First day on 4 mg for maintenance, how low do you go?

I've come down from 16 mg to 8 mg, then to 6 mg, and finally tonight to 4 mg, all in about 5 weeks. So far I've felt no withdrawal. I'm really excited. I'm not trying to get off Subs at all, I'm just trying to take the lowest possible dose for maintenance. What's the lowest dose people get away with for maintenance?

Hi jd! Good for you...it sounds like you've done a great job reducing your dose. I don't know the answer to your question, but I can answer how it's gone for me. I did very similar to you in terms of getting my dose down from 12-16mg/day down to 8 real quick, stayed there for a little bit, then dropped on down to 4mg/day without really much difficulty at all. I've been on Sub for a total of 7 months now. I reduced further down to about 3mg/day, then began having some stressors come up (I posted about it) so I decided to just go back up to 4mg again. What I've done a lot of days is take 2mg in the morning and then 'try' to make it without another dose in the evening. What's happening is by evening I'm experiencing some cravings and mild anxiety symptoms so I'll go ahead and take another 1-2mg piece of Sub int he evening. While I've not had to take the second dose every day, I'd say I have a good 80% of the time.
I'm not that happy with myself right now about having to go back up a little bit. The 'stressors' have settled down now, but I'm still feeling a little unsettled inside.....having more thoughts of using than I would like, stuff like that.
All that to say that, for me, it seems trying to go under 4mg/day has brought much more difficulty than the other reductions. For some reason, I thought I could get down to 2mg and be fine, but apparently not yet. If I were you, jd I'd stick with the 4mg for a good while before trying to reduce further. Enjoy being stable where you are and use the time to work on other recovery skills and get stronger.
That's just my opinion. I'm sure you'll discuss all this with your doctor and follow his/her guidelines as you progress.
Glad you're doing well!
By the way....like you, I've definitely noticed less side effects with the doses under 8mg/day....another plus for getting your dose down a bit!

If you can do that you can probably do without them if you want to. I'd see how you feel. I'm in the tapering off process. But I only took 2-3 mg once a day the entire time that I took it. I started August 29th 2008 and was amazed that I went to dinner that night. My first night off of Lortab 20 or so a day and I went out for my husbands birthday. I couldn't believe it, no w/d just weird in the head kinda. I'm new here and I'm grateful to have found this site. I thank you all for the stories it helps when you know that others have to deal with the same things daily as I do.. Congrats on your taper, that's great. Lynn

I subscribe to the "less is more" theory. I tapered from 8MG to 4MG down to 2MG and didn't feel much of a difference within a few days, and honestly, 2mg is (for me anyway) enough for maintenance. There are a handful of people on this forum (which i've learned from lurking, before registering) that take even lower amounts, some 1mg or less. It''s really all about you. The key is, finding the lowest possible dose of suboxone that keeps you from being ill or craving to use real opiates. Not only will this save you money, but if or when you decide to give up on the subs, you'll be that much further ahead of the game.

I've been on Subs almost 6 months. I started at 16 mgs a day, easily came down to one 8 mg pill a day for a few months, then went down to 6 mgs (a half-pill and a quarter). The 6 mg level was fine. But then I went to 4 mg, and after about 4 days I began having mild withdrawal symptoms. The physical stuff was a nightly headache, very large pupils all the time, needing to yawn/stretch often, and constant feelings of restless legs/limbs. Although all of it was relatively mild. The worst thing, however, was the sleep disturbance! I had nightmares all night, every night for a week solid, and couldn't go into deep sleep. It was turning into hell, so finally after about twelve days at 4 mgs, I went back up to 6. Right away, I felt better. So, I've done this process three times now, being good at 6 mg and going down to 4 mg and getting sick and having to come back up.

But what I don't get is, why can almost everyone else go down to 4 mg just fine, and I can't do it? I know everyone's body is different, but 6 mg is kind of a lot to be the bare-bones minimum I can get away with. I guess it's a good thing I don't plan on going off this stuff soon, because I have a feeling tapering would be a nightmare for me!

Z

Ziggy, Hi and welcome! You might think in terms of absorption. Perhaps you don't get quite as good of absorption as others and that is why you can't get under 6mg. Read up on the forum and on Dr. Junig's blog about 'maximizing absorption.'
Another thing I'm thinking is...you've only been on Sub for 6 months, you may just not be ready to drop any lower than that. Give yourself some more time to just be stable at 6mg....you may reach a point when you know it's time to drop again and at that point be successful with a reduction.
When/if that time comes, maybe try dropping to 5mg for a couple of weeks, then on down to 4mg.
One more thing....don't get yourself hung up on the numbers game when it comes to your dose. I've done the same thing...it's really not too smart. As others here have said, your dose is just a number and that number matters far less that how you're really doing in recovery.
I get how you feel though.....try not to stress over it!

As usual, setmefree, I agree totaly! I think that the absorbtion factor (plus metabolizm too maybe, but mainly absorbtion) is why many of us vary with what dose is the best for us or what dose is the least we can take to be maintained. There is nothing wrong with being on 6mg per day, again as setmefree said try not to get hung up on the actual milligram dose you are taking (hung up on the number) and instead focus on how YOU feel. The maximum absorbtion thread is a great place to learn how to get the max. absorbtion of your sub. Good luck!
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