Hi everyone

So happy I finally got registered so I could reach out. I am so happy that i found current forum.
I had surgery a year ago and was in the hospital for a while on dilaudid for a few months. Off and on june thru october. Started on pain pills in november percocet and hydro 10. At the end was up to about 20 a day.
Asked my doctor how to get off of them and he stated gis partner could do suboxone.
I had to be fully detoxed so had to go 3 days no meds. First time ever in withdrawal was awful. When i went to office they gave me 4 and 15 minutes later 4 and 15 minutes later 4.
I felt way better no more shaking and crawling skin. She said take a strip 8 at night and one in morning. 16 a day see you in a week.
My anxiety has been crazy worse ever and i get really hot almost feverish. I nodded off today trying to work.
Is thia normal? I also have these body twitches. When do they go away?

Any help appreciated

Hello there Flinval,
So glad to hear you ve joined us at the forum. There are so any good stories of recovery though Suboxone treatment. I hope you do some reading and more posting as well.
Please check out The Suboxone Talkzone blog, written by our founder Dr Jeff Junig. His story is is also very inlighting to say the least. You ll find you aren't alone in all this change.
Your induction sounds a little like my own years ago. I too began ot 12 to 16 mgs aday after a loug battle with a pill addiction that should have killed me. It may take some time to get use to your medication . 16mgs is a good dose to begin with, somewhat on the high end but remember this med is for stopping cravings mostly and of course WD . After awhile yo may want to talk with your dr about taking less. Ive stopping giving out dosing opinions these days. The thing is if your nodding continues at work or when you are not moving, such as sitting still, or have a tirednessthat hangs on, you may be on a bit to much. Talk with your dr .

Glad you found us..

Razor

Thank you Razr. I guess I have wound myself up so much by reading about all the negative things. I am now just looking for anything. I keep focusing on when I am going to go off suboxone. My md didnt really tell me a plan just to come back next week.
I am a little confused and worried about everything that is going on. How life got me here and where i go next

i expect you didn't get much sleep in those three days. maybe your body was finally relaxed enough to want to rest. you could take your dose in the evening if you're having issues nodding off while trying to work.

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Get your shit together and live your life." Black Snake Moan

hey flinval,

Welcome! Agree w the others. Imo, you were at a higher tolerance aka potency and bup is a lower tolerance/potency so you're brain is still adjusting to a lower dose. the drs here call it 'tolerance mismatch' and until your higher tolerance lowers to bup's, you can feel the mismatch. For some, their tolerance is lowered enough at induction time and for others, it takes a bit, a day to few days for some switching from short acting opiates, long acting - methadone and fentanyl take longer. You'll do great. give it a bit. Keep posting, can be questions or comments and more will respond to them! Best, P

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Did well on Suboxone. Stopped May 2011.
Stopping went well -- its the staying stopped -- where the real work begins.
Coming here 'keeps recovery green'.

The main thing I can recommend to u since ur newly on buprenorphine and it's possibly making u sleepy.... keep urself moving. In the beginning if I sat down to watch tv I'd fall asleep. So I started sitting on the edge of the seat lol so I wasn't so relaxed that I'd fall asleep. Also any time I felt myself getting sleepy, I'd just start doing something to get myself active.

At the end of the day, u have to say to urself...... is the side effects (being a bit tired) worth it compared to being in active addiction? My answer would be yes. I wasn't lucky enough to find bupe early on in my addiction. I tried every last thing I could to get recovery and nothing worked. I think that's why I have never been bothered by side effects, I never lost sight of what my life was like before suboxone. I was willing to go through whatever side effects came my way to stop the madness of active addiction. So maybe remind urself why u need this and I think that will help u deal a little better. Stay focused on the positive instead of worrying about what negative things ppl say. The internet is full of horror stories and most of them are just untrue.

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Jennifer

Thank you for responding. I really appreciate it. I have some other questions. Does anyone else have small twitches? I dont think it is because of subs. It started happening at the end of my pain pills. Why is this? Does it evr go away? Also i feel really good waking up. But get shaky as the day goes on. I am obsessing a little less about side effects and trying to focus on getting better. My doc didnt recommend any therapy and i think i need that. My anger is more visable now. Irritation with everything or spaced out. Idk. Day 6. Also support groups do we have one online?

we are your support group!
there are actually some groups online. there is one large group i know some people have experience with here. i can't think of the site. hopefully someone else will.
there are always NA meetings. the clinic i was going to required one NA meeting or one counseling session a month to get the sub script. because i had been an addict for so long my therapist diagnosed me as a sever opiate addict. i was going to see her every week! for the first 5 months or so. now i go twice a month. i really really does help. most of hat we talk about and work on isn't even addiction related.

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Get your shit together and live your life." Black Snake Moan

Hey Flinval, I'm also pretty new to buprenorphine. I started in April and have increased up to 16mg a day, 8 in the morning and 8 at night. I think I might be experiencing the 'twitches' you're talking about. It's been tripping me out and I didn't know if it was just in my head. It happens especially at night for me. But to be clear, this is not the restless leg syndrome I experienced during detox... it's a little more subtle.

I also have a lot of anxiety and spend hours awake at night. Along with processing all of my life's stressors, I've been noticing these jerks and twitches in my body. They range from my legs to my arms and even my head will jerk occasionally. I'm sorry if it's problematic for you, but to honest, I'm glad I'm not the only one experiencing this. It's so weird.

Until you mentioned it, I've been just thinking that my body is tired from all of the stress, including getting off of pain meds and long term use of Xanax. This is the longest I've gone without any anxiety medication for over 8 years. I figured my nerves were just shot.

It took me a little while to feel 'stable', but I'm beginning to feel better. I encourage you to hang in there and keep posting. If nothing else, communicating with others in the same boat will help keep your mind busy. That helps me.

I'm really surprised your doctor didn't suggest any type of counseling. I actually wasn't aware that you could get this medication without proof that you've attended some kind of outpatient program or 12 step meeting. But it has been the difference between night and day for me. I've been going to an Intensive Outpatient Program which is 3 days a week and 3 hours a day for 6-8 weeks. I have to do this for me. I've gone through detox twice now and that's it for me. I'm in this for the long haul.

I hope you find some answers and some comfort while you're here. Take care of yourself

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Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.

Oh my openmind so glad that you posted! I have the same anxiety issues. Went off of xanax also i have been on it forever. Yes the twitches are exactly as you are saying. I am all bound up nervous about everything. I have a great job that i just started. I was at the same place before for a long time. Alot of stress there and I had to get out for me. I guess I am so worried about anything and everything.
So you have been on since april? I wish I could go to a treatment class just to ask questions about everything. I got here because of a surgery that went bad and was on pain meds for a while. Then discharged and given alot for 6 months. Amazing enough i dont even know why as i have no pain since stopping percs!!

Hey man, we can get through this together! Anxiety is a real beast, and it has stole far too many years from me. That's why I really needed the structure of going to class every week. Being around people I could identify with and learning how to not only live with chronic pain, but also deal with my life long battle with depression and anxiety.

If you have some time to be online, maybe you could take a look at "mindfulness meditation" in your search engine. Learning how to focus my mind to be in the moment along with relaxing breathing techniques is starting to make a difference with my anxiety levels. I admit, it takes some time and it takes some patience. But I really think you should give it a try.

What happens when we get anxious? Our muscles get tight and we store all of that energy in our bodies. If you've been dealing with anxiety for any length of time, you know how certain thought patterns can feed into it and cause physical symptoms to manifest. You need to learn how to break that cycle and breathe... in through your nose and out through your mouth. And preferably the kind of breathing that makes your belly go out when you inhale. Big deep breaths!!

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Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.

Here's a video on YouTube that is an example of mindfulness meditation for anxiety and stress. Give it a try and let us know how you feel afterwards. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpiw2hH-dlc

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Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.

Thank you for this. A little intro about me. I am a 38 yo female. Dont have a long history with opiates 6 months. But am an alcoholic haven't drank in 4 years. I guess this is what cross addiction is. I talked to a friend today that takes subs. She suggested seeing an addiction md as the doc i have now is primary care and doesnt have me on tx plan. Not a bad idea. Maybe lower dose a bit and level out anxiety level

That sounds very reasonable to me. You need to find what works for your body. If you have the option to see an addiction specialist that you can afford, I would go for it!! The chances of them knowing what's better for you is much higher in my opinion.

Congratulations on not drinking for 4 years, that's awesome!! Did you have anxiety issues when you used to drink, or is it something that's come up recently?

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Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.

Anxiety I guess has always been there. I feel calmer now. Mhow about you how is your anxiety?

if you google "hypnosis for mind programming success" there are video that i've used to help with my anxiety. there is a whole series from anxiety to clenching your jaw!
good luck. its is my anxiety and fear of change that spurred this relapse and thru therapy i've realized this!

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Get your shit together and live your life." Black Snake Moan