natural energy capsules. I mean, I could tell you to do the coffee, but that is one of the golden no no's while coming off suboxone, cause of the depression. As for your anxiety, grab some Valerian Root capsules,450mg. This along with the Tryptophan will help with anxiety, as well as depression.

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