Welcome angini

Subject: Welcome angini Fri 02 Apr 2010, 10:36 pm

Hello and welcome to our place.

So glad you made it over to us. This means another person has gotten a hold of themselves and on their way to recover. This makes me very happy and in hopes you will spend some time with us. Please when you can, share with us.
I'm Barbara one of the moderators. Been here since the beginning, along with Dee. She will here to welcome you as well.
Take care,
Yours in the dtruggle,
Barbara

Subject: Re: Welcome angini Fri 02 Apr 2010, 11:44 pm

Hi Angini, I thought I would pop in to interduce myself. My name is Cathy and I am along time member here. I been on Suboxone since August of 2008.

I see one of our great Moderators already welcomed you. If you have any questions or just need to vent they are here to help and support you. They are three of the kindess people I know. I hope you will look around the forum when you get a chance. I hope your weekend is going well.

Cathy Welcome angini Icon_smile

Number of posts : 3 Age : 60 Registration date : 2010-04-02

Hi, I am Angini, and I thank you for the warm welcomes. It is now Friday late in the evening, and I will be starting suboxone tomorrow. What time depends on the withdrawal state, obviously. I had my drs. appt. today, he simply gave me a prescription and told me to take one a day, come back in a week. I have been thoroughly searching the internet about suboxone for a couple of weeks now. Lately I have been on this site reading articles and such, but tonight I noticed that a forum was on here, so I thought I would join.

I called many drs. offices asking about the sub therapy, and it seems the majority of them give you a script and send you on your way! In this town, anyway. My doctor seems understanding and kind, so that is a plus.

Well, I'm hoping to sleep the better part of the night and morning, so I won't have too long to go when I get up. How bad can it be the first day, anyway? It's not like I haven't been in withdrawal before Welcome angini Icon_eek

.

So, I thought I would introduce myself. Now I will get back to looking around on the forum. Bye for now.

Subject: Re: Welcome angini Sat 03 Apr 2010, 10:27 am

Good Morning angini,
I am so happy to see you already posting. If you have read through the forum I'm sure that by now you have read that we have helped many people through their induction onto Suboxone.

In the beginning when Suboxone was first approved by the FDA doctors were a lot more strict than they are now days.
I have to be honest with you. Your doctor should have done your induction in his office. I am glad that you feel you have been able to find a good provider and I hope that much is true. I don't mean to sound negative about your doctor believe me I don't.

What is comes down to is that he should have followed protocol. That doesn't mean that you can't have a successful induction, because you can. If you need hep we are here to help you.
How much Suboxone did your doctor tell you to take today?
When you should actually take your first dose and how much depends on what drug you were using and how much. When did you last take something? These are all important questions.

I will be here most of the day, feel free to send a post if you have any questions. WE all want you to have a successful induction, Your new life is just beginning.
Be proud of yourself, you can do this.
Please post and let us know how you are doing. We care about you we really do.
Yours in Recovery,
Dee

Number of posts : 3 Age : 60 Registration date : 2010-04-02

Hi everyone, I went around 20 hrs before I tried the sub today. My dr. had told me to take the pill when I was in sufficient withdrawal, so I assumed he meant the entire 8mg. A lady on another forum suggested I cut the pill into quarters and start with 2mg, then wait 2 hrs and try another 2mg. This has worked quite well. I guess this is how it's done in a drs. office? So far I have taken 4mg, I am feeling better. I think I read somewhere that it takes a few days to build up in the system, so I want to go slowly. I don't want to take more than I have to. I would hate to start out with the whole 8mg and find out in a week or so that it is too much.

For me, the withdrawals are usually the worst on the second and third day, so if I need to take more tonight or tomorrow I will. It is just past 24 hrs since I took any of my doc. I have been on and off this forum reading throughout the day. I never thought about trying suboxone until a couple of weeks ago, and now I am glad I did. Every time I use again it seems to get worse in one way or another. Well, Happy Easter or Passover, everyone.

Subject: Re: Welcome angini Sun 04 Apr 2010, 9:39 am

Good morning angini,
I am glad that you did talk to someone that told you to only take the small amount to start.
Had you been in the doctors office he should have started your induction by giving you 2 to 4mg to start. Then after the first hour if you were still exhibiting signs of withdrawal he c would have given you another 2-4 mg. The highest amount recommend on the first day is not to exceed 8mg.

Suboxone Protocol for the induction phase:
Buprenorphine blood concentrations stabilize after approximately 7 days of consistent dosing. If withdrawal symptoms subsequently emerge during
any 24-hour dosing interval, the dose is too low and should be increased.

After the first week of treatment the induction phase is over and you begin the stabilization phase. This phase can last one to two months depend on the individual.
Dosage adjustments may be necessary during early stabilization and your doctor should keep in close contact with you during this time.

Will you be using Suboxone for detox only or will you be taking it for maintenance? Which ever you choose is completely up to you.
With your doctor not giving you much information I thought I would ask just to see what you are thinking.
If you plan to use Suboxone as a detox medication only that is completely up to you.
I have read different opinions of Suboxone Treatment. Some say that it is to be used for detox and some say maintenance.
When used as a tool for detox, it does the job it was supposed to do. It gets you over the horrible hump of withdrawal. But then when the patient stops the medication, the cravings are still there and what is a person to do? The same thing they are used to doing. They go back out and use. I am not trying to say that everyone who only uses Suboxone for detox goes out and uses immediately, but eventually they do.
Unless you take the time to get into some good counseling, groups and find some totally awesome support to help deal with the emotional baggage that is left behind by drug usage using is just a step away.

What a lot of people don't realize is they need to give themselves time to heal. Re training the brain takes time. For many of us using became a way of life. We couldn't function without using. Waking up each day became a nightmare, what to do, where to go, how to go about it. That is all we thought about.
Suboxone gives us time to sort things out and examine ourselves as we never did before.
This is your time, take some time out for you. Think about what you really want to do now that you are not using. You are going to have a lot of extra time on your hands, the key will be to stay busy and not let yourself become bored. Boredom is one of the culprits of relapse.
Take this time to examine who you friends are. Are they still using? If so, you need to make a new circle of friends. For some people this is the hardest part of recover. It is hard to let go of people you have known for so long. But if it comes down to them or your recovery, there really is no choice.
Have a wonderful day and a Happy Easter.
Dee

Subject: Re: Welcome angini Sun 04 Apr 2010, 12:49 pm

Hi Angini,

What a pretty name.

I'm Barbara, I'm the oldest (66) member and moderator on the forum. I'm what you might call an old hippie. I'll talk to you more about me on the non-drug talk section.
I just wanted to say I'm glad you are interacting with us and glad to see you are doing well. I started out at 24 milligrams and offed at 1 milligram. It's been a good two months since I've had anything and feeling well most of the time. It took me a good three years to get through my recovery. I know I'll be in recovery for the rest of my life. Most of my help comes from helping other people.

Happy Easter to you. I hope you stay with us.

Yours in the struggle,
Barbara

Number of posts : 3 Age : 60 Registration date : 2010-04-02

Good morning everyone, so I slept really well last night. Almost too well, felt like a very heavy sleep. I took a total of 6mg yesterday, feel some irritation, anxiety today. Not sure if I should go higher than that since the sub builds in the system and I don't want to end up on more than I need.

I plan on using the sub for maintenance, I have put opiates in my system every day for the last 2 years. I don't trust myself with a quick detox. I did have some cravings yesterday, not really strong, but they kept coming. I know I can't expect a miracle cure, but the cravings scare the crap out of me. I have tapered off twice in the last two years only to succumb to the cravings. I have read a lot on the brain changes and opiate use, and it makes sense why I have those cravings. I always felt like a failure when I would get them. I did ask my dr. if he kept people on sub for maintenance and he said yes, that it would take quite a while for me to develop a new way of life.

Well, I took 4mg so far today. I do want to get to the point where it is all one dose, but for now I will try for two divided doses. I will see how I feel tonight before I go up to 8mg. I was really happy, thinking I only needed 6mg, and maybe I still do. I'm not sure how well I am supposed to be feeling right now.

Well, have a good day everyone.

Subject: Re: Welcome angini Sun 04 Apr 2010, 3:29 pm

Hi Angini, I am so happy to see you posting and asking all the right questions. Irritation and anxiety is part of withdrawel. You mentioned that you don't know how you should be feeling. Well at the right dose you should feel normal like you did before drug use. You should have no cravings and you shouldn't have alot of anxiety or irritation. If you are feeling all that maybe you might want to take alittle more. I been on Sub. for almost 2 years and I am at 28 mgs. But I have a long history of drug abuse. You and your doctor will figure out your dose. It just takes awhile. You just might need alittle more than 6mgs. If you have anymore questions or just want to talk we are here. I am very please to meet you!

Cathy

Have a great Holiday! Welcome angini Icon_biggrin

Subject: Re: Welcome angini Sat 17 Apr 2010, 5:22 pm

Hi Cathy,

You have a good head on your shoulders. I was going to sign off to get some things done, but had to commend you on how fast your mind is changing and you are growing. You give good advice to people and this is what we need here on the forum.

Well, got to go,
Love,
Barbara

Subject: Re: Welcome angini Sun 18 Apr 2010, 1:19 am

Thank You Barbara for your kind words! I learned a lot from this forum and the Websites and of course from you and Dee. You two are the only ones that I know that have worked thier recovery for so long. If I can't answer a question or when I have one you both will be the ones I turn to.

Love, Cathy