How To Get Off Suboxone Successfully - Step By Step (Page 3)
(Newest replies 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.

REPLY

REPORT

LEONARD: I know how frustrating it can be to deal with all this. BELIEVE ME, I know. But my doctor has said the same thing to me, that I need to look at this as a diabetic looks at insulin. And I know for a fact that my doctor isn't saying this because he is "greedy". He is saying it because he knows that I will struggle without it. (I am on tablet Methadone at this time, but was on Subutex in the past).

I am a long time opioid addict, and I am one of the ones who really may need to be on some sort of ORT for life. And that's ok. I am currently trying to AT LEAST lower my dose very slowly. But every case is different. If your son is likely to go back to dope if he stops the Suboxone, then the doctor is right. Now in my opinion, anyone who can successfully stop the ORTs without going back to their drug of choice? More power to them. But if the alternative is going back to drugs, then Suboxone or whatever ORT we are talking about is of course the better option. So I don't know your doctor or your son, and I don't know the specifics of his situation, but I do know that when MY doctors say this, about me needing to be on ORTs for life, they are only saying it because they think I will struggle to stay clean without it. You and your son need to figure out what is best for him REGARDLESS of what the doctor thinks. You may be right, this doctor may be a greedy jerk, but that doesn't mean he is wrong about your son. I just wanted you to know that your son's doctor isn't the only one who has said this kind of thing. Some people can successfully get off of ORTs, and others will, indeed, struggle. Like I said, every case is different. But if your son DOES decide to titrate down on his dose, he needs to do it as slowly as possible, or it may become counterproductive, and he will end up either going back UP on the dose, or going to his drug of choice. Slow and steady wins the race with this stuff. He needs to be FULLY ADJUSTED to his new dose before going further.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. I'm sure you being a person of faith, you really think that "God" is all he needs to get through this. And I am in no way wanting to get into a theological debate with you over it. But actually, he is going to be very uncomfortable at times, and there are certain things he can take to help with the symptoms. Some require a prescription and some don't. All the prayer in the world isn't going to change the fact that the whole reason your son is even on the Suboxone, is avoidance of extremely unpleasant physical symptoms. And using the term "extremely unpleasant" is putting it lightly. I have been all over the map with this stuff, and I am also involved in medical research involving opioids. Let me know if you have any questions and good luck to you both.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

Thank you so much for your testimony. God Bless your soul and congratulations. My son, Michael is suffering getting off Suboxone and is afraid to listen to himself when he says he wants freedom from it... His Doctor tells him he needs suboxone like diabetics need insulin and without it, he'll die. This is very upsetting and dangerous words from a medical professional. I don't call this treatment professional at all... I call it greedy and selfish at $400 a month to a $9hr kid. Shame on this doctor. I have forwarded your message to my son and have had a long talk just earlier this evening and told him, God is all you need to get through this... So I hope he takes heed to our messages and kicks this things butt once and for all... He deserves not to suffer any longer. Again, thank you so much!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Felecia, I was hooked on Suboxene for about 6 months. I read the same story that you read, above your post. Although it's a lengthy post, it was worth reading it. I followed everything he said, and found that tapering is the key factor in this journey. I tapered down to 1/8 of a strip and stayed on that level for about a month. After a month I jumped off, with any doctor telling me what to do, I was very determined to get off. It was very uncomfortable for a while, no sleep, restless legs, but it didn't last all that long. I am now free from that awful stuff, it's been 10 months. I will never go back on it, ever. It takes a lot of will power and wanting to be off, to make this work. I have a chance to get it everyday for free, but I would rather live the life I'm living now than be hooked on that wicked stuff. You can do it also. Just remember to taper. I found that is the way to go. Good luck to you and God Bless.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

FELICIA: If you are tapering off from a low dose like 4 mgs, you need to go down as little at a time as possible. Are you on the pills or the film? If it is the pills, get one of those little pill choppers. I would go down a half a mg. every 4 to 6 weeks. And make sure you are ABSOLUTELY, 100% ADJUSTED to the new amount before going further. If you can get your doctor to give you some Clonidine and some Soma, for sleep, aches and pains and that heart-racing feeling that comes with withdrawal, even better. If not, get some Nyquil Nighttime Gel Caps (the green ones, NOT the orange) and/or some Benadryl, and some Advil for the body aches. Remember, slow and steady wins the race. Good luck!! I am currently titrating down on my tablet Methadone, and I WISH I was on such a low dose as you! You can do this!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Amazing story. I think you so sincerely for sharing your story with humility and vulnerability. I have made the decision to start my taper. I am scared and overwhelmed, but I find solitude reading stories like yours. Thank you for the candor and honesty. I am currently at 4 mg a day, and plan to taper off within 12 months. Thank you again for sharing.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

CURIOUS: Synaptamine is a liquid formula that is a blend of amino acids, using what's called "nano-technology". This technology helps the aminos cross the blood-brain barrier, so more of it gets used by the brain. It was developed to help heal the addict brain. It isn't a prescription, but you used to have to have a recommendation from a doctor or therapist (they would give you a code that you entered on their website - Sanusbiotech). You may be able to buy without a code now.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

kkh??? is that an over the counter product??? synaptamine that is??

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

OHDAN: Hey man, how are you doing? How long have u been clean now? I'm glad to hear that you are still hanging in there.

I am interested in what you said about losing weight. I always tell people, "You want to gain some weight? TOO skinny? Need to bulk up? Take Methadone!" In the last 3 years since getting on Methadone, I have gained about 30 pounds. I didn't change my activity level OR my diet (in fact, I eat pretty healthy and am fairly active) and BOOM, 30 pounds. Am greatly looking forward to some weight loss as I slowly lower my Methadone dose! What is it about these ORTs and the weight gain? All the time I was on opioids, I was skinny as a rail. Subutex? Methadone? BALLOON!!!

Anyway, it's good to hear that you are doing well! Good for you! Opioids have the highest relapse rates, along with alcohol, so DON'T LOOK BACK!! PEACE, KKH

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

HAIRGIRL: There is no doubt that getting off of any ORT is tough, and you are going to be uncomfortable at times. But the longer you are off of it, the better you will start to feel. Especially if you haven't been an addict for 30 years like some of us. And vitamins, good food, and amino acids can help you feel a lot better. Look into a product called Synaptamine. It has helped me a lot.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

After you get done with the withdrawal you feel a thousand times better and feel human again you can start focusing on the future and actually see that you will be able to have one if you put the effort and energy into making one I also lost 40 pounds

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Do u feel any better off suboxone then on it? Cause I don't wana feel worse then I already do

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Ohdan -- Actually I did when I was going through my struggles.... I think it was October of 2013...I'll scroll through and see if it's still there. But yes I agree more negative than positive. I've lost too many loved ones from this disease and it's really getting worse. So sad u know

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Thanks kris and you should post your story on here so everyone knows it's possible the more success stories people see on here the more will power they will gain I find way to many stories on the negative side and we need more positive stories like yours mine and others and to all others remember there is no drug stronger than you dig deep and pull out of this you can and will be successful

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

That is great ohdan. I haven't taken suboxne in years but that was the hardest withdrawal I ever had.... it is definitely worth the struggle though. Congrats to you!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Update I'm 4.5 months clean and feeling great anyone who is struggling getting off Suboxone just go with the withdrawal symptoms they get bad then they get better so then they can get bad again for about 20 days or so but it's 100% worth going through struggling through it coming out on the other end and you'll feel like a human again you are stronger than any drug

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

HAIRGIRL: I actually do feel better on the Methadone. I was on the max dose of Subutex for a while, and it STILL wasn't doing the job for me. I was having a lot of cravings. And I was absolutely MISERABLE when I wanted to titrate down. I have been titrating down with the Methadone, very slowly, and it is going ok.

The only thing with Methadone is that you have to not do too much of it. If you are still practicing "drug seeking behavior" and think you are going to get "high" off doing more Methadone than therapeutically necessary, all it will do is, as you said, make you tired and depressed. When I was at the Methadone clinics, they have NO DESIRE for you to be on a low dose or for you to get off of it. They are a business. So they usually give you more than you actually need. I was on 120 mgs. of Methadone, and every day around 2pm, I would get so sleepy, I HAD to take a nap. If I didn't get that nap, I would be a zombie the rest of the day. Now I am on 70mgs (titrating down from 90mgs) and I am doing very well. (I get tablet Methadone from a doctor) The withdrawal symptoms are kept at bay, but I am not needing that "2pm nap".

You may be having a bad reaction to the Naloxone in the Suboxone, but my guess is that you are just on too much. May I ask what dose of Subuxone you are on? You shouldn't be getting tired or sleepy from it, and may just be on too much. Talk to your doctor about going down on your dose, just a little, and see how you feel.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Do u feel better on Methodeone then Suboxine? I'm on suboxine and always tired and depressed

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Thank god it's not just me. I hate how I feel on suboxone but don't no how to break down the pills

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

JUDY: You are going to have to go through a little discomfort. That's just how it is. Talk to your doctor, go really slowly, get things to help you with the symptoms. Fortunately you are on a very low dose. 5mgs a day is as low as I have ever heard of. So that is a definitely plus.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I am taking 2.5 mg twice a day and every time I try to taper I get the sweats so bad and feel terrible.I want to get off them. Please,can you help me.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I tried to switch from methadone to suboxone but failed. I have been on methadone for 5 years...I am at 30mg. I took wha...

3 REPLIES

I'm going through it, 29yrs old. Tried it one time since 2011. I'm tired and want to do it. Thanks ## It depends...

3 REPLIES

Hello Everyone, I have posted in other forums, not knowing where to post my story, to get answers and suggestions. I hav...

9 REPLIES

Hello everyone, I have been on Suboxone 8/2, twice a day for over 5 years. I want to get off it but I have major health ...

3 REPLIES

I'm on 16 mg of Suboxone a day. How long does it take to step down. I don't go see my doctor for 2 more weeks an...

1 REPLY

I've been on Norcos 10 mg on and off for the last three years. I take any where from 4 to 8 a day and I'm only 2...

1 REPLY

My wife decided to change our health care plan to save me a few bucks and apparently they fast talked her or she didn...

4 REPLIES

Hello all. I am a 22 year old mama to a 10 month old baby. I desperately need to get off opiates.. I mean, my situation ...

13 REPLIES

Before I fully switched to Suboxone and I ran out of my other meds, I'd be able to take a half of an 8mg Suboxone. I...

18 REPLIES

I got addicted to Roxy's for 2 1/2 yrs when my dad died and took suboxone to get off them. Then started feeling the ...

1 REPLY