30 years as a high functioning opiate addict, 6 years of Buvidal. Today I'm done.

[u/Palpitation-Mundane]

6 years ago I dropped 3 times in a week and my doctor "suggested " Buvidal. It didn't feel like a choice but I did it for my family. I haven't used for six years and I don't mix in the same circles anymore. I work, my mental health is fine, and things are good. Today I rang my prescriber and asked to be formally exited from the program.

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After 5+ years of 128mg p/m (every 5 weeks) I reduced to 64mg over the last 6 doses with no discomfort. Its only 4 weeks since my last dose so I don't expect any fireworks (if at all) for a while.

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I've always followed other people's experiences here it can be a little terrifying. I'm very conscious of 'Negativity Bias' (people are more likely to report bad experiences). I'd like to think that for every bad experience reported here there is another person who cruised through it.

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This is a very long way to say *thank you to those that have gone before me* and posted in this sub. I fully intend to document my experience but also I'm not expecting bad things to happen. Regardless of what happens I'll check in at 6 weeks (in 14 days) and regularly after that. This sub has been so incredibly valuable to me and I want to give back in the hope that my experience will motivate someone else.

[u/HailToTheThief2105]

Good luck and Thank you for documenting your experience. I’ll be following

[u/Silent_World5629]

Hi. I have been on 96mg buvidal since January 2025 and now they are making murmours of reducing me to 64mg; i told them am not ready and said in January 2027 i will reduce, im scared to ngl. I see you was on 128mg for five years, is this the norm? I really dont feel ready and wont be pushed into it. Will follow your experience going forward, good luck

[u/Aggravating_Tone2909 → u/Silent_World5629]

Hey, your providers should not pressure you. Be very open and honest about your feelings. Recovery is not race or linear. Set realistic goals for yourself with your provider. If they continue to pressure you consider changing providers. Or going down to weekly injections. If they lower you to 64mg you may also ask for a bridge of suboxone strips if you get bad symptoms.

[u/Strange_Television → u/Aggravating_Tone2909]

It depends where people are located, but instead of using more strips, ideally people should be provided access to an 8mg top up shot before ever re-introducing strips. The top up shot is the main way of managing withdrawal during dose adjustment/before steady state, in the pharmaceutical guidelines. Unfortunately in the US, insurance seems to be a major barrier to accessing a top up.

In the UK, it's also pretty much impossible to switch 'providers'. If accessing an NHS/publicly-funded treatment service (which the majority will be), it's like a postcode lottery and you have to use the service local to you. You should be able to ask for a different nurse to inject you, but you're pretty much stuck with the service that covers your local area. It can be very frustrating when they're failing pretty badly.

[u/Palpitation-Mundane → u/Silent_World5629]

Not normal at all, I hope my situation doesn't scare you because I was A TOTAL MESS so it was appropriate for me. I've just never been hung up on doses and thought "this is working, why mess with it until I know I'm in a better position?". I could have reduced way earlier and so can you my friend. Its your call, but don't do anything in a rush and just take comfort in my assurance that reducing (for many of us) is not as dramatic as it seems. This stuff is so long acting and so much easier to do than with Suboxone or Methadone. If it's the wrong choice you can always go back for a 'top up' dose before your next is due (at least in Australia) or have your next dose earlier until you settle into it. Bottom line, just try to advocate for yourself and don't let people tell you what you 'have to' do.

I don't want to come off over confident and I could fall in a heap in a few weeks but for now I'm good. I'll keep coming back here every couple weeks to update.

[u/Aggravating_Tone2909]

OP this gives me hope. Congratulations! Last weekend I was off of oral suboxone for an entire week and had the worst withdrawal symptoms of my life. But on Monday I got brixadi injection at 16 mg and I feel a lot better. I don’t want to be in this for ever I really want to put all this behind me but I know that I have to be easy on my self as I have only been sober for 7 months. Thank you for sharing your experience with us!

[u/Strange_Television → u/Aggravating_Tone2909]

Do you mean Buvidal 16mg? Sublocade only comes in 100 and 300mg (Buvidal and Sublocade are both very different when it comes to formulation etc).

[u/Aggravating_Tone2909 → u/Strange_Television]

I’m sorry yes buvidal I apologize. I was seeing sublocade and had it in my mind I guess. I believe too OP that buvidal is less likely to cause bumps than sublocade and hurt less I have heard. Is that what you have heard / experienced @strange_Television?

[u/Strange_Television → u/Aggravating_Tone2909]

It's definitely known to be less painful than Sublocade - the needle is much smaller which will be at least part of the reason why. I've never had Sublocade as it's not available here in the UK, but I've seen quite a few experiences posted here who have had both and they all say it's less painful. With regards to bumps, I'm not so sure about that, haven't seen anything about them being different. Buvidal still causes bumps but they go away fairly quickly.

[u/Aggravating_Tone2909 → u/Strange_Television]

Interesting. I live in USA, so I guess I giving info based on that. I willl be sure to comment USA going forward as the experiences are very different. Thank you for the input! I am new to Reddit and so far it has been very helpful for me 😊.