Taper Help Needed - On Sub for 7 Yrs - .5mg Subutex

Hi Folks,

I will not tell the whole story, just some basics. I would also love some TAPER SUGGESTIONS. I would be so grateful.

Been on Sub 7 Years
Last 2 Years, Avg. of 1mg Daily (1x in AM)
Currently down to .5 (1x in AM)

In 6 Years, been off SUB totally 2 times. Each time for 3-4 Weeks.

The last time was 2 years ago. I was on .75 Daily, and jumped off from approx .375. I lasted for 3 weeks.

LAST TAPER EXPERIENCE
DAY 1-DAY 3: NOT SO BAD - MILD INSOMNIA
DAY 4: THIS IS WHEN IT STARTED....COLD...HEAVINESS...FATIGUED

Went on walks which helped ALOT!

DAY 5 - DAY 10: Didn't feel great, but kept moving.

* DAY 11: THE CRASH. This began the WORST 10 days of my life. I felt like 1,000,000 pound. Super heavy. Couldn't move. My body was too heavy to pick up out of bed and move. Shivering. Could NOT get warm. (Next time I will make sure we have sunny weather, as WARMTH is KEY)

DAY 11- DAY 21: Horrible. Depressed. COld. HEAVY. The heavy feeling is what caused the FATIGUE and immobility.

DAY 22: Couldn't take it anymore. GAVE UP.

This time I would like to succeed. I believe the half-life or plasma level is much greater than anyone has established.

Since I have been on it for 6 years, my cells are saturated.

GOAL: I am on .5. I would like an 8 WEEK TAPER that would get me to the JUMPING point around JULY 1st.

ANY IDEAS ?

I am on .5 today. I just take ONE morning dose, which maybe is not good ?

Here is what I thought:

(Will take single dose at 7AM)

10 WEEK TAPER

.5 DAILY FOR 3 WEEKS
.5 EVERY OTHER DAY - 1 WEEK (alternating with .25)
.5 EVERY 3 DAYS - 1WEEK (alternating with .25)
.5 EVERY 4 DAYS - 1 WEEK (alternating with .25)
.25 DAILY - 1 WEEK
.25 EVERY OTHER DAY - 1 WEEK (Alternating with .0125)
.25 EVERY 3 DAYS - 1 WEEK (Alternating with .0125)
.25 EVERY 4 DAYS - 1 WEEK (Alternating with .0125)

JUMPING POINT (10 WEEKS FROM NOW - THAT WEEK I WILL HAVE HAD 1mg total for the entire week)

Any suggestions ?

(My Taper period is a range from 8 - 10 weeks to get to the jumping point, which I would like around July 4th)

I would love any ideas ?

Also is it true the pills --- you only Absorb 15% ? Really ?

If this is true, the .5 I take now - I am basically getting 1/7th of that....?

Hi ByeByeSub,

It looks like you already have a great taper method down. You can research some of the older posts on it but considering everyone is a bit different, you may have the best taper method because you know how your own body reacts.

Too bad you couldn't have stuck it out previously when you jumped. Wow, it sounded pretty bad. But don't you wonder how you would have felt if you had lasted 4 or 5 weeks? This drug does take a long time to leave the body, but I am surprised you had such a hard time with it. Look up Laddertippers posts on her tapering. She got down really low and didn't have that hard of time with it. And she too was on it about the same amount of time. If you can't find it, I will and post it for you.

Welcome here and I wish you the best on your taper and jump.

Rule
_________________
Moderator status does not make me a professional when giving opinions about Suboxone treatment. My opinions are based upon experience.

Check out my and Sweet 16's A tale of 2 Quitters. 2 different taper methods that have both worked. THe first 5 days off sucked because of no sleep but I am at 30 days and have felt great for the last probably 10 of those days and the symptoms I had before were minimal. I jumped at .025mg I think. If you are on the pills, I highly recommend the liquid taper as it allows you to get accurate doses down to the microgram level. I also split my doses so I could sleep. That helped a ton as I would eventually not feel the need for the evening dose and I would just eliminate it. If you are at .5mg now I would try dropping to .4mg and take it .2mg in morning and .2mg at night. It took me about 5-7 days to adjust to each drop and then I would drop again. Honestly I would not even contemplate jumping until well below .1mg. This is a SUPER strong drug. I felt the drop from .0325 to .025. If you have the supply, take your time. That is the most important thing.

The Tale of 2 Quitters will give you an idea of WD's and what to expec tonce you reach those low levels. The Liquified taper chart from Diary of a Quitter is awesome and helped me a ton.

Have you considered throwing out / flushing all your remaining Sub once you have your last dose?

Good luck. We all have different w/d symptoms. I too am suffering, but will make it.... Why get off if it works for you and keeps you working and stable? Must be a reason...

I only read your first post so if i repeat what someone already said im sorry.,,But im gonna be following your thread cause I too have been on sub for yrs,,8 yrs come july and im wonderin about it bein harder to do after bein on it so long.
the only things i can think of to help youve probably already heard,,but immodium is good and its over the counter,,buy the generic,,its cheaper and works the same,,i tried it before thinkin it wouldnt help and i was surprised at how much it did help,,I think i took 6 pills but you cant take it long or your body becomes dependant on em,,plus theres that blood pressure med ,,damn , cant remember the name right now but my wife got some once from her doctor for wd's and i tried them and they really calmed me down,,and theres also nuerotin,,ive been on that for a long time and its something you can become dependent on too, but it calms you down and they are using it in some detox places.,,but i think the hardest thing when detoxing is forcing yourself to get up and out and doin something,,even if its just a walk around the block,,I have a punching bag,,and its something i like to do so gettin exercise isnt as hard.
anyway,,i really wish you luck,,and dont let the mental shit keep ya down,,be positive,,and be LOUD about it,,say,,YEA,, FUCK YOU SUB! AND EVERY OTHER DRUG!,CAUSE IM GONNA WHIP YER ASS!,,,lol
Tattoo Tommy

I think its good you are planning it out, I know I had too. Also, can you get comfort meds? I was too afraid to use benzos, but Hydroxyzine, Clonidine and some sleep meds help. I was lucky to have a friend provide me with Ambien for a few days, which helped. I only didn't sleep for an entire night one time.

Keep a positive attitude, be sure you want to get off. The weather is huge too, I was lucky to have some nice days which allowed me to walk the dog.

I have an extremely fast metabolism, so my WDs kicked in much sooner then it seems they do for most, by day 6 I was well on my way to getting over it. The fatigue and depression dragged awhile longer, but I feel pretty good. Still fatigued but not as seriously anymore.

I tried to jump. at .25 failed miserably. Up straight three nights. All my body would do was burn. Tried comfy drugs. Couldn't eat enough. After screaming for 3 days I finally took .25 and was able to sleep. Tried not to allow such a horrible experience not ruin my chances to quit this drug. Is the quick withdrawal with the Doctor better? Worth it. This is terrible. Suffer at each and every adjustment. Haven't sleep much for months now. Help.