tnrecovery

Great points about the difference between dependence and addiction @mkintexas!! That is such an important distinction that far too many people fail to understand (or comprehend).

However, burpenorphine (suboxone/subutex/zubsolv) and methadone can also be used for detoxification treatment of opioid dependence as well.... But for maintenance treatment with one of these medications I tend to agree it is indicated more for opioid addiction vs. dependence.

But the main thing is your LIFE and your QUALITY of life... not whether you happen to take a medication or not. If your dosage is keeping your out of withdrawals, suppressing cravings & allowing you to work on behavioral/psychosocial things in counseling or groups then I say keep up the good work! You are the only judge of your recovery. If anyone comes along saying you're not "clean" (hate that word), sober or living in recovery because your treatment employs the use of a medication DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! They haven't been crowned the King of Queen of sobriety, and no one can judge your recovery but YOU!

Two snaps and a clap for coming to a forum for peer support... Info and sharing is so very important. I am truly enjoying being a part of this forum along with NAMA Recovery's "We Speak Methadone (and buprenorphine)" forums. Great resources! :-)

Best of luck!

-Zac from Tennessee

cleaninLI

Hi. Zack, glad you are here. I totally agree with you about people judging others not clean because they happen to be taking a maintenence medication. I've noticed the ones that point fingers and try to hurry off their maintenance meds seem to be the ones that relapse over and over again. I'm on 6 mgs sub daily. I've been on it for almost 8 months now. I haven't had a slip or relapse. I'm taking care of my kids. Living a very normal life. Going to an iop. I'm not consumed with pills like before. Not caught up in the vicious cycle of oppiate addiction anymore. Sub has saved my life!

I'm not referring to the op though. I'm talking about other posters here. The op seems to be only physically addicted as mk pointed out.

Noelle14

Day 2 @ 4mg- doing great. Pain isn't as bad as yesterday

mkintexas

Noelle,

Glad you are doing good. I am very interested in days 3-5. I am willing to bet there will be no change. But, those are the days you should be reaching your stable 4mg blood levels. How does it feel psychologically to
Be at 4mg instead of 8 (or even 6)?

Noelle14

It feels the same. No difference. And I'm actually only staying on 4 for any other 2 days, then going to 2, so I'll let ya know if anything changes!

Noelle14

It's so weird to me too. I have a whole bottle of percs in my dresser drawer and haven't even looked at them

mkintexas

Be careful. The addict play book says to stabilize for a week between drop downs. Not sure about your case. As 4 to 2mg drop is pretty big. If you start seeing little hearts over that bottle of percs 3 or 4 days after dropping to 2 you may want to move to 3mg.

cleaninLI

Noelle that's nice to see that you're doing so good! Be careful as mk suggested don't go too fast on your taper. Even if you're not having too much WD, sub keeps those cravings at bay. Also allow enough time for your brain and body to adjust to the lowered dose.

cleaninLI

Zac, Thanks for the information and those websites. I'll have to check them out! I have to agree again the more choices we have the better!

Noelle14

I'm gonna listen to my body as far as the cravings are concerned and I am a little worried about the jump from 4 to 2 cuz I know that's where a lot of people get stuck. I'm hoping the fact that I haven't been on it that long may help me some, but I also understand that it builds up in your system. I'm going that since I was able to jump from 16 to 4 in only 8 days that dropping 2 more might not be that bad

Noelle14

I will say, the best thing so far is not waking up in a pool of sweat. That feels great

tnrecovery

YOU GOT THAT RIGHT @Noelle14!! I remember being so grateful for normalcy & a full night's sleep more than just about anything else!!

Noelle14

Today is day 3 @4mg and I think I'm pretty stabilized. So far, all I've noticed is that the second day after dropping from 16 to 8 I had a little anxiety and was kinda irritable, but from 8 to 4 wasn't that bad. The first day, the pain came back a bit more, but other than that, smooth sailing so far!

cleaninLI

That's great noelle your doing terrific! I'm glad that you are feeling better.

Noelle14

Thanks, guys. I'm hoping it won't be so bad going forward. Either way, I might need you guys to keep my spirits up

Noelle14

Day 4@4mg. I feel fine but the pain is pretty bad today so took some Tylenol and going to see Ghost the musical with my sister

mkintexas

Ok. Day 4 and 5 is about when you will be stable at 4. Glad to hear you are not jumping through your skin.

Told you it would be a piece of cake for you.

cleaninLI

Glad to see you're doing good!

Noelle14

Thanks. Today is day 1 at 2mg. I feel pretty good. Ghost was awesome last night

cleaninLI

That's great noelle! I'm glad you feel alright and you enjoyed the show!