How Long After You Stop Suboxone Do You Have Withdrawal Symptoms? (Page 39)

My 63y/o mother survived chemo and radiation for throat cancer but was unable to stop the morphine 15mg twice a day without horrible withdrawal symptoms. Her MD put her on Suboxone 8mg/2mg once a day in June. She even took half the strip on most days and the doctor was very pleased and anticipated that she would be able to stop altogether in November. She unfortunately had a stroke 14 days ago and has been in the hospital. The first 7 days she was confused from the stroke but now she is weak and forgetful but is no longer disoriented. She told me tonight that she thought she needed her Suboxone. She said she thought she was going thru withdrawal. I was floored. She is not having any outward signs of withdrawal: no back/stomach pain, no nausea/vomiting, no sweating or tremors. Isn't 14 days long enough for the Suboxone to be completely out of your system and for withdrawal symptoms to have come and gone??? Any answers will be greatly appreciated.

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Has the legal action against the makers of Suboxone started yet??? If they have, let me know. I want in on that. Thanks.

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This is not exactly what I said. The spikes in blood pressure & tachycardia was from going thru withdrawal- not opiates. Y'all changed my post a little too much. Don't like that. Makes me not want to post anything.

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Hi thanks so much for your positive reply! Unfortunately I have gabapentin, muscle relAxer, And clonidine. None of that has eased any of my withdrawals. This is night 5 and i can start to feel SOME of the restless leg die down. I can lay for about 20 minutes with out moving my legs. Which i guess is huge. I feel icky and depressed off and on. I know this is normal. But OMG why did i take suboxone for almost SIX YEARS!!? i have never felt so horrible with withdrawals.good thing is-i have not felt the need to run and find the stuff that made me need suboxone in the first place. I just want to feel better. I know I will. Thanks so much for your advice/support! I needed that!

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It's been a year now. I wouldn't get back on Suboxone for anything! It basically ruined, or I ruined, my life, as a result of using it. Actually, I was "fine" on it, it's when I came off of it that things got real serious, real fast. BUT! That's MY story, it doesn't have to be anyone else's. I'm older, 51, was in early menopause at the same time AND received NO HELP from outside medical sources until I was in very bad shape. Everyone I sought help from denied that I was suffering from Suboxone withdrawals. It was all in my head, and as usual, I was just drug seeking. I even took that into consideration....

I'm not going to tell the war story, because there is a very strong psychological component involved with Suboxone withdrawals. Which, I can assure anyone, do, in fact, exist. I found this website and a few others (all still heavily monitored, ?) and I felt the first tiny bit of relief. This is even after 5 days at a psychiatric hospital! Where the acronym PAWS never. came. up. There is FANTASTIC advice on here about what to when you are first withdrawing: importance of tapering, Gabapentin, Clonidine, etc. etc. Less about what happens on down the road, the post-post stuff. Unfortunately, I don't think many of us get that far. The only advice I really feel qualified to give, however, is this: don't EVER get on a maintenance program of subs. If you are, get off. If you are getting off, like I STILL am, one YEAR later, God be with you.

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Teresa, l have been there. Five years on Suboxone a seven month taper and jumped at .5 mg after two weeks. Hang in there it does get worse before it gets better. The issues you bring up are easily resolved. My Psyciatrist prescribed me 30 mg of Valium for only three weeks because it is dangerously addictive in addition to 900 mg oh Gabapentin both three times a day. It kept me well sedated and I never vomited or had rose. The Gabapentin is physically dependent but can easily and painlessly be weaned in less than two weeks. You can take it for months and it really helps. The big helper cannot be taken for a minimum of 14 days off of Suboxone and at that take a small dose. It is Naltrexone in compound form mixed by a real pharmacy. Start with .25 mg per ml and take one ml twice a day for two weeks then increase to two mg twice a day for a week then to four ml twice a day. These are small doses as the recommended goes up to 25 mg a day. You have to make sure the Suboxone residual is out of your body. Naltrexone can be mixed in an oral suspension which tast like a light cherry syrup. Very easy to take. It fills the open sore receptor which is left by the absence of Suboxone. It is generic VIVITROL and much cheaper. Two months supply about $30.00 versus a once a month hip shot with thick oil for about $1000.00. The daily administration keeps your serum levels even so not ups and downs and no tremendous hip pain from the shot. Your Dr. Can have the strength of the compound increased. Aleve works when you hit the lumbar pain period. Both the Valium and Naltrexone will relieve the anxiety. The hardest part to feeling better is the medication management. Again Valium is a benzodiazepine and an be dangerous if you take it to long. Expect to be out of it for three weeks until your off the Valium. Good nutrition and any exercise no matter how little will speed your recovery.

This is a major undertaking but very doable. Everything can change in a mi ute so do not quit or get discouraged. I ended up having chronic Parethesia and went on 20 mg oh Cymbalta after ten months. It worked after a week. Hoping the neurotic issues resolve shortly and I will discontinue the Cymbalta. Good luck and "stay the course". I have more remedies if you have more issues which I did. I check the site daily. In month eleven and finally feeling fine.

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Tommy, thanks so much for your reply and advice.. Today is day 6 and yet to have slept more than 3 hours a night-and that is in incriments. Its not only thr rls (which nothing has helped that) but even when my legs calm down I can't get comfortable or wind down to sleep even though my body needs sleep and it has to be tired! Jesus how long can the human body go with out sleep! That is the most frustrating part. Even though the anxiety and depression off and on sucks too. Going sleepless is horrible.

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The sleep issue resolves itself real quick once you get the medication I suggested. The Valium 10 mg 3 times a day will put you down and really help. This site has lots of good information so read some of these posts. Everyone's withdrawals vary.

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Teresa, try an Epsom Salt bath late at night before attempting to sleep. It will help to relax your legs and smooth out any tight muscles. It's temporary but it helps. I would always be able to catch about 2-3 hours sleep afterwards which was huge. RLS for me was always the worst side affect of sub wds. And the lack of sleep really hampers you psychologically. I think if you can find a way to get some sleep you will feel much better. I've also heard melatonin and phenibut work well for the sleeplessness but I've never tried them so I can't say first hand. Maybe something else to look into.

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niele: I am 69 years old and I have been off of Suboxone 11 months after ten years of opioids (5 yr 120mg OxyContin and 5 years Suboxone). I felt a psychological affect often in my dreaming. Sometimes anger and other times very happy with illusions of grandure. Not so much anymore as I am finishing physical withdrawals in the form of Parethesia which we are treating with Cymbalta. I do believe the older you are the harder it is however age teaches patience and I just look at it as time not pain or anger. Many people have to hold their family together and earn an income along with withdrawing. I am lucky my family is grown, my wife is very supportive, and I get encouragement from my kids all the time.

You being at one year is great. I am reading more and more about people with extended withdrawals. Too many people quit trying before 9 or 10 months when it is much easier. Withdrawals is a tough lesson but better than living in a fog and being dependent on that orange strip everyday controlling your life.

For anyone reading this post and thinking about getting off of Suboxone, there is ample information in these posts to assist you in having a comfortable withdrawal. Not everything works for everyone although if you search it out in these posts you will find something that works for you. It is very important to have a doctor or Psychiatrist working with you. "stay the course".

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Teresa, go to the doctor, my doctor has helped me along the way. I explained to him my addiction with the demon and how it ruined my life and I just wanted off of it, to be free from it. Hydroxyzine worked for me, I went thru 40 of them in 6 days, yes, it is an awful terrible experience people. But I can tell you this. I am on 27 days today and couldn't be happier to be off suboxone. Not to sound gross but I haven't had a period in like a year and a half. I am now having a period. I used to be a size 12 and weighed 175 lbs. I now am wearing a size 3 weighing about 135, and that is after gaining back about 15 pounds.....crazy....you guys can do this, it might seem like a long time for withdrawals but now at day 27 things are going pretty well. I take a lot of supplements. I am taking citalopram for anti depressant, naltrexone 25 mg once a day, lyrica 100 mg 3 times a day(this does cause physical dependance but I have came off it like 3 times with minimal side effects, I found it really helps with my back pain) clonidine once a day. I have lowered this because I found i dont need it as much. I also am taking one 25 mg benadryl as needed for anxiety, but went thru a s*** load between days 8 until i think day 15 when I started the naltrexone. I am taking l-lysine once a day, multivitamin once a day, l-argentine 2 capsules 3 times a day, l-glutamine 2 capsules 3 times a day, niacin 1 capsule once a day, and iron once a day, and melatonin for sleep once a day. I haven't taken any sedatives for sleep guys. I am praising god on the daily for my body feeling SO MUCH MORE PHYSICALLY HEALTHY. I plan to write some letters about the suboxone because of this mess. Please guys keep coming back. It is really worth it.

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TommyC you hit the nail right on the head. If you guys want off suboxone bad enough, it can be done, please do it sooner rather than later, the longer you wait the harder and longer the withdrawl. There is hope people. I am so grateful for how far I have come and I could have NEVER DONE THIS ALONE. DO NOT TRY TO DO THIS ALONE, TELL SOMEONE, TALK TO PEOPLE, YOU CAN DO THIS. I wanted my life back, I wanted to be free. I wanted to have motivation again. Literally when I was on suboxone it destroyed my life. I was a single independent woman working at a state job for 3 years. I worked for DHS. When i started suboxone I couldnt concentrate, it ruined my thinking, I screamed at my mother, my boyfriend, I called my daughter something very bad, I WAS A DIFFERENT PERSON, IT CHANGED ME INTO SOMEONE I DID NOT WANT TO BE. I know that my higher power will restore my sanity, because he is doing it one day at a time you guys. Just to feel naturally happy, high on life for a few minutes every day during HELL THAT YOU GO THRU makes you see what you can have again, that kept me going, I haven't felt this happy in years. I have had like at least 5 people tell me I am calmer. Please guys, read the posts, ask for help, TommyC I NEVER WOULD HAVE MADE IT THIS FAR WITHOUT YOUR HELP ON THE NALTREXONE because of the anxiety, and you don't even know me. You guys, caring about people in our situation, we are all addicts and praise be because without you guys I couldn't do this. Amen, 28 days guys, 2 more days and I get my 30 day tag.

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I was going to a suboxone clinic for 3 years. They started me at two 8mg's a day. It took me way too long to realize suboxone is not meant to be a maintenance drug. The side-effects of long term use are awful. Constipation, no libido, foggy brain, fatigue, I felt like a zombie. Finally after 3 years, and only having tapered down to 8mg a day, I decided I'd had enough. I went to a treatment center to try and quit for good. I lasted 9 days until I couldn't take anymore. The withdrawals didn't start until day 5, a day after I was moved off the detox ward. I had restless body syndrome so bad that I was convulsing all night. I didn't sleep for four straight nights. Anyone who has been to a rehab knows that they try and keep you busy all day. I was so crazy from sleep deprivation that I could barely keep myself together. I decided I should go home rather than freak out on a staff member and end up in the psych ward. This was the worst thing I had ever gone through and I thought I was an expert on withdrawing from opiates. I didn't want to eat or drink, couldn't sleep, my anxiety was freakin' nuts, I really thought I was going insane. I went home and tried to use dope to get through the sub withdrawals. It only ended up making them worse. I am not trying to scare anyone into not taking subs. Subs are ok if used to treat opiate withdrawals for a week or so. Anything longer than that is too long. For anyone like me who has taken them long term and wants to quit, you CAN do this. Be strong and don't waver. I'm on day 36 and I feel fine physically. The worst was done by day 21. Also, everyone's body is unique in the way it detoxes. You are not alone in this fight. Thousands, if not millions, have gone before you and they are doing ok. Don't give up on yourself!

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Just finished reading the multiple years of this post. So grateful to all contributors. You are all much more helpful in understanding what I am going through withdrawing from Suboxone than the medical treatment team. I am almost 60 years old. I was treated with oxycodone for pain associated with 3 major back surgeries over a three year period. Because of severe, persistent neuropathy after the 3rd surgery, I had a spinal neurostimulator placed in August of 2015. It successfully cleared the neuropathy pain but had to be removed 4 weeks after implant as it got infected. After that the pain got worse and the plan was to replace the neurostimulator in December of 2015. While waiting, I continued the oxycodone but I started having terrible sweats, icy chills and progressively bizarre nightmares and anxiety. This got progressively worse (my psychiatrist who was aware of the oxycodone I was taking) didn't have any insight on why this was happening. I became terrified that I was loosing my grip on reality so I sought admission at a psychiatric treatment facility. As a matter of emergency intervention, I was taken off of oxycodone cold turkey on Nov 24, 2015 and 48 hours later was in fulminant withdrawal. After about 10 hours in full, opiate withdrawal, I was started on Suboxone. I was in treatment for 4 weeks inpatient then 2 weeks as an outpatient. Now I am 88 days off of oxycodone and 15 days off of Suboxone. I tapered the Suboxone to 0.12 mg/day (1/8th of a film) then stopped. The first 7 days were tolerable (didn't sleep the second night and had that disturbing icy/hot feeling moving around under my skin but ate, went to pool, and cleaned house. This second week was MUCH harder. I went 3 nights with no sleep with RLS and that "Joan of Arc sensation!" It truly feels like your skin is on fire - you just don't burst into flames! The psychiatrist called in Seraquel 50 mg and that has put me to sleep for 6-8 hours - that so helps. I have been taking warm tub baths and doing gentle stretches. I feel very, very fatigued, have a headache, skin is still on low burn, and I am irritable. At the very low doses of Suboxone I developed marked hypertension with readings around 200/105. My treatments/interventions have been a combination of what I learned from a couple of articles on the internet, my doctor, a friend who is a pharmacologist and some friends in recovery. For the hypertension, in addition to Clonidine 0.2 mg q 12 hours, I am on Lisinopril and amlodopine. For anxiety - Buspar 20mg qid. For depression - Cymbalta 30 mg tid. Naprosyn and Tylenol as needed. For sleep - serequel 50 mg who's, doxepin 100 mg q hs, melatonin 5 mg and Tylenol PM. For RLS - Mirapex 0.25 at noon and 0.38 2 hours before bed. I am also on the recommended high end amino acid supplement, omega fatty acids, multivitamin, B complex, and an herbal supplement named Elimidrol which I take the daytime and evening formula. The overall burning/icy feel is still so difficult that I am considering starting on Gabapentin. I had been on it for the post-multiple-back-surgery (PMBS) neuropathy but it was stopped in the hospital because of concern that in combination with Suboxone it precipitated critical apnea. I have done many difficult things in my life but the last 3 months has been by far and away the most difficult and unnerving. I am tired and worn down. I am grateful for it all for multiple, enlightening events. High up on the list is that I had no idea (and neither did any of my treating physicians) that the PMBS neuropathy that resulted in one and almost a second spinal stimulator implant was in reality chronic withdrawal pain in my lower legs and feet!!!! When I get finished with this last escape from Suboxone I no longer need any treatment for post-multiple-back surgery neuropathy. I wonder how long I might have gone on taking oxycodone if I had not slowly gone crazy this last Fall. God got me out of a really tall tree I didn't even realize I was in. It was painful during the fall from the high limbs, and once I hit the ground I was still in a jungle and have fought my way out this far. I am beginning to see the light of the clear sky beyond this jungle in the near distance. Thanks again for all of your posts. I will pray for you all.

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I worry about your health.. U need rest! This is when your body heals and repairs itself! I know my blood pressure goes sky high to where they have to hospitalize me,I hope and pray u are keeping a good watch on this plus your pulse! Valium as the person said in ^above post has been a miracle drug for me along with bystolic(a heart medicine I take for mitrovalve prolapse) but I've noticed many others take clonidine. Many blessings sent your way!!!

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Wes & Whitegloves-
Being on subs can actually cause you to feel like your in more pain then you really are. When I got off even days 14-18 my body felt like crap and I was on pain medication for years before starting subs. Pain meds were way easier to come off of, hind sight is 20/20. I am just grateful to have my life back. I cleaned my room and car around day 14 and hated every minute and felt like I couldn't barely move and had to push myself but then I was able to shovel the driveway last weekend for my boyfriend's mom and I'm now 37 days. I have true appreciation for life now. I am just so happy to be alive and be happy. If anyone has questions please ask, it feels good to be happy.

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You'll notice you are turning a corner in your recovery when your senses and emotions begin to return. Suboxone never made me high so I never realized how much it had changed my personality. For 2 years on that garbage I didn't experience joy and I didn't feel pain. I just went through the motions of life with dull emotions and fake smiles. Around the 3rd week after quitting subs I was listening to the radio and the music sounded better than it had in years. Food tasted better. I missed friends that I hadn't thought about since childhood. It was amazing. I felt sorrow and natural joy all at the same time. That was when I truly realized that subs had turned me into a zombie. Way more than the painkillers ever had. I wish I had known when I decided to turn to suboxone what a horrible medicine it really is and for me the cure was worse than the disease. I would have happily detoxed off of opiates if I had known what I was in store for with the subs. I always knew with the painkillers that if I could make it to day 5-6 the physical withdrawal was done and by day 30 PAWS was winding down and I would be back to my happy self again. With suboxone, I was in physical withdrawal for nearly a month and PAWS lasted well beyond 3 months. I was beginning to think it was permanent and that I had a better life on pills. I hung in there and have now been clean since September 21, 2014. For those of you still suffering, it gets better and it is so worth it when you finally hit the end of the tunnel. Detoxing is the first step to being your true self once again and the temporary pain is just your body and brain healing itself. I wish you all the best as you rediscover yourself the way you were intended to be. Just remember, it's temporary and it's worth it.

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My name is brad I have been on subs 8mg. Twice Dailey for 3 years I donnot like the way I feel so I stopped cold turkey I dud keep 1 strip my dr gave prmethazin and clonidine Tylenol I have over half the strip left I font need it during the hours 24 to 60 I tore a very very small piece off it really works miss it important I asked Jesus to please help me that's how I did it not me but him promisse he will he loves you and cares so much about you

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Brad: Congrats on taking a baby step. Now is the time to throw out all the Suboxone in the house and read these posts starting in reverse order (newest posts first). There is more information here than any of the Doctors know. As long as you put even an 1/8 of a mg in your mouth you will not start real withdrawals. Many people jump off at 8 mg. If you read as I said you will have all the information you need to have an easy withdrawal. I am 69 yrs old and jumped 12 months ago. There are several people on this site daily who will answer your questions and lead you in the right direction. The first three weeks will be tough however I have a post telling you everything you will need to make it very tolerable. Not everything will work for you but on this thread there is always an answer that does work. Keep us informed of your progress.

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Brad: Get something to help sleep or you will go crazy, you will be laid up for a week to ten days but you can make it with help. TommyC is right, keep posting, if you have questions ask. I know my anxiety was so bad I couldn't even sit still for ten minutes at a time and reading was really hard sometimes but you can get help from these posts. While you still can get something for anxiety. I would suggest asking your doctor for some valium or hydroxyzine if you are concerned about dependence upon another drug. I went thru 40 hydroxyzine in 6 days plus trazadone plus clonadine plus benadryl. Also start an anti depressant.

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Okay I got problems it's kind of private but I'm going to post about it because I need answers if they are known...I'm taking citolpram 20 mg a day and naltrexone 25 my a day and lyrica 100 mg 3 x a day I can't go boom in bed. ..if anyone understands anyway I'm about to stop taking all 3 because I can't but I fear anxiety if I do. .please help

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