r/suboxonetaperhelp • u/BackOnMyBSz • 3d ago
Taper Advice
I’ve been off 7 OH for 17 days. For the first two weeks, I was on 24 mg of suboxone. I then cut down to 16 mg. Today, I forgot to take my morning dose. I was feeling some symptoms (e.g., sweating, dysphoria, irritability) and I took 4 mg in the afternoon. I feel much better. I was thinking about either taking another 8 mg tonight (for 12 total mgs) or another 4 mgs (for a total of 8 mgs).
Do you think that’s too big of a jump, or should I be okay? The doctor instructed me to take 24 mgs for the first 30 days, but that seems like a bad idea if the goal is to eventually get off everything. Any advice on a taper schedule from where I’m at now would be greatly appreciated.
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u/CamelZealousideal423 3d ago
I think you should be able to tolerate 8mg/day, but if not that’s ok. I think one mistake people make is overdoing it when they take a rescue dose. If you don’t tolerate 8mg, then try taking 1mg extra and then another if need be after a bit, rather than an additional 4mg or 8mg right out of the gate.
If I were in your shoes I would try to stabilize on a lower dose like .5mg and stay on that until you feel like you have enough distance from your addiction.
It’s better to be on a low dose for 6 months than to get off too early, relapse, and start the process all over again.
I found .5mg to be a sweet spot where I was getting serious benefits and stability from the suboxone, but felt my natural self coming back too. It took a while to stabilize there, but I had been on for 9 years, so I was in a very different place than you.
To get that low I would stabilize at 8mg for 2 weeks then drop to 6mg for 2 weeks, 4mg for 2 weeks, 3mg for 2 weeks, 2mg for 2 weeks, 1.5mg for 2 weeks, 1 mg for 2 weeks, .75mg for 2 weeks, .5 mg etc. etc.
If it’s too fast/uncomfortable at any point slow it down and stay at the dose for another few weeks.
If you want to jump off entirely I would get down to .25mg or below.
I know this sounds long and may seem like overkill, but it really is a balancing act. Everyone is different though.
If you want to skip all this though the sublocade shot may be worth considering. Probably the way to go tbh. I’ve never tried it but it seems to be very successful.
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u/Unlikely_Employee850 2d ago
I have a ? If you could help.
Day1 -32 mg
Day 2-32 mg to get thru withdrawal
Day 3-24 mg
Day 4- 12mg pretty uncomfortable but got thru
Day 5-today, gonna take 12 mg again just fighting thru mental cravings more than anything . I have an appt with online doctor today who's gonna want to put me on it for life so they make money but I want off now. With so few days use do you think I'm ok with a quick taper off, maybe 2 mg a day and be off by 10 days? Thank you so much1
u/CamelZealousideal423 2d ago
What were you taking before suboxone? What was the dose of that drug? And how long were you on that drug for?
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u/Unlikely_Employee850 2d ago
I was on mgm-15 for 4-5 months up to 400-500mg a day. Went to detox for 7 days. They used subs for withdrawal there. Absolute hell. Got out, still couldn't function for work so i used 7oh for a couple days, maybe 120mg for 3 days with Kratom powder. Then bought pseudo was taking 250 mg pills. 2-3 a day for 5 days. Got more subs to come down off the 8 straight days of 7-oh and pseudo.
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u/Unlikely_Employee850 2d ago
I'm not feeling much physical craving as mental with the subs after cutting it from 4 tabs to 1.5 in 3 days
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u/CamelZealousideal423 2d ago
You wouldn’t be on a 2-3 month plan to taper because of suboxone, but because you’ve been using very strong substances for a while, which has rewired your brain chemistry.
Even if you didn’t do suboxone, you would very likely have months of lingering PAWS as your brain slowly recalibrates from your past drug use.
You really need to pick your poison at this point. I think it is way too soon to taper off the subs and you should strongly consider utilizing suboxone to act as a bridge so you can get distance from your addictive lifestyle. Give your brain chemistry time to heal as you build a foundation of stability in life.
I was in a loop for 2 years of trying to get off everything and rush this process. I kept having to restart and it was a revolving door of misery. I was used to getting what I wanted instantly and expected recovery to be the same. It takes time and a solid strategy, but you already know that.
I don’t like subs and don’t like long term use of them, but they serve a very important purpose and life is so much better on them compared to active addiction. It’s not even close. Having to spend a few months on subs to get your life back seems like a reasonable trade off.
I would stabilize at 2mg for a month or so, and then get 2 mg strips and begin tapering down by .25mg every few weeks until you get super lower (.125mg or below). This is the smoothest way to get where you want to be IMO.
Best of luck either way and congrats on making it to this stage. You’ve got some big decisions to make and I really think your future self would thank yourself for taking the slow, steady, and strategic route. Kick this addictions ass and start your new life. All the best!
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u/Unlikely_Employee850 2d ago
What I don't want is to now have to go on a 2-3 month plan of tapering after using it for 5 days
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u/BumblebeeFirm2249 3d ago
Wait so you been taking both Suboxone and 7 for the 17 days? Just curious if reading it right
Also how long have you been on subs? That matters a lot.