How Long After You Stop Suboxone Do You Have Withdrawal Symptoms? (Page 34)

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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REPORT

The amount of misinformation about SUBOXONE and other opiates, drugs in general and withdrawals is enormous. The drug inserts try to double talk regarding physical dependence and addictive. The only difference is cravings. Gabapentin is physically dependent as is lyrica and many other drugs, but NOT ADDICTIVE. THIS IS ALL DOUBLE TALK.

VIVITROL is another joke. Instead of taking a shot once a month for $1,0000 you can get a months supply of nolexerene for $15 and take 2 ml daily to achieve the same result. My Psychiatrist prescribed it for me but it only really deals with cravings which is not a problem for me.

I am going on ten months and have not had a normal day. If I was not retired going to work would be almost impossible. Hats off to the ones who are going through this and going to work on a daily basis. We all have our own opinions on what to take for relief. I am not taking anything as each alternative to provide relief is generally physically dependent so why go from one problem to another. Realistically it actually takes two years for your brain to rewire and for you to return to normal and eliminate the PAWS. PAWS is a relatively new concept to distance the drug from the scrutiny it deserves.

There are much better alternatives than SUBOXONE. I rather shake for 5 days off of the short half life opiates than go through months of withdrawals from SUBS. The FDA is making rounds in Michigan trying to get the licensed SUBOXONE providers to stop supplying it. This information came from both my Psychiatrist and Toxicologist.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone. I will keep you in my prayers.

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I agree that the temporary pain of opiate withdrawal would be much preferred to the long drawn out hell or sub withdrawal. The Drs that prescribe it purposely forget to leave that part out in the induction appointment. My sub Dr talked about suboxone like it was as harmless as a blood pressure med or something similar. Take it everyday until you feel better and stop when you're ready. The few times that I told him I was going into withdrawals each time I weened my dosage he basically laughed at me. I quit at 2mgs a day because he told me I could expect mild cold like symptoms but after 72 hours I would be 100%. He couldn't have been more off the mark if he tried. It's a crime that they prescribe these meds so freely without so much as a thought about the person that they're giving them to.

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I completely agree with you about suboxone. Six years ago my doctor prescribed it to me for opioid addiction. In my opinion it is given mostly by doctors that don't really care about actually helping you beat addiction as long as they get paid. It's great at first bc you don't have to worry about dealers or getting busted and you actually tell yourself it's ok bc you have a prescription. I wish I knew then what I know now bc just detoxing from what I was originally addicted to would've been much easier and faster not to mention the money I would have saved. Doctors should not let people have prescriptions of suboxone for years and years... not even months and months. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to kick!

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OK.. I've been reading all of these... I've been on suboxone for almost 2 years.. I started on 2.. went to 3 then back to 2.. I was only on 3 for about 3 months.. and I didn't take the 3 everyday.. I recently started a taper.. my dr thinks I was on 2 a day when she started my taper but I was really down to 1.. so the schedule she gave me.. on the days I was supposed to take 2 I only took 1 and the days I was supposed 1.5 I only took .5.. this week started me down to only 1.5 to 1... so the days where there's 1 I actually take none... well the last time I took any was Monday... She also has me on Neurontin 3 times a day.. I plan on trying the shot.. but I have to have 2 clean U/A's before I can do that.. so at 11pm I will be 72 hours without any suboxone... the only thing I've noticed so far is back pain.. When will I start experiencing withdraw symptoms??

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Hi try 87. It differs for everybody but you should start feeling it soon. I always started wd'ing after 48 hours but it didn't peak until day 5-10. How are you feeling today? The neurontin will help. When I finally kicked subs I used neurontin for RLS and anxiety and it really helped. That may be staving off some of the symptoms for you.

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I'm still feeling OK.. tonight will be 96 hours with nothing.. the most I've felt so far is the yawning.. slight runny nose here N there.. I have to go 7-10 days without anything and have 2 or 3 clear urines before I can start the shot.. my taper was suppose to last me til February but I dont want to wait that long.. my dr wont let me work until I'm done with all this and I needed a job 2 weeks ago... I got 3 kids and I'm tired of living off the system...but yeah.. I'm just waiting for it to hit me all at once..

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If you're 96 hours in and still doing ok, that's a good sign. I'm sure there will be some tough times ahead but you may have escaped the bear. Suboxone is a funny medicine that affects people in different ways. I was on it for about a year and quit cold turkey from 16 mgs a day back in 2009 with mild to zero withdrawal. It was a cake walk. I relapsed on pks and went back on subs in 2011 for 2.5 years, weened down to .5 mgs a day before quitting and went through hell for almost 2 months. I still don't understand why I had 2 completely different experiences with quitting. I'd suggest you just keep at it and focus on the big picture and stay busy. I always felt worse when I was just sitting around thinking about it. Freedom from Drs and pharmacies is a beautiful thing. And the benefits of quitting outweigh the drawbacks of withdrawal tenfold. Good luck and keep us posted!

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Will keep you updated!!! I've basically been sleeping the day away this past week.. Ive had a few ppl here with me throughout the week helping me with my babies so I can just sleep.. I just don't wanna give in bc I have suboxone left but when I think about it I try to think of other things.. or I tell myself I'm doing this N I don't need that crap.. mainly I've been sleeping.. but I know I can't do that forever!! I was getting to be addicted to it bc I was craving that nasty taste like I did when I was doing 30s... I craved the taste of the drainage.. weird? But it's hat happened.. before I got pregnant with my last child I had myself to half a day.. then for some reason started taking whole again.. stress I guess.. and obviously bc I'm am addict duh.. but I'll let you kno,w how I feel after tonight/tomorrow bc I keep seeing ppl say it doesn't affect you til the 5th or 6th day.. I'm 5'4 and 208lbs.. so Idk... everyone is different... Like I said I'm just waiting for it to hit me all at once.... I know the pain in my body I get occasionally is my mind trying to trick me into giving in.. but instead I take a 400mg motrin.. I know I probably shouldn't take anything... but it's better than taking percs or giving into the suboxone!! but anyways... I sure hope your right!! Thank you!

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it is still possible for her to have post acute withdrawals which are very mild and manageable even without medication. usually for most folks just a runny nose and maybe a bit of naseua. but considering her health even tho it seems better now, it isnt a far stretch of the imagination to believe that she has had post acute withdrawal symptoms for the last few weeks, afterall the suboxone itself can cause dependance and withdrawal albeit not nearly as bad as typical opioid withdrawal syndrome, like i said managable. considering her health history i think it would of been a good idea to take her subs to see if it makes her feel better. if it did/does then go speak to her doctor about stabalizing on suboxone for a few months and then slowly tapering off at a pace comfortable for her. withdrawal symptoms can be tricky especially for dual diagnoses patients. just dont get her on methadone, not that there is anything wrong with methadone itself but a lot of people make the mistake of doing that just because they cant shake their medicine withdrawals right away, it takes time even for less severe medicine dependencies like suboxone.

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Interested in what you say there, Pfan34. I was put onto Suboxone to counter an extreme tramadol addiction. A long story that I might relate if I hang around this thread ;)
But, short version,was on subs for a year, and had received the same basic message - this medication will almost magically stop your tramadol addiction, and then you taper and quit the Suboxone. And it did! I was able to stop making myself sick with those devil capsules. But, Oh hell, after a year tapering from 12, to 10, to 8, to 2 with relative ease, I was fully and happily functional on a 2mg dose, but then completely failed to get comfortable at 1, decided to stop, suffered almighty hell for month, then took tramadol to ease the withdrawals...hmm, see where this is going yet?
So, back to doctor, who told me this time to taper from 2 to 1.75, to 1.5 and so on down to the smallest crumb imaginable. But this time around I cannot get lower than 4mg before serious cravings..enough to destroy a whole day of concentration leaving nothing done. So I've had to settle at 4mg and am trying to plan how to get lower and *if* I can ever get "clean". :*( it is definitely worse second time around, and I don't have the positive beneficial feelings that I had in the first year of taking the medication.
Yes, Suboxone saved my life, I can never forget that fact, but at a very high price. Going to join NA this weekend, and going to make a plan of action to try to get as low as I can go and still function. And not get suicidal, because that would sort of defeat the point! But some days it really does get too much to think about.

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Today marks day 10!!! No anything!! The last thing I too was a 8mg/2mg sub on 12/28/15.. I feel pretty good.. just have had a slight runny nose whenever it wants to and sometimes I get a little anxious... but I will take that crap any day over the hardcore withdraws.. I'm still just waiting for it to hit me all at once.. how long before I will have a clean u/a..? I took a drug panel on the 6th day of not taking anything and was still dropping dirty for suboxone... so how long til it's out of my body..? I was on it for almost 2 years... welp.. have a good day everyone! =)

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Hello Intensecure. Yup. Your story is very similar to mine. Started on tramadol following shoulder surgery and it became my kryptonite. When I tried to stop I would get very intense wds. The depression was the worst. By day 2 I could barely even get out of bed to brush my teeth let alone be productive. I was told that suboxone would be my life saver. And it was. The first time that I was on subs I quit CT after about a year at 8mgs. I didn't know wd was even possible with subs so I cancelled my sub Dr appt and went about my day. In hindsight, I went through very mild wds. At the time I chalked it up to stress and issues due to personal situations going (going through a break up, moving, unhappy at work etc) but I didn't let it get in my way. I felt pretty crappy but went out with friends, went fishing, began working out all trying to relieve this "stress" that was getting me down. I now know that it wasn't all just stress but sub wds but because I gave it no attention it was painless and powerless. After re-injuring my shoulder and stupidly going back on tramadol, which again became my kryptonite, I easily made the decision to get back on subs. This time however I read up about it. I read all of the horrible wd blogs on the internet so when I stopped I expected to feel bad, and boy did I feel bad. I was the same as you with my taper. Couldn't get passed 2mgs without wd setting in. So I always caved and took more. Eventually I just jumped at 2mgs because I realized am tapering further would be futile. The first week or 2 was awful but after that I was able to function, albeit miserably. The Gabapentin did help while I was still suffering with RLS and no appetite. It also helped a little with depression but that may have just been a placebo affect of taking a pill, any pill. All in all it was close to 3 months before I felt normal again and even then I had lingering PAWS come and go for another 3 months after that. The trick is to stay busy and focus on ANYTHING but the wds. I wish you luck my friend. It's not easy but it is doable.

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Hello try87, I would imagine that you should be passing clean urine any day. I've heard it takes 7-10 days to completely clear your body. Everybody's body chemistry is different so it does vary. When I quit subs, I was still getting positive results after 10 days but wasn't evaluated again after day 10 so I don't know exactly when it was all through and gone. How are you feeling today? That's great that you've been managing very well. Like I said, everybody is different but your story so far is better than most sub wd stories that I've heard. They range from mild to Hell on earth. I would imagine after day 10 and feeling OK, the worst is behind you. Just be aware of PAWS and cravings which will start to creep in after the 2 week mark and can last any where from a month to a year but they are manageable and mostly mental. Good luck and keep doing what you're doing!

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Has anyone had weight gain since quitting subs, I stopped in August and I've gained probably 15lb since. I find I am just hungry more now, or I'm now replacing one addiction for another. I'd rather have gained 15 then going back. But still want to get the weight off.

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No i havent noticed any weight gain. I did when i was on antidepressants for a few months. I could not believe how fast i gained weight! And they make you puffy looking. No more ever...

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Pfan.. I actually feel pretty good!! Maybe a lack of energy.. Been a little bit more restless in my arms and maybe a little anxiety... but other than that I think I'm OK.. how long does that stupid restlessness last..? That's the thing I cannot stand... that's what drove me to give up and continue using every time until I found suboxone... I go to the dr Monday.. so I'll see what her plans are now...

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The first thing I want to do is thank the people who are hosting this MedsChat forum on Suboxone. This is one of the most misunderstood drugs on the market today. Advertised, prescribed and sold as a step down drug from opiate dependency is the unfortunate misinformation passed on to the unsuspecting patient until they find out it is to late. The drug insert states Suboxone is not addicting. however it states it is physically dependent. If you research the difference between physical dependency and addictive the difference is only cravings.

Suboxone is 99.9% pure synthetic opiates minus the fourth antagonist which eliminates the euphoric affect one would get from Oxycontin and other opiates. It is still an opiate just chemically modified to prevent one from feeling high. Additionally, they add two mgs of Neloxone to prevent you from overdosing even though they say it is to prevent one from IV administration. Many people feel great as I did on Suboxone for about a month. After the short honeymoon you begin to lose all feelings and emotions as well as become physically dependent. It is only a very short term assist.

I was addicted to prescribed Oxycontin (120mg/day) for five years. I took them as prescribed and came to realize way to late that I was no longer doing the work which caused my pain and did not like the person they caused me to be along with all of the side effects. I changed Toxicologists and was put on Suboxone. Unfortunately I did not do my homework until it was to late. Eventually my Toxicologist lost his license to practice medicine as he was no different from your street corner drug pusher. Many of his patients were overdosing and dying. My sister a RN eventually died from overdosing on Oxycontin prescribed by my first Toxicologist. He quickly went back to India as many other patients met the same fate.

I realized my Toxicologist had no intention of weaning me off of Suboxone as I was part of his profit motive. On my own I started weaning off of Suboxone for a period of seven months before I finally voluntarily checked myself into Henry Ford Hospital's MapleGrove detox center where I jumped at .5 mgs. It only took 5 days to break the opiate from my receptors and was told there was nothing more they could do for me that I could not do for myself at home.

I am on my tenth month of withdrawals from the physical dependency of this drug. The withdrawals are worse than I ever imagined. Malaise, burning skin from head to toe and throughout my digestive tract, sore joints, intolerable muscle pain, insomnia, emotional turmoil, continuous sneezing, memory loss, anger and some days so weak and sick I cannot get out of bed. There are many more withdrawals I have not mentioned. This has been the result over the past ten months. I am being seen by a Neurologist form the University of Michigan as well as a Psychiatrist. Unfortunately the drugs they want to prescribe to relieve the symptoms of withdrawals have side effects as bad as what I am going through. My choice is to not go from one dependency to another. Both Doctors understand and agree.

Today is January 9, 2016. I started weaning in October 2014 and immediately began to feel the withdrawals symptoms. I jumped off the drug on April 13, 2015. It may be April of 2017 before I am back to normal if that is possible at all.

Suboxone is not the answer to kicking your opiate addiction. You will end up like me with a seven month wean and another two years of relentless withdrawals from a drug which is suppose to help you. My advise is to seek out another alternative. I reached out to the FDA and to Rickett Banister, the manufacturer, and was ignored as they see so much profit in this phony drug which is suppose to help you.

My experience is like many others only most people go back on Suboxone because they cannot afford the time off of work to get through the withdrawals. If you are on Suboxone your family will eventually see you as a dead tree stump without emotion, drive or personality.

I can only tell you the truth about this drug. The choice is yours. Unfortunately you cannot pull up a medical page on the internet without a Suboxone banner pushing their poison without telling you the truth about what it eventually will do to you.

I met a thirty two year old lady at the doctors office who was on Suboxone for four years. She weaned then jumped off for a period of seven months. She told me she had to go back on Suboxone because she could no longer stand and tolerate the pain of withdrawals from this physically dependent non addictive drug. She stated she now has a "life sentence".

I have given many suggestions to relieve the pain of withdrawals in earlier posts. There are not many and those that are often prescribed are as dependent as Suboxone with awful side effects. Suboxone is sold as a miracle drug, however, the only miracle is the money the Doctors, distributors and manufacturers make off of the misery they subject you to. The FDA is not looking out for the addicted population by allowing this poison to be prescribed and sold in the United States.

You will eventually lose your immunity and very little stress will cause you to have "Burning skin syndrome".

On numerous occasions I have asked if anyone has been able to kick Suboxone and is now normal. There is never a response. What does that tell you?

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That's good news! I'm glad you're still doing ok. If a little bit of restlessness is your only issue it should be all down hill for you from here out if you keep that same positive mind frame. When I quit I had intense RLS that kept me from sleeping for days at a time. I remember the first week being thankful if I even got 2 hours of sleep. Maybe try something naturally calming. I drank chamomile tea constantly when I was having those issues and it did help a little bit. I've also read about people getting melatonin supplements from the vitamin section at the grocery store and claiming that it worked for restlessness and insomnia. Also exercising a little each day, even if it's just going for a short walk. That will help your muscles to relax and it also will help boost your bodies natural endorphin system which will ultimately help all of your symptoms and get you back to normal once and for all. Considering my experiences and those of others that have posted on here, you seem to be one of the lucky few who have a mild experience with quitting. Keep up the great work! It sounds like you are on the fast track to recovery!

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TommyC, that is a very informative and gut wrenching post. I commend you for being so candid. Unfortunately I've heard your story more than enough to know that there needs to be more studies done on the long term affects of this drug. I was on it twice. The first time I stopped without any issues. The second time was much harder with many of the physical side affects that you have mentioned. I wonder if the chemical make up of the drug has changed? I first took suboxone back in 2008 when it was relatively new and that's when I was able to quit cold turkey with very little withdrawal. So when faced with the choice to get back on it in 2011 after relapsing on tramadol I didn't hesitate. That was a huge mistake. My second time around was much different than the first. I tapered for nearly a year before jumping and still went through hellish wds. A friend of mine has been on subs for going on 8 years now and his Dr has told him out front that he will probably need the drug for life. He has accepted that fate and looks at it no differently than somebody who has high blood pressure. They take their meds every day as prescribed and don't give it much thought. He's young and hasn't faced issues such as surgery, Anastesia and am the can of worms that comes with suboxone in that regard. I feel for people who are still reeling from this drug and the misinformation that is being blatantly out out there by the pharmaceutical companies that make it and the Dra who prescribe it. My sub Dr told me that I could jump at 2mgs with little side affects that would be "mild, cold like symptoms for about 72 hours". He said I wouldn't even have to take time off work if I jumped on a Friday because I'd be 100% my Monday. He couldn't have been more wrong. I don't know if he truly was that uneducated about it or if he just didn't give a crap and unfortunately in my suboxone travels he seems to be the rule, not the exception. I hope you get better soon and I hope people who haven't taken this medicine yet but are considering it look into other alternatives. Truthfully, if I could do it all over again, I would've knuckled down and dealt with the tramadol withdrawal instead of "maintenance" therapy. Although tramadol withdrawal is painful beyond words, it's all over with after a week or 2. Sub withdrawal is usually still going strong after a month or 2. That's something that the Drs will never tell you. Ultimately it does save some people but it should only be prescribed for people in life or death addiction situations. I was taking 5 tramadol a day and was put on 16mgs of subs in its place. That's like trading in a cold for tuberculosis.

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I forgot to ask.. what is PAWS???!! I guess I could look.it up Lol.. that k you for your encouragement pfan.. I think that helps as well.. my Mind is my problem... I think waaayyy too much.. it can either be my worst enemy or my best friend and N it's trying to be the enemy but I'm trying to not let that happen..

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