Hello to all. I am new to the board but have been reading the postings the past 6 months. I have received a tremendous amount of help and support from all the postings.
I am a 34 year old man and I was addicted to vicodin and oxycontin for about 2 years, taking up to 400mg of oxycontin daily. I realized the drug was in full control of me and I was not controlling the drug. About 6 months ago I finally broke down and saw a doctor about my addiction. It is hard to say I'm an "addict", but that is what I am. The dr. started me on Suboxone, taking 32mg a day. Six months later I'm now taking 2mg a day. I have been taking this amount for about 2 months now. I have tried to get down to 1mg and it has been hell. It seems the lower the dose, the more difficult it gets.
Does anyone have some advise for me? Once I get down to 1mg and then eventually off the Sub, how will I feel? Are the withdrawls the same as tapering off oxycontin or vicodin? Of course I tried that unsuccessfully!
My main probelm is that I have been feeling extremely depressed. I have lost my passion for life and work. I hate the way I feel but I keep telling myself it will get better once I finally get off the Suboxone. Basically, I was just wondering if anyone has experienced this deep depression while tapering off Suboxone. I was never a depressed person, and I feel like a different person than before I got myself into this mess. Any words of advise on the depression aspect of this process is appreciated.
Good luck to all going through the same thing!
Hi Brad, welcome to the board. I was on sub too but for a short period of time. when I quit I had the depression and fatigue but it eventually lifted. You were on a pretty high dose of oxy so it may take your body a while to get healthy.
Are you taking vitamins, supplements, and exercising?
Some people need to get on an anti-depressant for a while to get rid of the depression. Theres beem a couple people on the board who had the depression that lingered and their doctor put them on an ad and it helped.
You could even try a smaller taper with the sub. cut the 2mg into quarters and try taking an extra 1/4mg until you feel better then drop 1/4mg and wait til you feel better again.
Good luck, some more people will probably respond in the morning.
JohnDee
Are you taking vitamins, supplements, and exercising?
Some people need to get on an anti-depressant for a while to get rid of the depression. Theres beem a couple people on the board who had the depression that lingered and their doctor put them on an ad and it helped.
You could even try a smaller taper with the sub. cut the 2mg into quarters and try taking an extra 1/4mg until you feel better then drop 1/4mg and wait til you feel better again.
Good luck, some more people will probably respond in the morning.
JohnDee
Hi Brad,Ive never used sub,but I can tell you this,it doesnt matter what drug you stop using,if its an opiate,you ARE going to be depressed at some stage after withdrawing.Have you ever withdrawn from anything for a period and felt depression and if you have are you saying that sub withdrawel is a worse type of depression?
Brad, I started sub almost 4 weeks ago..... One thing that my doctor stressed to me was that I would probably become EXTREMELY depressed and to be prepared for that..... I have always suffered from depression, but getting off of opiates makes it worse. Something about opiates and your serotonin receptors in your brain....
And most people use drugs to numb certain feelings and when they stop using, all of those things are surfaced for the first time in a long time.
Because of all of this, when I started sub, I was also put on 50mg of Zoloft and 150mg of Wellbutrin (Zoloft for depression and Wellbutrin for compulsive behaviors... you probably will not need this one). I did not want to be on antidepressants because I hate the sexual side effects, but it REALLY helps during this time. Please talk to your doctor about getting on something as you taper off of the sub.
(By the way, I am only on 8mg of sub.... You were on 4 times as much, so it may be different for you).
Good luck.
Danielle
And most people use drugs to numb certain feelings and when they stop using, all of those things are surfaced for the first time in a long time.
Because of all of this, when I started sub, I was also put on 50mg of Zoloft and 150mg of Wellbutrin (Zoloft for depression and Wellbutrin for compulsive behaviors... you probably will not need this one). I did not want to be on antidepressants because I hate the sexual side effects, but it REALLY helps during this time. Please talk to your doctor about getting on something as you taper off of the sub.
(By the way, I am only on 8mg of sub.... You were on 4 times as much, so it may be different for you).
Good luck.
Danielle
