How Long After You Stop Suboxone Do You Have Withdrawal Symptoms? (Page 45)

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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Your doctor doesn't have a clue. Suboxone for 10 norcos a day? That is not good. I would quit the Suboxone...the withdrawals are no joke. I pray for you my friend.

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thats like trading 10 tylenol 3 for Oxycontin--sub is waaay stronger than norco...you just traded "up" in a bad way....not a judgment...but a truth.

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Why are doctors prescribing Suboxone for patients to get off of pain pills? I could see a short supervised detox with Suboxone. What I can't understand is that these doctors are adding to the addiction...not to mention that it is so much easier to come off of pills than subs. Suboxone saved my life. I was on it for way too long though. Tomorrow is one year off of it and it has been a long hard road. We need to research things and find the truth for ourselves instead of trusting doctors. I had a great relationship with my doctor and he told me that if he could go back, he would never have put any of his patients on Suboxone. My heart breaks for every person tied to this drug and I pray you all make it to the other side. GOD bless

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Just my opinion--after watching a friend with long term (15 or more years) of progressive & aggressive pain man & addiction. Sub seemed like miracle!!! She was heavily psychologically addictive--i mean she would totally lose her mind if she couldn't find her meds or make apt or whatever...she didn't need physical wd to "trigger" her obsessing or counting her pills etc... cant say she ever ran short but noooo one was more psychologically addicted than this gal on heavy ops!! When her panic during shortage (when no pharms had anything a few years ago) she basically lost her mind & went on subs...total miracle...she was long term sub user maybe about 2 years...got down to hairline slivers & eventually jumped off...we actually spoke like she was "cured" & she/i agreed needed that time for "brain healing" but after only a few months--maybe not even--she played w pills here & there when she had pain & decided that Subs worked for her pain & is back on Sub 6mg per day for pain! In truth, i think subs do work for pain (the way that Stadol Nasal spray does...that how it feels to me...stadol horrible btw) But the real "problem" was sub worked great for kicking the physical & "rewiring" the opiate neuropathways burned into my friends mind i really do believe it took long term sub because PAWs is very real & it gave her mind time that when Paws kicked in & she didn't have to reach for a pill her brain really did seem to rewire ...But there was a "plateau" when her brain & body were "healed" but she had Not healed her Mind, soul, & heart.....i think had she been PROACTIVE & added new positives to her lifestyle (rather than just removing negs) that she would be "cured" now...returning to sub "for pain" was is just her psychological addiction!...on the other hand...i dont have to live her life or live in her mind & she does have real problems of every kind...so who am i to judge what it "takes" to live her life? ...just thinking "out loud"...

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Chrissy, I think all drugs are bad. Sure Suboxone saved my life...I started on pills but had a heavy addiction to H eventually. Suboxone gave me some time to get clean but in the end I was abusing those too. The person who was on 10 norcos a day and is now on 16mg Suboxone...I just don't understand at all. I don't know what that person is going through but I guess we're all at different places. I know I wouldn't be clean today if it weren't for Jesus Christ. This pill epidemic is such a heartbreaking thing. I pray that your friend gets clean and stays clean. Maybe we just should not judge people and how ever they may be addicted. We all have different stories and no one has walked in my shoes. GOD bless you <3

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I did not nean to imply you were judging & 100% agree w you regarding Asking Jesus for help...people don't want to hear it...but it's true & ur right...had my friend added Jesus ir asked Jesus to add something positive to her life I don't think she would have relapsed!

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Oh no, I didn't say you were judging anyone at all. I only commented that because maybe I was judging a little and caught myself doing it <3

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Well I tried {edited for safety} I have nice things but I'm just sick of my life I'm done can't take it no more

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Dude my heart breaks for your physciatric pain but soliciting sympathy is futile at best since everyone here knows pain and suffering or they wouldn't be on here in the first place. And if you found that perfect wife with kids would you really find solace in never knowing if she's with you for you or because she just feels sorry for you. Find a professional to discuss your issues with because NO ONE DIES A PEACFUL SLEEP with mounds of pharmaceuticals . If that was your destiny it would have happened already in your numerous tacit attempts. When times get tough the tough get going. I have a feeling your stronger then you give yourself credit for. All the best and God bless bro.

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Suicide is never the answer. If you take your life, you will wake up in a never-ending nightmare. Things will get better...you just need to give it time. Sounds to me like you are in pain...you are broken my friend. Cry out to Jesus and He will put you back together. I will be praying for you. Just cry out to Him and He will help in a BIG way...He did and continues to do so for me. GOD bless you.

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Hey Matthew go yourself you think you know now but we are the ones living again as for your snide remark on the xanax yes there is a .125 stupid i know cause I'm taking it, it's prescribed. 25 and I split it in half, the pharmacist said .125 is the equivalent of 12.5 mg, you might think the subs are great now but wait until you come off them I would have been better off coming off the pain meds, also Matthew you are only replacing one addiction with another that's far worse ask lissy she was in the same boat. So are all of us and more of us agree the subs are worse then the drugs, 116 days today and I'M LIVING AGAIN.

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Matthew you need to find another...more "present" place to feel better about yourself & your life...its the drugs...no matter if used properly or abused they affect brain chemistry. But waiting on supportive replies from orhers (focused generally on our own probs) is good enough for such an urgent situation as suicidal ideology. Please find more aggressive intervention...even if people here are supportive...what if unavailble to respond because of our own pain or wd? No one wants u to suffer & u & everyone on this planet deserve better so please seek more involved help!

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Yes there is a .25mg Xanax but there is no such thing as a 12mg. I worked with doctors in hospitals. Xanax comes in a .25, .05, 1mg, and 2. They also have these in a time release form.

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Hi Matthew,

Dude. It doesn't matter if there's a 12.5 mg xanax or not. I think you're picking the wrong battles. Get over it already. I've lost 3 very important people to suicide. All 3 women. Two left behind children and husbands who loved and needed them. A sister in law had tried twice so her husband and daughter took turns making sure she was never alone. After a couple months of convincing everyone she was better, she manipulated her husband into leaving the property for 10 minutes to get her cigarettes. The 17 yo daughter wld be home in 8-10 minutes after he drove out of site. Her daughter, my niece, arrived home from school, searched the house for her mother. Finally she walked outside & noticed the pad lock to a garden shed was cut off & the door ajar. She KNEW that's where she'd find her mother and ran screaming towards the shed hoping her Mother wld hear her voice......the husband pulled up to hell on earth. My beautiful sister in law had put a bullet in her brain knowing one of the people she cared about most on earth wld find her that way. Her daughter has suffered unimaginable loss. Her mother didn't bother leaving a note. She never found the time to write words her daughter needed to hear. That she was loved. I promise you, there's a lot of people in this world with bigger troubles than you, my friend. Get yourself some help. I can see you need it.

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I am on Soboxene for 2 yrs now, last year paying out of my pocket around $600 a month, not much cheaper than my choice of drug. I feel great on Suboxene, but I couldn't afford my Dr. no more, so my last script I got filled in April and it will last me about 3 months , I figured, really tapering off, I'm scared to get of them I'm afraid to relapse. It works for me.

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It's a nightmare no doubt my choices were limited as well but methadone was the Only AFFORDABLE option @ $ 260.00 monthly out of pocket bc my wonderful insurance refused refused a kinder treatment protocol. It's a horrific national tragedy playing out in front of us all. Yell, yell loudly after all what more can they do to wonderful people like us that they already havent done be it apathy ignorance or indifference .

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P.S. Melisa

Have you tried a local social service agency ? even if for a referral listing of docs treating with said protocols. It's an outside chance of a name for a treating doc.

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It makes me sad to know that there's people out there that are prescribed suboxone every day. I wish the doctors would do the right thing with the drug and use it appropriately instead of messing with people's heads. Being on a maintainence program with suboxone is nothing but setting yourself up for a long run of a bunch of crap. I am now 121 days off of subs. I still experience buzzing every morning and terrible anxiety and my heart just races and pounds. If doctors were doing the right thing they would start a taper right away when they give patients the medication, this would give them a very close to painless withdraw. Then they should stop the devil drug, because the physical dependence is a night mare to get off of, and if you are on this forum you really need to read about the night mare it is. TOMMY C- can you tell me if you have any idea this buzzing will last for me, I know you said you were still having the parasesis. Anyone willing to help me out with this if you have gotten off of suboxone, I have 121 days and still have very bad buzzing and anxiety. Thanks guys.

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Rebekah: I still have buzzing like right now. I am 13 months off and am having a heck of a time getting my brain and CNS working together. Everyday is a different challenge. Most Doctors are clueless when it comes to Suboxone withdrawals. I have been dark because this thread lost it's direction. We are not suicide experts, just folks helping folks kick subs.

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My friend is back on subs because she never felt quite right without them. She had 15 year opiate pain management & then about 2 years of sub (seemed like miracle) then tapered & maybe was off 3 months completely...but then took an opiate occasionally & is now back on subs 6mg per day! She isn't using it as op replacement she is using it as pain management & probably antidepressant & to avoid withdrawal ??...she is only 53 so should try to stop...at 63 like original poster maybe should just stay on if it improves quality of life or rather wd is causing more problems...my defense of subs is this...for everyone saying it is nightmare to wd from...without sub would u still be on ops today? Do u think ur op use would be at a higher dose? Or was ur use so bad u would have been dead/in jail/od or otherwise worse had u not switched to subs? I think ops cause a fiercer more acute addiction & perhaps subs cause a longer PAWS...any thoughts?

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