How To Get Off Suboxone Successfully - Step By Step (Page 13) (Top voted first)

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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Thank you all for sharing your experiences and helpful insight! I have found Epsom salt soaks to be very helpful and soothing. It's as though it aids in drawing toxins out.

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I have been on suboxone for 7 years. Tried to get off of it once but went crazy. Problem is I do have bipolar and so the doc said to stay on it for the rest of my life because I got off all the other psych drugs. Now I am having kidney and liver problems and am wondering if it is because of being on suboxone for so long. Ever heard of clinical trials that have been going on regarding long time use?

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Lol god huh. Sureeee. Whatever works. Me, it was just hard work and a correct taper. No need for God!! lol please, sell it to the next uninformed. Why give anyone, other then yourself the credit? Taper taper and taper, Gabi, low dose of tramdol, low dose ambein. Stay on all those at the Jump off. One month your done. Stop the meds, Take your time, and stretch those calves. You can do it. I was on it 7 long years, only on eights. Done, never did one NA/ AA atheist. Just do it. And you can on your own faith in yourself.

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You are a Blessing from God. Thank you for your heart. May your testimony touch many, and may your life be richly blessed. I am going to journey and help my son get off sub next week because he is ready, and this was a ray of light from above. God has got this. Much Iove in Him.

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Geeezs can't stop laughing after reading your drama queen speech . I didn't do any of that. And it's in the past . Bam done Jesus told you huh . Ha ha ha ha ha ha
Your a true drama queen . People just taper to practically nothing then jump. Gabi and tram many a light anti depressive and a good GP BEHIND YOU! That acts or feels ,like he's your friend and not some stuck up Doctor .Then that's it. This guy writes all that? Geezs you must not work or are begging for attention !

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I have been fighting with these sub films for almost 4 years. I always come on this site and read everyone's stories to see if they can help me. I wanted off so bad but was so afraid of withdrawal. I read the post where the man gave step by step instructions on tapering down and what to expect with each taper. Now almost 4 weeks later, I am off Suboxene. I can hardly believe it, I'm not feeling 100 % and it was not an easy time but if you have your mind set, you can do it. Now I have a new life, I don't have to depend on subs to go on with my day. My doctor did give me clonidine to help me. I still have trouble sleeping and leg aches but I am off of those terrible strips. I just want to thank everyone that posted their stories and gave me the hope I needed to try and get off them. God bless you all.

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I don't know if anyone still uses this thread but your posts have been the most helpful out of all the sites I've searched! I hope this reaches you.. As I'm feeling so horrible mentally, physically and emotionally. Just started my taper.. I've been on 3 or more 8mg subs for as long as I can remember. I also suffer from severe depression and anxiety.. Soo it makes the whole process that much harder. I've tried getting off subs so many times but I've never had the right tools to suceed and never been strong enough to just walk away. That little voice in my head saying "it's ok just take another you can take less tomorrow" is always what gets me! I'm not gonna get into much detail because who knows if you all will even see this.. But please help! Much love ... HBS

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Hey HBS,
Yes if you are depressed it can be THAT much worse... I cried all the time. Just taper down slowly and it won't be that bad.

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Thank you! Thank you for sharing!!

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Hello HBS. How are you doing? I've just read your post and I can sympathize with your situation. I've quit subs twice now. Once was cold turkey from 8mg/day for about a year, and I was clean for 2 years then relapsed on painkillers. Ended up back on subs for another 2 1/2 years, this time tapering and I successfully quit 9 months ago and will NEVER go back on those damn things, or any other opiate for that matter. Anyway, I've been through it all with subs so if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I will try to help any way I can.

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Hi, thank you for this!!! I believe this was for me... I am a believer that is struggling with drugs my whole life it seems.. I am currently on suboxone but in fear of the withdrawals. I have been on this program many times and know how it feels to get off of it.. This is very encouraging and am hoping maybe we can keep talking.. My email address is {edited for privacy}. Thank you.

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You will never know how our God worked today because I read this post. Im on Day 1, and I'd like to consider myself a loving mother that lost her way. I want to instill Jesus Christ in my 3 year old just as you described in every verse. Just wanted to say thanks. It was a God thing for me. Day 1, I'll check in Saturday: Day 4. Thank you again for this post. It may have saved my marriage and life. And prayed and weaped like no other today! Im doing it as Christ did for me!

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You are my inspiration! I am so glad I came across this post! I'm on day 5 of suboxone withdrawl and it's so hard to do anything but I make myself walk at least a mile a day once I get moving I feel better! Then later in the day anxiety sets in! My fear is nighttime! I feel at nighttime is when everything gets worse! The meds they gave me don't help at all. And all I want is to sleep! I'm afraid to take more of the meds my doctor gave me for restless legs and sleep will make me not wake up! I'm also taking gaba , b vitamins. And l-tyrosine can't take 5htp yet cause I'm on zofran for nauseous. Those can cause serious problems with serotonin if mixed together! But it's waiting for me when I stop! I too am my own boss and don't wanna lose clients so I have to be back to work by Thursday! I'm hoping by that time it will be day 12! Hoping I'm at least functional! I also have lots of people praying for me and I have great parents helping me through this ! I have great family ! As I type this I'm so wanting to jump outta my skin and I'm so cold. Wondering if warm milk would help me. I'm just about ready to try anything just to sleep at night! I have to take clonidine cause I've been on it for two years and I can't just stop til I wean off that unfortunately I feel like that makes me awake rather than sleep! When on suboxone and taking it I slept like a baby ! Any tips on sleeping better and will the sleep get better! I think I'm going to pray tonight I don't always pray but I feel I want to be closer to Jesus Christ now ! Thank you for ur post !

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Ugh I spoke too soon! I'm having the worst day ever!!!! So cold and tired. No energy!!! I feel worse than before I don't know if I'm just having a bad day or what ! Hoping and praying for tomorrows a better day ! I'm praying to the high heavens lord help me! I'm feeling pretty down today and alone! I thought day 8 would be better no way !

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Thank you for the post! I've been struggling with suboxane for about 2 years! I'm at my point that I do not want to depend on it. I literally cut the 8mg pill in half and split those in half and I take a little piece once or twice a day! I tried to stop but it's all mental because I get to day 2 and I just want to put the pill under my tongue! I seriously need to no what to do! Btw i do have clonodine and DayQuil and night quill. Helps very much with withdrawal but I still get anxiety and heat and cold flashes. Please someone help

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I just want you and everyone struggling with suboxone that simply ripping a strip in half or in fourths is not cutting the dosage. The beupinepherin and nalaxone is not distributed evenly throughout the strip.. reckitt and benckaiser the co who makes them warns against this. You think you are taking less when in actuality you have no idea what dosage you are rly taking makin g it even more difficult to taper...

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Can only get 8mg pills. Now down to 2mg. It's really not possible to slice down more. Just becomes crumbs. Insurance doesn't pay for films. Ideas anyone? Anyone on pills have success with jumping off at 2mg daily?

Statements about faith are not really helpful for me, though I know they help others, which is great!

Thanks,

Leon 7877

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I just started suboxone and I still feel like crap from getting off the other stuff. ( morphine, oxy, pain patches, ect.) I've been taking 4-4mg strips 4 times a day for 5 days. I don't know what to do? Stay on it or get off now? Help???

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Denise,

Stop taking them. I will never take a sub again as long as I live.. worse detox ever. But they say everyone is different. good luck

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Thank you for sharing this. I am so tired of feeling rundown by sub. It's been too many years that I've been on it and it eats up my energy. I have to get my life back. I hope with God's help I can do what you've done. I've been also trying to get my faith stronger, but like you said, this medicine does cloud you judgment with Christ. I am so scared but each day turns into years and I honestly feel so helpless. What an awful rut I've gotten myself into, thinking I was helping myself. Long term sub is scary. It's a terrible terrible crutch. I question whether I can even do this! So I do need my faith in Christ to grow.

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