Suboxone: Methadone & Heroin Facts

Question: How much suboxone should i take?

(Posted by: joe s on 2010-08-15 22:49:27)

Bottom line is that I want to get off pills. I snagged a couple Suboxone (I have 4 and a half 8mg ones, so about 36mg total) and I was wondering how much should I take? I want to take it the right way and not the way that people take it to get high. My tolerance is about 40mg of Oxy or 10- 15mg of opana. I was thinkin maybe taking 2mg of the suboxone for 4 days then going down to about 1mg for a week. Does this sound rite for my tolerance? Please help! Thanks.

Posted by: Ansel on 2010-08-16, 00:24:22

Good for you that you are working to get off the Oxy and working to taper off the Suboxone. I am not a doctor and cannot give you specific recommendations but I have had friends who have had success with the Suboxone program. Unfortunately it is very expensive, particularly without insurance (and many doctors that prescribe suboxone know very little about substance abuse from the 8 hour class required for certification and only accept cash). That said there are also many very good doctors who are compassionate and will work with you to help you taper comfortably. If you can afford it I recommend researching treatment facilities that specialize in addiction and narcotics in particular. There are many approaches that treatment facilities take and some do not support suboxone. I do know several however that support suboxone in the right setting and have seen some people completely reclaim there lives beginning with detox and getting clean and then the treatment. I encourage you to get plugged into some kind of long term program. My experience is that addiction can be a very complex process that may come motivate you to use again after a period of sobriety. It is important for many to address the underlying causes that led you to this situation to remain clean. NA is a free resource. Each meeting is different and the advice that I heard once has stayed with me "take what you can use and leave the rest ". You can google "narcotics anonymous " to find a meeting in your area. They are free, you are not required to talk and there will likely be someone there who you can relate to. I used to be against these meetings but have found that they can be an excellent resource at times. Other options are intensive outpatient facilities. These all cost money but there are many that will work with you. The treatment professionals that I know put their clients first. Payment is necessary to keep the business open but I have seen them work on sliding scales and may be able to work with you. Having a professional work with you through this and advise you on your taper program will help rather than going it alone. I hope you get a doc that chimes in with a more precise answer to your question. Keep up the good work. What you are doing is very difficult and you should be praised for your decision to get clean. I've listed a couple resources that may be helpful to you below, but the best thing you can do if possible is connect with a compassionate, qualified doc. Keep in mind that suboxone docs have a limit to the number of clients that they can accept. If you do start making calls (i did this for a friend once) you may need to call many clinics before you can find the a doc that is accepting patients. Also please keep in mind that the doc may be able to supply with a prescription but may not be your greatest resource for support and long term treatment. One doc told my friend that he needed to be on the subs for at least a year. He went into inpatient and got off them in a week with supplementary meds. After that week he was clean and has 5 months of sobriety. It was a lot of work and a life long process but he is living a happy, enriched life. I wish you all the best. Don't give up - you can do this.