How Long After You Stop Suboxone Do You Have Withdrawal Symptoms? (Page 40)

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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Rebekah: This one is easy. Your problem is the citalopram. It is an SSRI. Everyone I know who is on a Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitor has the same problem. I have not found an SSRI that will work for me. It also is the same with SSNI. Please excuse my lousy spelling. I am still having severe burning skin and sparks on my skin. I will be starting 12 months on March 13th. Muscles still sore also. I believe Suboxone caused me permanent brain damage. Cymbalta (SSNI) was a bust because of the side effects, including severe stomach distress and bleeding from my rectum.

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45 days into subs one withdrawal and still in terrible shape. Very bad muscle aches, my whole body hurts. I'm very weak, lethargic and just feel like crap. I hated being on the leash with the Doctor. I detest being under another mans thumb like that. I was on a whole strip of 8mgs a day before I quit cold turkey. I was on percocets, loricets for 3 or so years before I got on subs. I've been on the subs about 2 years. This withdrawal goes on and on. I knew it would be difficult, but not for such a long period. I don't think anybody can do anything, I just had to vent. I'm so tired of just laying around for the most part. I have a small heating and air business, and have two teenage kids. I'm sort of faking my feelings right now. Other than that, I'm in good health and at retirement age. Anybody have any majic they can share?

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Thanks for your post. It was inspiring to me. That's what I long for so bad, just to be able to smile, laugh and cry again is what keeps me going. When I quit the subs 45 days ago, I had no idea the withdrawals would last so long. If I had known, I probably wouldn't have ever tried. Oh well, this suffering is not in vain, I'm going to stick it out. Thanks for the inspiration.

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You should try naltrexone that's what I did and it's working well for me, it's not for everyone if you relapse you could kill yourself but it worked for me I'm now 43 days and feeling a lot better. Tommyc I'm sorry to hear about your shape I hope that things will get better for you soon :-(

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Hello Rick65, you've come a long way making it 45 days. It sounds like what you are dealing with now is called PAWS. That can last anywhere from 60 days to a year or more and fluctuate in severity. It's different for everybody. I quit subs in October 2014 and I didn't feel normal until the following spring. It can definitely make for some rough days. I found that B complex vitamins and fish oil helped me quite a bit. I also began taking kratom at that time to help ease the PAWS. It might be worth looking in to. Kratom is a plant that grows in South Asia. It's related to the coffee tree. It loosely binds to opiate receptors and has many anti depressant properties. It can be mildly addictive (like coffee but no more) so I would say it's not for everybody but it helped me immensely. I look at it as being a natural supplement and think of it no differently than caffeine. I use it to help me through the day but if I don't have any I can still go about my day just fine. It's controversial because some people consider it no different than an opiate but that's simply not true. It's not nearly as addictive and it has no dangerous side affects. It will stop your PAWS dead in its tracks. But like I said, it's not for everybody. Research it yourself and see if it might be for you. It has many health benefits to it along with the withdrawal help. It's actually lowered my blood pressure on top of gaining natural energy and endorphine mechanics. If you want to know more or have any questions don't hesitate to ask. Hope your doing well and good luck on your journey!

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Thanks for shareing,i was on subs for about 2 wks only maybe 2 ml.norco methadone before that..i tapered down to like a speck.im 11 days off it all..I feel tired an lazy.I go to bed at 8 but getting up 630 7....im hoping i feel better by next week.dont like feeling like this..but very happy im finally clean

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I am looking for advise from someone who is or did experience "burning skin syndrome". I refuse to take Lyrica because it is also physically dependent and I hear it is not easy to quit without it's own withdrawals and also because of the side effects while using it. I tried Cymbalta for twelve days and had to stop because of the side effects. I am still having sparks on my skin as a result of twelve days usage over two weeks ago. The pharmacy is furnishing my Psychiatrist with a list of meds I have used in the last year along with the manufacturer of the drug. She is concerned that the fillers in the generics may be the problem. The burning started on day seven of withdrawal from Suboxone and continues today eleven and one half months later. It is painful, unpredictable, and the major withdrawal left to deal with. It appears my nerve fibers got damaged somewhere along the way using opioids. Any information one may have on this situation would be appreciated.

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Tommyc because you're so helpful I tried researching the burning skin. I know you're working with a great psychiatrist and don't believe in physically dependent stuff because we've both, well all of us here have been thru total bs, anyway, I am taking lyrica and side effects not to bad for me but can be different for others I know. I have come off it like 3 times because I never could tell a difference being on it when I was on suboxone and opiates. Anyways, second thing, again with the physically dependent stuff, have you talked to your psych about putting you on a low dose anxiety med. Although you may not want it and I can see why it may be the only thing that works? Not sure, I will research more just throwing that it there.

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Hello Tommy C. So sorry that you continue to have symptoms that you call burning skin syndrome. I have had what I think is the same thing but I call it the "Joan of Arc Syndrome". I am 92 days off of oxycodone and 24 days off of Suboxone. My symptoms are the most intense when I lay down at night. The things that I think have helped make it less miserable are Clonidine 0.2 mg twice a day, gabapentin 300 mg three times a day, and Elimidrol Daytime and Evening (this is a proprietary herbal, vitamin, supplement combo that comes as a powder you stir into water). I certainly hope for you that this resolved in the near future. You must be so brave to have endured this so long. Best wishes

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I really hope ur journey from substsnce abuse works and u stay clean. god bless u

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Hello, my name is Jessica and I'm 33 years old (today actually)...I've been looking around, reading things and decided to post here...my situation in a nutshell...I have the most addictive personality and was hooked on oxys for many years...I was taking anywhere from 15-20 30mg a day until one day, I just could not get anything!! So, I went to my psychiatrist (I take Paxil for anxiety and have since I was 18) and he put me on subutex...I've been on subs for almost 5 years now and abused opiates many years up until then...I started on 20mg a day and the past 6 months or so have been lowering dosage...my problem was, I ALWAYS took more than I was supposed to, even though I didn't feel any different...I think it's just the addict in me...I still did cut down quite a bit, but he had me down to 5mg and I was taking anywhere from 10mg to 12mg a day (that was down from about 32mg I was taking when he had me at 20mg)...I could always get him to refill early for me for one reason or another but back in August he said one more early refill and he'll send me to rehab...sooo, I did my best staying at the dosage he prescribed...anyway, my little brother (29 years old) died of a methadone overdose on February 2nd...he was not an opiate user, he was a drinker and did methamphetamine and would get clean for periods of time...he was detoxing from a 4 day binge and I think just wanted to take the edge off and drank methadone along with Xanax and he went to sleep and never woke up...so, I ran out of my subs about a week early...I called my doc and came up with some lame excuse and he refused to talk to me and had the front desk girl tell me to go to rehab...with all this happening with my brother and I work full time, there's no way I was going to rehab...so, with the support from my family, I just stopped subs...I took 12 mg on Sunday, March 6 and 1mg on Monday, March 7, and that was it...I've had none since...I was fine the first few days and was thinking, wow, I can do this!! Then day 4 rolled around and things went downhill...I'm sure you all know, the stomach problems, hot and cold, can't sleep, and the WORST part for me is I can't sit still!! But I'm so weak, I can barely move!! I can't sleep because I can't lay still for more than 10 seconds at a time...I've been taking Xanax to help with sleep but it's not helping very much...I'm a smoker and already smoke at work about once an hour but now I'm getting up every 15-30 min and it's being noticed...but, I have to say that day 9 was the worst with not sitting still and now I'm on day 12, still antsy, hot and cold, exhausted but can't sleep...I'm trying to walk a bit here and there (I used to exercise all the time)...I can't focus either, all I think about is how I'm scared the restless/antsy feeling is going to get really bad again and when will I feel better...last night around 7pm, I felt amazing for a few hours and that gave me hope...I'm hoping the worst is over and that the feeling good periods become more frequent...it's really hard dealing with the death of my little brother and trying to get off this s***...but, I feel like maybe this was the best time for it to happen because if not now, when?...anyway, I just wanted to share and see if anyone has any tips or advice for me...thanks for taking the time to read this.

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How long will my drug panels come up positive after stopping treatment?

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Naltrexone works very well in treating the symptoms of opiate withdrawal.Why is it not prescribed more often.

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Naltrexone is a compound form of VIVITROL at a much reduced price which you can take orally instead of the monthly shot in the hip which is very painful and does not maintain a constant syrum level. The reason your Doctors do not mention it is purely price. They make much more on the VIVITROL shot than they can on writing the Nalextrone prescription. How sad is that? Nalextrone is taken daily and tastes like children's caugh syrup.

March 13, 2016 marked the beginning of twelve months off of Suboxone. I will be 70 years old on July 15th, 2016 which causes the Neaurologist and Psychiatrist to write baby size scripts for me in my effort to get by the Parethesia (burning skin syndrome). I am on 2mg of Klonopin. Many thanks to those of you who have given me many suggestions based on what is working for you.

Zonisamide was prescribed by my Neaurologist on Thursday. A regular starting dose is 100mg. Heists tarting me at 25mg for two weeks the up to 50mg for ten weeks. During the ten years on prescribed opiates I gained sixty pounds. This anti seizure medicine will increase my metabolism, raise my base temperature, drastically reduce my weight and hopefully stop the burning skin. The maximum dose is 400 mg per day. Other benefits are the elimination of essential tremors. I will keep everyone posted on it's success.

Prior to visiting the Neaurologist on the 17th, I was in the emergency room because of severe lumbar pain causing me to be immobile. An MRI indicated I was structurally fine and was going through a phase of withdrawals.

I cannot stress enough the disadvantages of using Suboxone to get off of other opioids or opiates. I have gone through eleven months of hell. Thanks to God I am retired and can afford to suffer this pain at home. Those of you that have to continue to work have my admiration for your tenacity and strength.

To my many new friends I offer my thanks for your concern and to those of you new to this thread I suggest reading it in reverse order as there are several great suggestions that will work for you and off course some that will not. Going back to the old ways is not an option. The CDC is really cracking down as narcotic prescriptions from primary care Doctors have increased 400% since 2000. Now it is early impossible to receive a narcotic prescription that is not closely scrutinized. That is a good thing.

I have learned it is important to keep moving around to help eliminate the pain. There are many drugs listed in this thread that are a real life saver. Remember everybody's body will react differently. I am allergic to Cymbalta, Lyrica, SSRI's, SNI's and other designer drugs. Many are physically dependant or addictive themselves. Age is a big factor in this struggle.

My son is an Orthopedic Surgeon and said 90% of people have these back issues at one time or another during their lifetime. They usually do not last beyond ten weeks. I am down to two issues at present. Severe back lumbar pain and burning skin. I will update you on my new med and wish all of you a Happy Easter.

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Hello Jessica, how are you doing? I can sympathize with you. I also quit subs abruptly but it was because my DR told me that there would be little to no withdrawal and it wouldn't even interrupt my daily routine and after 48-72 hours it would be over... YEAH RIGHT! So I opted out of the program and went home excited to get this monkey off my back. Withdrawal hit me like a Mack truck around day 2. The first 2 weeks were damn near unbearable. On day 9 I ended up in the emergency room with heart palpitations and anxiety. They gave me vitamin B and told me if be fine... Anyway, I began to turn the corner around week 3. Day 19-20 I'd guess. The first thing that I noticed was my emotions and senses returning. I found myself enjoying music again, missing friends that I hadn't thought of in years, remembering my dreams, and being excited to eat good food (I never ate much on opiates). That sort of kicked off a chain reaction. I started sleeping again, getting random bursts of energy and immense pride for getting through it. The small things were important to me again. The fact that you've gone 12 days. Or 15 now? That's a very good thing and you should pay yourself on the back. Not many people make it that far. As the days ticked by the bursts of energy became more frequent and the sudden onset of dread and lethargy became more seldom. All in all it took me about 3 months to get back to normal but after the 3rd week it became tolerable. I almost welcomed it to keep me honest about what I had done to my mind and body. Once the physical wds subside, watch out for PAWS. That will more than likely set in soon but it's more of a mental chess match than actual withdrawal. You'll have random wd symptoms appear and vanish again without notice. Some days will be great and others challenging. Battling lack of energy was the hardest part for me. I have a very demanding job and 2 small children at home so taking a breather was never an option. That was a lifesaver in the end and helped me heal faster I think, but it wasn't easy. Exercise as much as possible. It will help your brain to begin producing endorphines again. Opiates hijack the endorphine system and that's why depression after stopping is so common. We basically develop a chemical imbalance. That takes time to heal unfortunately but physical exertion will speed up the process. Stay busy. The less time to you have to think about withdrawal, the less it will bother you. Take vitamins because wd will deplete your nutrients quickly and completely. Eat as much as possible. I stuck to comfort foods. That will also help with energy as well as sleeping. Vitamin B and Fish Oil worked well for me. Vitamin B for energy and the Fish Oil helped with the aches and pains (sounds weird but I experimented to make sure it was actually helping and I swear it was). Stay hydrated. I drank a lot of Gatorade at the time. Understand that it is a marathon, not a race and simply focusing on the fact that you are finally clean will help. Don't look too far ahead and realize that this is temporary but your brain and body need time to heal. Suboxone is a wolf in sheeps clothing and far too few DRs are willing to admit that. Good luck! I wish you the best. Keep us informed and don't hesitate to ask any questions.

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Not sure hun its really hard I feel stuck myself ive got to wait 12 weeks then I will be off mine I get three 0.4 tablets a day just can't wait to be normal xxx

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Hi pfan! Thank you so much for your encouraging words...yes, today is day 15 and I slept until 8am today (well I woke up at 4am but was able to sleep in hour increments until 8am)...I do feel better but my stomach is still messed up and I still feel like I can't sit still for long periods of time or focus...what's frustrating to me (and maybe this is just me) but I am thinking about this 24/7!! Even when I feel okay, I'm thinking omg am I gonna feel bad again, when's the other shoe gonna drop, how long until I feel all the way better...it's like my mind just goes on and on worrying and I hate it!! I'm just hoping the worst is behind me and appreciate your reply more than you know!!

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I want to clear up one thing from my prior post. Naltrexone is distributed in pill form also. Beginning dose is 25mg. You can look it up. The danger is you can kill yourself if you do not have the opioids or opiates out of your system. Usually 14 days for Suboxone. My age caused me to try baby doses 2mg. I was way to late with this drug as I waited almost 10 months. By that time the open sore receptor was already filled in.

God bless all of you hero's with families and jobs. Going to work and supporting your family along with Suboxone withdrawal is a heck of a feat. If your sig other is supportive, I send a big big hug. This is one hard painful ordeal and will last longer than you can imagine. During this process my CNS got damaged and I hope the Neurologist can figure out how to get me back to near normal.

Once you are off of the Suboxone, the pain doctors and toxicologists do not want to deal with you because they do not have the answers for the damage they caused. Each of us are also at fault for continuing to take the medication knowing it was not the best choice.

I felt really bad when my Medical team told me I may have to go back on a narcotic because of the CNS damage and my age. I pray not. Even though I have been in constant pain for 18 months weaning and being off for 12 months I hate to give in to the devil and pray there will be an alternative to narcotics. At 70 years old there is a good argument not to spend what is remaining of your life chair bound in pain. I think medical science will ultimately help me make the correct decision.

This can happen to anyone no matter your status in life. I had a marvelous career and both my children are Doctors. One might ask how did you end up in this mess? Ultimately there is one person to point the finger at and it is me. Oh how I wish I could turn the clock back 12 years and make different decisions relating to my health. My goal is to have another 20 years of quality life, pain free as possible and enjoy my wife and extended family.

One other thing I have not read much about on this thread. The dry mouth and opiates will ruin your gums and teeth. Keep a regular cleaning schedule and use the products to keep your mouth moist to prevent gum recession and decay. I do not want to see any of you have to spend thousands of dollars to repair your mouth when it could have been avoided. Tell your Dentist you are on opiates or opioids. When they use an inj. to freeze your mouth, tell them to use their strongest topical. You will need it.

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Hi Jessica, glad to hear you're still doing well. At day 15 the bupe is likely out of your system and the worst is over. Your body has already begun the healing process. Congrats! As I said before, be wary of PAWS and don't give in to cravings or temptations. One thing to look forward to is the freedom from meds. I can't even put into words how liberating it was to not have to worry about Dr appts every month, Dr fees, trips to the pharmacy, counting out meds to make sure I had enough to get by, trying to fill early, yada yada yada. That was my life for 3 years. I even once ended a family vacation to the beach early because I had to make to to my sub appointment! I now don't have to worry about ANY of that BS. That was probably the greatest feeling in the world and what kept me going at times. Those thoughts of dread will soon disappear for you too. I remember one day in the middle of all of the wds driving around running errands when it hit me, I had just gone the entire day without thinking about subs or wds once! At that moment I realized I had beaten the bear. That excitement that I felt alone was worth all of it. And once your back to 100% (which WILL happen) you'll be amazed at how great NATURAL happiness actually is. I forgot what it was like to wake up in a good mood for no reason, and to have energy just because the sun was out after all of those years clouding my brain with opiates. I took my last sub on October 17, 2014 after 3 years of pain killers and 3 more years on subs and I've never felt better. I'm 35 and I feel like I'm 25 again. Subs robbed me of that. Keep on chugging because in the end you will be so thankful that you did. You are giving yourself your life back and I commend you. Keep up the good work and don't let those crappy moments that will come discourage you. Keep remembering, it's only temporary!

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You give me hope pfan! Reading what you've said gives me hope that I will be back to normal one day...I keep telling myself this is a slow process and I've come so far...I'm still having trouble sleeping and sitting still (that's the worst for me, I hate not feeling comfortable and relaxed just sitting in my own body)...it's scary because I don't know who I am without pills...taking pills for so many years, I was just content doing nothing or doing anything if that makes sense...now, I'm like, what do I do? What do I like to do? I can't wait for the day that I don't wake up at 2am thinking omg can I get back to sleep!! This is the hardest thing I've ever done and dealing with my little brother dying last month seems to make this harder...but he died from a drug overdose so I keep telling myself, he's not here anymore, so I can make it through this!!

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