Hey everyone

I think last time I was here was back in May and I had recently jumped from .5 to .25 mgs.

Well, today is day 13 without Subutex. I really don't know the exact mg I finally stopped at. It was a tiny little crumb. I realized I was thinking about every side effect and dreading every dose reduction so much that I felt like I was making myself feel worse. The past few months I was really just trying to put the sub in the back of my mind the best that I could.

I just started chipping away at my .25 here and there. I would try to see how long I could go without it. I usually took it first thing in the morning so the day I made it until 3am I decided I was just going to jump off the next day. The first night I took two Valium for sleep. I kept expecting a full blown withdrawal to hit me for the next few days. I have had some anxiety & disturbed sleep. I would fall asleep fine then about an hour later I would wake up wide awake with RLS.I have also been having annoying sneezing fits Still having those here and there ! I took Clonodine A few times and Trazadone for sleep when it was needed. Both those meds help me a lot.

I still feel that lack of motivation lingering, which I hate !! Is that paws? When does that go away? I'm sure its going to take awhile to feel completely back to normal.Whatever I have to deal with from here on in I'm sure I can handle.

I am enjoying things I used to love though like nature,reading & Music! Omg- Music has helped so much lately! It's like I'm hearing it for the first time. I guess just the little things in life ya know? Being with my little boy. Enjoying him. That's what life's about! Those little moments we sometimes can take for granted. I feel like I was asleep for the past couple yrs (my addiction+sub) and I'm starting to wake up. I'm not at all downing suboxone in any way so please don't get offended. I just think it works differently with each person's brain chemistry. I know some people say it helps with their depression. I think that is awesome! I wish it had done that for me but it actually had the opposite effect. I have no doubt that sub pulled me out of my addiction. It saved me and woke my ass up in so many ways. I am releived to be rid of all opiates though.

I realize this is where the tough work will begin for me! I went through my addiction which was a relapse and my sub maintenance without telling anyone close to me. Not even my spouse. I don't know how.I'm considering Naltrexone..kinda scared of finding the same side effects in naltrexone as sub. I plan to do my research though and find the best option for me. I'm also thinking of trying some NA or AA meetings. ☺I would love to hear any questions, suggestions you all might have.

I have really missed this place

xoxo

Well, hello.

I have really missed you around here and I'm so thrilled for you that you are done. 13 whole days in!!!! Go, Girl!! I hope to be coming up behind you soon. You describe the exact symptoms that make me go buggy and actually keep me from jumping. Specifically, the RLS and the insomnia. Do you still have the RLS and if not, how long did it last after you jumped? Are you functioning pretty much like normal, even though you are tired? Are you sleeping for solid blocks of time now? Gimme all the details, lol.

You did it! You did it! I so friggin' proud of you!!!!

laddertipper

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First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald

[font=Comic Sans MS] Hey girl!

Thank you so much sweetie! Yup, day 14 now. You are coming up fast behind me! Your at what .25? Your almost done!! If you take a chunk of subutex prolly half of .25 that's basically where I jumped. I dunno if it's at all different with the film. I know you got this beat my friend

My symptoms were annoying ladder, but let me stress they were very minor compare to a regular opiate w/d.
The damn taper was the hardest part!! I'm not kidding you. Once I got below that .5 mark it seemed to get easier from there! Once I hit .25 it seemed pointless to me. The little crumb would just disintegrate in a sec. The w/d I experienced from whatever sub was in my system was nothing like I thought it was going to be. I built it up a lot in my mind.

No watery eyes or yawning. No chills. Just the random sneeze attacks. The insomnia with RLS lasted me only a couple days. Trust me those were the symptoms I dreaded the most as well. It was something I could put up with. The first night I took Clonodine early & Valium before bed and once during the night. The next couple nights I would take trazadone before bed and it helped a ton! It knocked me out. quick. When I did wake up the first couple nights I took Valium. I could fall back asleep pretty quickly. If you don't have trazadone I recommend you try to get yourself some.

I'm functioning pretty normal. I am super tired lately and a tad irritable. just a tad he he.. I'm still trying to shed this damn lead suit of mine I'm trying to eat well and exercise. No more RLS at all. I think my sleep is a little off .It's hard for me to get to sleep at night. (It just feels like I'm not tired) I will lay there for a bit before I fall asleep.. Then once I'm asleep its hard to wake up. I have been sleeping a lot. Last night I went to bed at 11pm fell asleep quick last night about 15 Min's and slept straight through until 9am. I'm starting to wonder if my sleep issues & the tiredness I'm feeling might be a side effect from my anti-depressant. Might be to high of a dose.

No more paying for my sub doc or script..That will be nice! I have sub left what the heck do I do with it?! Anyone know? I don't want to throw it in the garbage. I want to dispose of it the right way. I just want it gone.

Thanks so much for your response ladder,It means a lot! Feel free to pm me anytime sweetie! We will soon be talking about your jump! It's right there! You got this!!!

♥


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It really depends on the state you live in but here in Nevada you just turn it in to the local police dept. California has twice a year roundups for old meds.

Check with your local pharmacy and see what they say. They may take them as well.

Congratulations on being totally free! I'm close behind.

My local pharmacy gave me the number for medication disposal. You can call them or ask if you are there.

Thanks so much for your reply rule That's awesome your close to being done as well!! Good for you!

Zyggy thanks for your respose as well


I just wanted to give a quick update..

Into the third week things got kinda hard for me. I don't know if it was just a stomach flu or the sub w/d but I was really sick for a good 3 days or so. I think it must have just been a flu becase that seems a little delayed for any kind of harsh w/d like that. Emotionally is was kinda draining me cause I kept wondering if it was in w/d or paws or what.

Today is day 23 and the past couple days have been really good. My mind is clear and my motivation is coming back with a vengence .I have been up and about early and keeping busy all day. I'm not easily aggitated like before. Kinda feels like I'm on a natural high

One thing I have noticed is pain. Wtf?! Latlely I have been having all sorts of bad aches and pains!! Especially back pain !! I have always delt with back problems but I didn't have them while taking subs of course. Those things are super STRONG
My back is what led me back into my addiction so this has not been fun @ all. I swear, it's almost like a test. I have been taking ibuprofen and sleeping on the floor it sucks. Stretching is helping a little. Hopefully,it's a spasm and it will just pass. I feel so mentally strong right now so it's keeping my spirits up and getting me through the pain for now.

Miss.Self.Destruct,

A huge, MASSIVE congratulations to you on hitting day 23......and you sound like you're doing so dang good, that's fantabulous!!!

You lucky dog, you're getting your motivation back already, I'm just amazed with your progress.

OK, about the pain, it took me a good couple to few months before I started to notice just how effective Ibuprofen was on the pain. I honestly think you will notice the Ibuprofen working better for you as time goes on. You know about my injuries and I'm at the point where I only take a couple of Advil a couple of times per week, if that!!! The Advil knocks the heck out of my ankle pain, when I get ankle pain, which isn't too frequent.

I hear ya on feeling SO mentally strong, I will never forget that feeling once I got off of Suboxone and some time had passed. I believe I said something to the effect of, I feel like I could bench press a Skyscraper!! You got off of Suboxone, you did a GREAT taper, you should feel mentally strong!!

Hang in there Bud, you got this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Be kind to yourself. Our character defects do NOT define who we are!

Hey Romeo,

You talking about ibuprofen reminded me of what a Dr. told me. He said that nsaids like ibuprofen, naproxen etc. are supposed to be built up in your system to get the full benefit. So when he started me on ibuprofen he told me to take it 4 times a day for the first 10 days. Then I could take it as needed but if I went to long without I should take it for a few days again. To my surprise it really made a difference. He said most drs don't tell the patients how to take nsaids properly. Any way just thought I would throw that out there. Hope you have a good night!

Miss.self.destruct Congratulations! Thank you so much for coming back and posting all of this. I know what you mean about waiting each day for the BIG symptoms to hit and then they never come. I had the same experience last year when I went off briefly. I think this is so important for people to hear, because there is so much misinformation out there about Sub withdrawal.
I have heard many, many, people say that they suddenly caught a cold or other virus when going off of Sub or other opiates, after not being sick for years. I think our bodies adjust so much to being on the medication that it just throws our system off when we stop taking it. I would be willing to bet you actually caught a virus on week 3. A dose of 0.25 or 0.125mg would have a short half life and theres no way WD's would take 3 weeks to kick in.
It sounds like you're doing fantastic. I've heard people say that they started feeling much better after 30 days - you are so close! Hopefully you will feel more energetic and motivated. Please come back and give us an update when you can.
Thanks again for posting
Lilly

Today marks one month of me being sub free I feel great! Not perfect but thats fine. I don't expect to this soon. Im still having stomach issues, some aches and pains but I really can't complain! I'm so happy I made it off! Thanks for everyone's replies they really help me to feel & stay motivated! I'm currently looking into NA. Hope to get to a meeting for the first time this week.

Question about antidepressant meds. Ok so I was prescribed 100 mg Zoloft and I continued to take that dose during my sub taper. Now that I'm off subs I wanted to wean down.I'm wondering if it might be to soon though. I did drop to 75mg and within a few days I was feeling kinda off.. Is this normal? Dizzy,numbness in my face,mood swings. Can this happen that quickly? I do go back up to 100 mg and I feel great again. I'm thinking maybe I should just stay put for awhile and not rush myself off meds so quick. Any advice is appreciated

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I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
I really love to watch them roll
No longer riding on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go.
-John Lennon

Congratulations on 30 days MSD!!! You Rock!!

As far as tapering off of Zoloft, I have no experience whatsoever with that med, so I'm gonna refrain from giving any advice on that one.

Hopefully someone else on the forum has experience with it and can give you their take on it.

_________________
Be kind to yourself. Our character defects do NOT define who we are!

Congrats Miss Self Distruct,

Maybe I shouldn't be posting because I'm the family member of an addict, not an addict myself.... but you have accomplished so much. Why rush to get off Zoloft? Give yourself time to adjust to your new opiate free life. Also depression may have fueled your addiction, why stop treating it?

I'm a huge fan of chiropractic care and accupuncture. I was a distance runner (my addicition) for years even though it cause unbelievable knee pain. I can walk today because of a competent chiropractor. I also had chronic neck pain that the chiropractor could not address, but accupuncture took care of it. I was not a believer in either of these modalities before they helped me. If you have persistent pain you might consider those options. No guarantees but both are drug free and rather pleasant.