I would not wish this withdrawal hell on anyone...I had to break down today and take a Tylenol with codiene, it took the edge off and I'm feeling human again...also I received a letter from my doctor that he's retiring June 17...guess I picked the perfect time to withdraw myself....still going strong!!
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your strength is amazing. I am so sorry about your doctor retiring, it is a bummer when we find a good one, and then they up and leave :(
Hugs to you! Stay strong.
I'm still going strong and feeling better today...if I can do this anyone can, you just have to want it!!
I am so happy for you!!! I bought b-6, b-12, T-Lyrocine and bought Gatorade as someone suggested. I must say it helped me 100%. I tried to get off subs a year ago and couldn't make it. This time is different, I want this. I took Suboxone for 5yrs. It's been day 5. Last night was ruff. But I'm hanging in there very well. Your stories inspired me. Thank you
@Happy4me17 also there is something called passion flower, this helps with any anxiety…I posted today the other things that help…you can do this…stay strong!! It’s so worth it!!!
I glad to help in any way...2 aleve in the morning helps with aches a pains..I take B-12 5,000 mgs and ginseng also in the morning..at night I use valerian root and I've had no problem sleeping...last night I took a benedryl because my heart was racing...slept great!! I think the biggest thing is to fore yourself to do things, if you just sit then your mind goes to how awful you feel...I will never say it's easy but I will say it's totally worth it...I feel better today than yesterday...every day is a feat and it feels great when you get thru it...I called my doctor yesterday, it was a weak moment and at first I thought about having him give me my prescription but then I told him no, I wanted to wait til after the weekend...sometimes knowing that it's available can also help...in my mind I'm doing great but knowing if it gets really bad I can always just call...I don't plan on calling..it's downhill from here!! If I can be of any help just let me know...you can do this!!!
These are all good ideas. I would add hot baths, music.....music is like reintroducing yourself to feelings. Walks, sunshine, good food, good chocolate, try to avoid caffeine. There are plenty of calming herbal supplements just be careful of still relying on something /replacing. If you are past the physical withdrawals then in that arena you're in the clear. After not taking suboxone for a few weeks, physically we're pretty much ok. It's the emotional/psychological that still must be addressed. Every one of us should do research on how our brains stop producing the natural feel good chemicals that we need because we were flooding it with opiates instead. It takes a long time to recondition the brain to make its own endorphins and such again.
Keep it going, you're doing great. Keep reminding yourself of what you don't want for your life any more.
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I spent day 2 in a pool..lol..no hot flashes!! And I live on caffiene...i would probably have a harder time giving up coffee over suboxone...but I also didn't miss a day of work...I've been out for walks, bowling, swimming ..like I said if you just sit around your brain is going to want what it's missing...and I have to be honest right now music is annoying to me, hopefully with time that changes!
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Hey, I'm not gonna knock your caffeine! :). I love coffee, but I'm very sensitive to caffeine, and the last thing I need when I'm already so uncomfortable, is to jack myself awake to enjoy it even more. ;) I wanted to sleep the first few days. Plus, I used to do cocaine, and I sort of see caffeine as its cousin so I'm just extra sensitive to it.
Sounds like you are in action and living life and you just keep that going. Right on.....:)
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Terry, can we ask.....you said you were on suboxone for 5 years. How many miligrams did you take? Did you taper at all before you stopped?
Most of the research I've done shows that most people are prescribed too high a dose, for too long a time. I have a friend on 16mg of suboxone a day for years. I asked what he was taking and he said about 20-30mg of vicodin a day. Giving 16mg a day for a mild vicodin habit is ridiculous. That's what you give someone who is shooting heroin.
I started on 20 mgs of methadone for 7 years, I then stopped and went to suboxone..I've been on it for 3 years and was prescribed 16 mgs a day...I took 2 films every day for 3 years...towards the end I started weeniing myself off..for 3 months I only took one film a day..the last month I cut them up and would only take a small piece when I started to feel rough and then on my 50th birthday I decided I was done!! Ivery had bad days don't get me wrong, I've had moments that if someone put one in front of me I would have taken it...I took one Tylenol with codeine one day just to take the edge off...I'm not perfect but I am determined...1 week today!!!!
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Yes, that all sounds right (or wrong, ha! :) )....but that is indeed a lot to take for a long time. But it sounds like your taper plan was spot on. Very good. A specific plan.
Yeah, all of that implies that you were doing some higher end opiates. I have had bouts at my peak of snorting 60+ mg. of oxy a few times a day. I did cold turkey, which was a week of pure hell, and i tried the suboxone route. That is much much better! I took about 16mg a day for a few days, then over another few weeks tapered down to zero.
I sort of think that everyone who finds themselves bit with opiates experience some sort of cold turkey.....and truly know what that hell is like. Of course, there is certainly a limit to that as going cold turkey from too deep an addiction can cause serious problems so I am not advocating that people with strong opiate addictions do this without a doctor.
The problem is, a doctor that keeps us strung out on suboxone for years is also causing us harm.
@Harpua exactly…2 minutes in the doctors office 125.00…then 500.00 for prescription…3 years and never once did he tell me I needed to taper off…twice I’ve listened to doctors and twice I’ve been naive…lesson learned!!
That is unfortunately so typical. Suboxone is not a crutch to carry us through our lives and sometimes I wonder if doctors are more naive, or scared that if their patient ends suboxone and then slips back into addiction......I don't know.
Yeah, sure, I was able to get my hands on suboxone, so that plus research and I did my thing, but by and large most people can't do that for a variety of reaons.....and, now you can see what issues I have, thinking that I can outsmart things, that I have superior control over it all. Ha! That's a dangerous neighborhood to hang out in!
@Harpua we all need to take control of our lives eventually…I moved 3 years ago and I don’t know many people here, another issue of mine is ptsd so I don’t let people in, I do have a great boyfriend who has been completely sober for 23 years and a great supporter…the best part of not letting people in is I don’t know anyone that does drugs so that makes things easy for me…today started good, but have a little anxiety but just going with the day…I work at noon so that will help…here’s to another day…free!!
Excelent. Yes, who we hang out with matters a lot, and it is very difficult to try to live a sober life with someone who does not. There's another one of my issues....I'm a Dead head so to speak. So I'm into a lot of the hippie world, most of which is wonderful, but navigating through that is not always easy. There are sobriety groups like, at Phish concerts, where people meet and support each other. That's really awesome, but still....it's not always easy.
Yes, free. You are free. There are times you want to yell it out and tell people how much better this is, right?! :) Have a great rest of the day Terryann. We're going to work on/clean our home, which is another good, healthy thing to do. And........thank you. ;)
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@Harpua I’m a totally neat freak…and I would have loved to follow the grateful dead around in a VW…had a lot of fun at one of their concerts in Massachusetts…mushrooms surely are the best…I love to laugh!! My one and only time but such a great memory!!
Hi Terryann how are you doing? I've been thinking about you. Just wanted to let you know.. I know you had a seizure, had to go back on subs. But I need to thank you from the bottom of my heart. :-) all your positive post, encouragement, all while you were off subs the 10days, got me through. I'm at the end of day 18!! Thank you again.. So proud of myself. Ps. I still struggle everyday but sleeping last 2days, eat a little more, skin stopped crawling, I shake a little in the hands but I'm almost there!!!! Have a wonderful day!
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Good morning Happy and Terryann! Everything is ok here, mostly a good kind of busy. Still kinda concerned about my dad, he had heart surgery and not recovering the way he expects. We'll see how things go.
I hope everyone is doing well out there. No matter where you are in your sobriety process.....you are in a sobriety process. And that's good!
My prayers are with you and your dad. I know how painful and stressful that can feel. Please take care. I'm good, DAY 22!!