How Long After You Stop Suboxone Do You Have Withdrawal Symptoms? (Page 3) (Top voted first)

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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PAWS stands for post accute withdraw symptoms. They are worse than the withdraws themselves, at least for me they were, and they can last anywhere from a month to a year. Mine lasted about 40 days, and I was on suboxone for 6 years, 6mg per day. The good thing with you, as you have only been on sub for 5 months.. You should not have it too bad hopefully. Also, Increase your intake of raw fruits and vegetables…you get little or nothing from canned foods…fresh fruits and veges are loaded with fiber which help bind and remove toxins from your body…they also normalize gut function. For 3 weeks you must remove all red meats from your diet. Red meat has chemical components that increase inflammation and pain. Fish, chicken, eggs are good sources of protein. If you are having a hard time taking in solid foods go to a health food store and buy protein powders that can be made into smoothies or drinks. You absolutely must have increased protein intake…proteins are the building blocks for all enzymes, neurotransmitters, and enzyme receptors in the body. No chemical works in the body without receptors. Valarian Root 450 mg will remove anxiety, and definitely help you sleep at night. Then, finally, you need to pick up some L-Tryptophan. This will help a bunch with your depression. Sorry to write a book here, but I feel that what I went thru, is pretty close to the worst of the worst, and any help I can give, I will....

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Desperate for answers I completely understand what your talking about from a marriage and withdrawl perspective. I have been addicted to pills since about 2005 and it just got terribly worse. I started with 60 7.5 mg Loratabs in 2005 and it grew to 120 10 mg Percocet, 60 10 mg oxycontin, 90 .50 xanax, 90 Soma, and 90 10 mg adderal per month. Then I would run through all those pills so I would smoke H here and there the last 2 weeks until I could get my script filled again. I had severe seizures multiple times from withdrawl which hospitalized me twice. Once for 4 days and the second time for 2 days. I overdosed multiple times and one of the seizures was so severe it caused a compression fracture in my L1 disk in my back and I had to get 4 staples in my head from hitting in on the floor. First rehab I went to was a really nice facility and I was there for 15 days. They wanted me to stay for 30 days but it was so expensive I decided not to stay for the last 15 days. 15 days had cost around $21,000 which insurance covered all except for $1,800. So, I did not want to rack up another $1,800 which I regret. The first rehab I never went on Suboxone after leaving the facility. I stayed clean for 90 days and then relapsed. I was back on pills for about 18 months and decided to go into another facility which was just a 5 day detox program then 30 days of outpatient. The phycologist I saw thought suboxone would be good for me to be on to help keep me clean for a year so I could get used to living life sober again. I was on 8 mg of suboxone for a year the first time I was on it and tapered down to 2 mg before coming off. I tapered down the last 2 months. I still had withdrawals that lasted for about 18 days before I started feeling better that time around. I stayed clean for about a year and then relapsed again. I decided Fairly early before things got bad to go back to the doctor to go back on Suboxone. I was on 8 mg for about 6-7 months but the problem was I was starting to abuse that so I ran out early and decided I am through with all of this crap. So cold turkey I came of of 8 mg a day but actually the last ten days I was taking about 20 mg a day. That is why I ran out. I new I was screwed because I had around 20 days before I could get my next script so I just was done. It was really hard on the 20th day of withdrawal knowing all I needed to do was go to my appointment to get that script and I would feel better. I am REALLY glad I decided not to go. It was pure and utter hell for 30 days. Honestly, if I had to pick that withdrawal again or have another compression fracture in my back I would choose the compression fracture without a doubt. The first 5 days were not that bad. Day 6 thru 20 were really bad. Day 21 thru 30 everyday I would feel a smidget better. Around day 37 is when I really felt like most of the withdrawal was gone. My depression was terrible from about day 7 thru 30. Now I am on around day 72 and things are so much better. I tell you my story to maybe help you see there is hope at the end of the tunnel. As for your husband not being supportive. Just focus on yourself for these next few months. My wife was the same way and I finally told her if she was not going to be a positive supportive person to just leave me a lone until I felt better. I know I put her through a lot and she had every right to be angry but that was not helping the situation. I tried to talk to her about support groups but she refused to go. I am 36 years old and still have a lot of life to live. I can't worry about her being pissed off at me anymore. She is either going to have to forgive me and move forward or we won't last. That's just the reality. That is by no means what I want but I have to continue my focus on recovery and doing everything to stay sober. I know it sounds selfish but it is what it is. I hope this helps you and if you ever need to talk in private I can send you my email. Keep moving forward no matter what and things will get better.

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Day 23!! Wow...feeling much better!! Switched to drinking gatorade cause read that somewhere and decided I'm going back to water and water and water!! Also feel I can exercise today so gonna start that...been long winter and sun is shinning and warm outside:))))) I know I'm not 100% myself but truly we know there is an end to this....There TRULY TRULY are worse things people could have to go through! Well gonna go for drive n enjoy sun;)

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Hi Mr. Jones, I don,t think suboxone should be banned. I think it has it,s place in recovery. Some people might be dead without it. Others could be in prison with out it. What I do think is doctors that prescribe it should be much more flexible with the insurance end of it but more importantly they need to be a lot more helpful with the taper and end of treatment process.
When a patient wants off they should taper them off and prescribe comfort meds if neccesary.
This should be standard practice at least for a few days to make patients comfortable. They should offer a follow up visit for a week or two to make sure the patient is doing allright. The sub drs I,ve been to in past havn,t done any of this. I take that back, one did.
Patients should be encouraged to get off this med. This is all just my opinion.

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Suboxone withdrawal in my experience is far worse than opiate withdrawal (lortab). It just goes on forever or it seems. The physical withdrawal lasts approximately 10 days or longer. The mental withdrawal is 6 to 8 weeks. It's absolutely hell on earth. If you can wean down on pills and go through the 3 or 4 days of s***s and shivers do it. I don't care what any doctor tells you. The withdrawal off subs is horrible. And I was only taking a half of a milligram before I quit. The only time suboxone is worth taking is if you are knocking on deaths door with taking opiates. I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy. I urge people not to join a suboxone treatment unless absolutely necessary. Wean off the pills and take your 3 day punishment.

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Yup suboxone is an insanely powerful pain med. it's so deceiving. A lot of people don't believe. I think it should only be used in cases of severe drug addiction. My Dr advised me to go on it because I was having trouble getting off of tramadol. Had I known what I was getting myself into I would've just gone CT from the tram and dealt with it. Instead I ended up on subs for 3 years at WAAAY too high of a dose. Basically I went from 4 tramadol a day to 16mgs of subs a day, which unknowing to me is equivalent to like 20 tram a day! I realized how powerful it was when I had my wisdom teeth out last year. I was down to 2mgs a day of subs and stopped taking them so I could take the vicodin that my dentist prescribed me and I went through terrible WDs even though I was taking 6-8 vicodin ES throughout the day. I actually stopped the vicodin and went back on the subs and dealt with the pain because I was WDing so bad from it. That's when I decided to quit. My sub Dr told me at 2 mgs a day I would have mild WDs for about 3 days then be good as new and most of it was in my head. Yeah right! I went through intense WDs for nearly 3 weeks before they subsided and it was almost 3 months before PAWS started to let up. Suboxone is a wolf in Sheeps clothing and I advise anybody that is thinking of getting on it to research the hell out of it first because at least for me, it was a lot worse of an addiction than what I had in the first place! I wish somebody had told me that then but the Dr saw dollar signs and roped me in...

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I disagree my therapist asked me today if there was any health reasons I needed to get off Suboxone? He said cause if not there is no reason I should stop it. Not only did it help with withdrawl but it helps my major depression more than any antidepressant . I'm 12 year hydrocodone addict broke my back. I'm being treated for adult adhd I was diagnosed at 6. As well as anxiety. So I first took p meds for pain but I found I was a different person i was social , depression left , and anxiety well was gone too. But after years more and more I had to take . Then subs came in and I was done.after awhile I found out from psychiatrist I was self medicating to help depression , anxiety, adhd. I'm still on subs but doc put me on vyvanse60mg, Zoloft ,Klonopin. Now I live normal life used to be scared crowds, no motivation, could not form ideas so u crawled in a hole. Now everything is great. Finish tasks in a day, I am organized. I enjoy my family life is great

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Good for you that you're finally getting off this crap. Unfortunately, there few tips that I can give you that will take the physical symptoms away. However, it's not as bad as you think. Stop psyching yourself out. They're bad (I won't lie), but it can be done. It's done everyday. What helped me was that I hoped for the best, but expected the absolute worst. I didn't expect to get sleep or feel normal, so that when I did, I was pleasantly surprised...and when I didnt, I wasn't disappointed.

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Finally done
You should have shared the tips for others who going through! I'm on day 14 and I'm just kinda moody and tired , but the worst is over! I made it this far ! Which my doctors office said people come crawling back after day 7

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I also jumped from 8-12 mg a day, cold turkey. It was crazy but I had no choice. Even eating was painful the first few days. I'd never do it again. I'm not one who's able to regulate myself. If it wasn't all at once, it was nothing at all. Plus, the doctor I saw was $400 every month. I do have insurance but those who accepted it were never accepting new patients. If I think back at all the money and eb every I've spent, I'd cry.

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Unfortunately some of these doctors just want the money and hand suboxone out like candy! The one doctor would always keep me at same dose or go higher never lower! It wasn't til a new doctor came and was force with me and wouldn't give me an option but to keep dropping down! He saved my life and gave me it back! I'm on day 22 and doing great! Sleep is still hard , energy some days are low! But I took clonidine and diazepam at night for sleep but really didn't work! Nothing will work trust me! I tried unison , Tylenol pm , sleep and relax meds, melatonin, I would take them every hour on the hour! The worst for me was it felt like someone gave me 5 caffeine pills and sleep was hard to come by! Hence why I'm up at 5:15 am on a Saturday morning! When I used to sleep til at Least 10am! So sleep is going to be hard til you get those brain receptors back working again! There is stuff I take now to help me ! I take l-tyrosine and b6 and get b12 shots. I take vitamin d and calcium and two children's multi vitamin! U need these to help fight fatigue! Oh and I cannot express enough how much exercise has helped me ! I got out from days 3-22 walking! Even if I just made it around couple times around the blocks! U have to keep your legs moving or u will go insane ! A nice warm bath or hot shower will help at night ! Now the only side effects I'm still having on day 22 is sneezing , and I'm always cold. It's summer and I'm freezing! My brain is just confused still! But I can definatley say I'm laughing more and music sounds sooo good! I know that sounds odd but when the music sounds good u know ur doing good! Anyways let me know if you need any other advice ! Everyone detoxes different! So for me it was kinda a walk in the park but for others it's pure hell!!! So I pray for all u get through this! Don't give up!

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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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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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Hello Rick65, you've come a long way making it 45 days. It sounds like what you are dealing with now is called PAWS. That can last anywhere from 60 days to a year or more and fluctuate in severity. It's different for everybody. I quit subs in October 2014 and I didn't feel normal until the following spring. It can definitely make for some rough days. I found that B complex vitamins and fish oil helped me quite a bit. I also began taking kratom at that time to help ease the PAWS. It might be worth looking in to. Kratom is a plant that grows in South Asia. It's related to the coffee tree. It loosely binds to opiate receptors and has many anti depressant properties. It can be mildly addictive (like coffee but no more) so I would say it's not for everybody but it helped me immensely. I look at it as being a natural supplement and think of it no differently than caffeine. I use it to help me through the day but if I don't have any I can still go about my day just fine. It's controversial because some people consider it no different than an opiate but that's simply not true. It's not nearly as addictive and it has no dangerous side affects. It will stop your PAWS dead in its tracks. But like I said, it's not for everybody. Research it yourself and see if it might be for you. It has many health benefits to it along with the withdrawal help. It's actually lowered my blood pressure on top of gaining natural energy and endorphine mechanics. If you want to know more or have any questions don't hesitate to ask. Hope your doing well and good luck on your journey!

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I was on suboxone maintainance for 6 years.. I recently stopped. OMG withdrawal i have ever been through.. Physically lasted 2 weeks. It has now been over a month and still have some anxiety... HOWEVER. Now that that horrible part is over i feel better than i have in years!! ThoSe subs made me a walking zombie and i had no idea..!! I am now back to my old self. Funny, quick witted. Love to have fun!! I am 40 years old And feel 25..again. CRAZY. Just so all u know do not take subs for too long..it will honestly change u..maybe not everyone but some of you yeah... Good luck to all of you! U can do this and it feels amazing once the worse part is over.!!

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I need advice about getting off Suboxone. I have a 2 yr history of up to 300mg of Roxys a day. I started Suboxone about a year ago and have tapered to 2mg a day. I never took the dose as ordered bc I felt I was trading one addiction for another and subs are $$$. My job doesn't allow me to go to rehab, so I'm trying to taper subs. I hate the way I feel on subs.. I have headaches, chills, oral issues like bleeding gums, severely runny nose, and generalized anxiety. I know this is due to tapering down, but does anyone have any advice as how to taper and function? I want off of this asap bc I'm ready for my brain to be free of any type of dope. Has anyone stopped subs cold turkey and if so how long did the withdrawals last? Any meds that can help with the withdrawals? I have a 3 yr old so it's so stressful to try to taper and be positive when no one knows or understands what I'm going thru. It seems going from 4mg to 2mg was so hard. Someone please share your experience

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Day 6 cold turkey off of buprenorphine 16mg for 6 years after 3 years of abusing painkillers. Wouldn't wish addiction on my worst enemy!!! I tried a couple years ago to do cold turkey and I wimped out on day 3, couldn't hang with the discomfort, so immediately put that bitter pill back under my tongue for a couple more years. I have felt like a slave to this medication for quiet some time, and realizing I had become anti social, b****y, irritable and still chemically dependent!! I also realized I didn't laugh any more only thing that made me truly happy was always working and of coarse a spotless house! Wow what a fun life I was living!!! I know everything affects everyone in different ways but when I made my mind up to get off of this stuff I was serious! I have been tired and can't sleep got that tense feeling In my upper back and stiff muscles mostly at night. It isn't a walk in a park but after getting this far no way in hell I am ever going back!! I just keep telling myself it only gets better from here and remember for a decade I was either abusing pain killers or taking buprenorphine. I want my life back the old fun and happy me and I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength... So can you if you are ready!! By the grace of God and tons of prayers to get me through this it is happening!!! Best wishes. Spread the word on what happens when you abuse opiates, it's never a fun ending!! That stuff is the devil!!!

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Amy--much hope for u to hang in there!!!
You can do it--what was the motto the POW used in that kinda recent movie directed by ang jolie...while suffering torture..."if i can take it...i can make it! (Through the hell he was going through)
Sub has longg half life so wd starts really kicking i think more like day 6 (not like 3 w ops) ...but u are doing great! Do a lot of "self talk" and encouragement!!!
U can make it!!!!

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Mynameismyname, I am a year off of Suboxone and have stayed free of all opiates and opioids. I still suffer today as much as I did the first three months off. If you take the time to read the most recent post first and read about 200 of them you will learn more than your Doctor knows about safely reducing your withdrawal pain. Brace yourself for a long recovery.

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Hey hey you don't give up people how long are you off now 2 months? You are right on track keep going you can do it don't give up to much life I wasted on that medication

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