Withdrawal from opiods-How long did it take you to go into WD

[fresh2009]

Hi all, I'm new here. Just waiting for my prescript. to approve Sub.

I know everyone is different, but I am wondering how long it took you to go into withdrawal and begin taking your first suboxone. I am on codiene - about 60mg. 5x a day. I'm fine after 12hours from night dose to morning, but don't know how long after that. I don't want to take it too early, but don't want to go into full panic and wait more than I need to.

I overthink everything and am wondering how long to wait until taking that pill. I know about the chart for withdrawal symptoms. I guess I'm just looking to see what others went thru' and how long it took.

Thanks for any stories on your experience.

[fresh2009]

I see there are some other posts to kind of answer my questions... so thanks anyway - I will continue reading... AND Waiting for the INSURANCE company of course!!!

[theswan]

Welcome

I am not sure how much codiene that is as compared to percocet or oxycodone. I wonder if you would do better to go through the WD and not ahve to take the sub. I suppose it matters how long you are on the codiene and how may attempts you have made to stop.

Sub is powerful and perhaps a low dose and taper will be of benefit.

I wish you luck in your recovery

Glen

[Cally]

Hello fresh2009 and welcome.

The “rule of thumb” is wait 12 hours before your first dose of suboxone. My doctor asked me to wait 12 hours and I did just fine. I took the last dose of my DOC at 11:pm. That way I could sleep through 8 hours of the wait. You may want to try the same trick.

Its good that you already know about the “C.O.W.S.” chart. You only need to be in moderate or mild withdrawal and the chart will help you know you are there.

Everyone is different and withdrawal will begin at different times for each of us. I know how frightening this is. I was in “mild to moderate” panic before I started. Lol

When you take you first dose of suboxone your WD symptoms will vanish almost immediately. 12 hours is difficult to do but the rewards are incredible.

Keep posting we all understand

[toboat777]

I see there are some other posts to kind of answer my questions... so thanks anyway - I will continue reading... AND Waiting for the INSURANCE company of course!!!
Hello and Welcome RE: Insurance in my experiance with getting my Ins, to aprove it it can take a couple of days in my case i needed as i was in W/D for 20 Hrs, so we paid cash for it i hope yours goes faster but i wanted to tell you just in case. In most cases Ins, Will reinburse you back Good Luck

[Madison7]

There are short term opiates and long term opiates. Codeine is a short term opiate. Short term opiates have a much shorter half life than long term opiates (methadone, laam, oxcontin, etc,etc) and as such stay in the body a much shorter period of time. So it doesn't take as long for wd's to appear in those taking short term opiates and its logical that someone taking short term opiates shouldn't have to wait as long as someone on long term opiates. That said, everyone is different. One person might be of similar circumstances as another but have a much rougher transition. Here is a description of my transition from methadone to bup.....(Typed almost a year ago)

"I started bup almost 7 days ago, 24 hours after taking my last methadone dose of 120mgs. Been on methadone maint 2 years. I'm gonna post what I've taken over the last few days:
On May 2nd, I went to the methadone clinic and got my dose at the window(120mgs) and picked up my two takehomes. I got home and over the course of the day I took the rest of my methadone for a total of 360mgs. I wasn't tryng to commit suicide, I just have a very large tolerance to opiates and I can take a lot. (I was wrong to have done this, but I can't change it)
On May 3rd, I started taking lortab but no methadone
On May 4th, took lortab but no methadone
On May 5th, (same as May 4th)
On May 6th... I had ran out of lortab before appt with sub doctor and I had to dose at methadone clinic(120mgs)
On May 7th.. I took first dose of subutex. This was wednesday and the doctor's office is closed on that day. I was supposed to call if I needed to take more than 8mgs but obviously I coudn't. Saw where 32mgs was max dose on internet. So that's what I took.
On May 9nth...I went back to see the doc and told him I had to dose at 32mgs. He was ok with that and said I could dose at that level for ten more days. After which, he will want me to drop to 24mgs.
On may 9th til today I dosed at 32mgs per day with an exception on one day, when I took 40mgs."

End story

Good luck.

[fresh2009]

Thank you for all the advice. I have tried to quit many times with no success... well, some success at times, but I always go back. It's been way too many years off and on, with Perc and Vic added in here and there.
Anyway - I talked to pharmacy, doctor and insurance today. Doctor said they faxed info 3 days ago, insurance said they did not get info. I had them both re-fax their info to each other.
I plan to start Wednesday the 29th with or without insurance. The ins. co. said they will reimburse after the fact if you are approved. I originally planned to start a week after I saw the doctor, which would be Monday the 27th, but now I have to work that day, then he had me believe I would start the day after I saw the doctor, which was last Monday, then insurance did not go thru',
Wed. the 29th is my goal to start.

[Heath]

Insurance companies suck! I am delaing with the same crap for testim. A drug prescibed 2 me 4 low testosterone. On a scale of 8.5 to 25.8, i am 6.8. On the low end of the scale. Obviously i need it or the dr. Wouldn't have prescribed it. After waiting 5 days i heard from ins co it was denied due to lack of supporting doumentation illustrating medecal necesity. The scal runs from 8.5 to 25.8. My numbers not even on the scale! How is that not a medical necesity? So today i called and spoke to the dr and told him of this and that he needed to write a letter and do better explaining my deal. I told him that by them denying this it looks to me like his is wrong and doesn't know what he's doing. Dr's hate being wrong. They are egomaniacs. Now he'll probably write a killer letter to get me approved so he feels better about himself.
Kinda underhanded of me, but whatever it takes to get the job done. Life is all about playing people against one another. God knows i've been played enough. Hope u get approved, but if u don't, pay for the sub. It will change your life and make you a different person. You'll be free of the chains that bind u.
Heath.

[Watson540]

Almost sounds like me here with your quitting on and off for a few years now. Ive always quit cold turkey just to start again 6 months later. It never bothers me until I feel outta I may truley be done with these for a long while. Good luck with your recovery! these people are great support around here. I couldnt have done it with out them!

[fresh2009]

It's been about 25 years since my first experience with any type of painkillers. I can remember the first time - that feeling of euphoria. My parents neighbor gave me a Tylenol 3 for cramps and I felt "normal" and happy. The misuse didn't start until years later. About 10 years after the first Tylenol 3, I had a nervous breakdown and spent a week in the hospital from panic attacks and depression. I had migraines for a couple years while with my ex-husband, so I was on painkillers of diff. types. I also had my wisdom teeth taken out and got dry socket (which was painful) and kept me on perc. and vicodin for about a month until that healed. The codeine has been off and on. Most recently on for about 3 years while dealing with my alcoholic bf - not his fault, but it helped me deal with his mental absense, crazy drunken-ness and passing out by 9pm everynight.

I did the N/A route and even went to a substance abuse outpatient center years ago, but that doctor just made me feel shame and didn't help anything except momentarily getting off the pain killers. I just know that I cannot stay off of it by myself, at least not anytime soon.

[deanna]

Good luck on Wednesday Fresh!!!! Deanna

[gotitang]

Good news fresh2009 is that Wednesday is coming quickly! Bad news is that route to NA you posted about earlier...... you should try again! Suboxone is not a cure! We HAVE to get in the middle of recovery or nothing changes except the detox! Don't get me wrong! NOT detoxing is important....But, really all suboxone does is postpone detox! It just slows the process down so we can detox at a much slower rate so our brain doesn't take the "hit" so bad! PAWS= post acute withdrawel syndrom makes it so hard for us to not go back to using! Spreading out the detox and eliminating the cravings are helpful for us to heal! BUT....like I said! Nothing will change if nothing changes! I personally had to learn new life skills! I had to find out that PILLS were not the problem....I am! That was a hard pill (no pun intended! wink) to swallow! But I now live a great life! I have a new way of thinking! I now know that if I am the problem we have a solution! IF you or anything else is the problem I'm shit out of luck! I know this because I cannot change people , places or things! Only me! SO I keep this thing real simple! I am the problem.....SO there must be a solution! Let me ask my support people how to get the answers! I am the problem, so there is a solution! I am the problem so there is a solution, I am the problem so there is a solution! yea.....I'm gettin this thing! WINK....how about you?

[NancyB]

Hi fresh2009, please give this link a read before you start Suboxone. It explains about precipitated withdrawals and how to avoid it.

http://www.naabt.org/documents/NAABT_PrecipWD.pdf

Please let us know of any questions you have.

Nancy

[NancyB]

Hi fresh2009, have you started yet? Update us when you have a minute.

Nancy

[fresh2009]

I took my last DOC at noon after going to the pharmacy and planning to pay cash for sub. since the dr. & insurance hadn't gotten their communication together yet, but miraculously the tech typed in some info and then she said "OH, it went thru'" Yay!

I told my friend about my problem - for those of you that didn't see my other post, he is also on Sub. and the reason I found out about this helpful hope when we got back in touch a few months ago. The only person I have ever told, besides doctors. He took it great and was supportive and basically confirmed to me that it's no big deal. Even though he's on it, I guess I felt he might judge me. I feel a weight lifted from that alone.
I know that counseling, NA and work has to be done still, however I choose. I know it's not just a miracle ---well the pill is sounds like a miracle, but I know I have work besides the Sub.
I should be taking my first dose within the next 12 hours...

[NancyB]

Hi fresh2009, that's great that you got that weight off of your shoulders. Looks like you two will be very supportive of each other, which is key.

Keep us posted when you can.

Nancy

[fresh2009]

24 long hours later... still no withdrawal! Very minor symptoms. Achy, chills, headache and tired (from waking up every hour). I'm still waiting. I should be thankful, but...

Has anyone else gone this long before withdrawals?

[labcoatbud]

Ugh- I recently went through withdrawl for TWO WEEKS STRAIGHT, it was absolutely maddening! I couldn't keep anything down that whole time and was very paraniod and anxious the whole time... granted, I had been injecting oxycontin (80 mgs at a time) for 4-5 months, so I'm sure that's why my withdrawl was so horiffic. When I got arrested and out of jail, I had about 6-60mg pills and 3-40 mg pills left, I TRIED to taper to make the withdrawls lesser, but it didn't seem to have any effect on them (other than slightly delaying the onset) I wasn't terribley ill for a few days, as I was eating small pieces of oxy a few times a day to try to help. I'm glad that you guys (hopefully) won't have to go through such long, physically and mentally HORRIBLE withdrawls like I just did- mine started April 18th and lasted so long (nearly two weeks), I lost 20 lbs! Good luck with everything, I'm still having a hard time and took some vicoden the last two days to feel "normal" so I feel your pain.

[cljames]

I got my first dose of 8mg of sub. from the doctor about 14 hours after my last dose of 20mg of lortab. Like others have said, he said 12 or more hours was safe. I was fine, and am doing great right now. I have hope. Good luck.
Courtney