Expert: Jacqui - 12/26/2007

Question
i am in the process of kicking herion.i am on my third day,but i,ve been taking pieces of subxone to get through it.i have 2 8mg. suboxone-i,ve only been taken pieces to keep from feeling the withdraws.today is day 3 i dont good ,but i dont feel bad enough to take a piece of subxone.i guess my ? is how should i get through this, will the subxone make me sicker? my hope is that i can take pieces of subxone for the first couple few days to get through the worst part of the withdraws and if i gotta suffer alittle through the next couple of days-i can deal with that.am i fooling myself???(about getting through the withdraws).i know it's up to me to stay off opiates- i am self employed and am just tryen to get throuhg the withdraws to where i can function.today is only day three and the last time i took a piece of suboxone was yesterday at like 8pm. is the reason i feel better today is because of the subxone? i just dont want to get through this and now have to withdraw from suboxone.the last 2 days i have eaten probally 1 and a half subxone.this isnt my first withdraw-so i know how rough it can be,and also my habit has been much bigger in the past,so maybe i made it through the worst part...your time and thoughts are greatly needed and appreciated.THANK YOU KINDLY!!!shanon

Answer
Hey Shanon,
Sounds like you have it pretty sorted but just need some reassurance.  Suboxone is quite good for withdrawal, and in fact it is used in many of the short term detox units in Melbourne.  There is, of course, concern that if you keep taking it you will become dependent on suboxone even though the heroin is out of your system.  For exact confirmation on this information, you may want to get a second opinion from a doctor (although I am guessing that you a probably loathe to speak to a doctor about this kind of thing - I just need to qualify my answer) - but if you tapered your dose, starting low, getting a little higher, then going back down to nothing, over the course of approx 7 days, there should not be huge problems.  I do need to say again that I am not a medical practitioner, and only going from the regime that they use in the detox units.  I have known people who have used Suboxone like you are doing and managed to stay at work, which would probably be a priority if you are self employed.  
If you have 28mgs, you could start on 2 - 3mg a day, then go up to about 5mg, then back down - going down approx 1 a day.  
You have probably heard all of the natural therapy stuff before and much of it is pretty useless against withdrawals.  However, as much as you probably don't feel like walking or getting any sort of exercise, it will stimulate the natural endorphins in your brain.  Also some relaxation exercises can be helpful to help you sleep - tensing and relaxing muscles while you lie in bed can help.  You are probably not going to feel great, but with the bupe, it should be tolerable.
Finally, if you do break and use again, make sure you are very careful as suboxone can reduce your tolerance (not while you are still on it, but a few days after) and you are at risk of overdosing.
Let me know how you go.  Good luck and stay safe!
Jacqui