[Pigo]

I've heard that part of the motivation for the escalation of opiate strength (fentanyl and carfentanil) is because so many people have begun seeing success with these new therapies. The illegal marketplace has probably been losing profits.

Maybe replacement therapy isn't perfect, but I've seen it help a lot of people who are in a bad place. I wish there was more motivation for finding exit strategies, but there doesn't seem to be any profit in that.

[addict_throwawa]

my dr mentioned that he's had success with the sub cutaneous thing. it lasts a month and it seems like it's a good way to slowly taper down. and he said the bupe stays in your body for a LONG time when doing that - longer than a month after the 30 day period

it's really hard to taper down! it takes a lot of willpower not to just take more since you have it sitting around. i wonder if would be more successful with like a 1 month taper for in patient program.

[formeruser]

I tapered off of my Suboxone prescription gradually over a long period of time. By the end of it, I was taking very tiny pieces of the film. They were small enough that at some point, it was probably more mental than anything.

I wish you all the best! After getting off of it, the hardest part for me was still maintaining a clean lifestyle while avoiding the types of people and behaviors that lead to scoring or abusing other drugs (alcohol included) as well.

[addict_throwawa]

How long of a taper did you do? im not on a very high dose but was still thinking about like 3 months. but I also am 50/50 like I'm worried about the after effects you have - this is working so well now I see very little downside to long term use and the upside is really big imho - except probably harder to eventually taper off the longer I'm on.

[formeruser]

By not high, do you mean around 2-4 mgs? If so, 3 months is probably a good timeline for taking a 25%-50% reduction every 1-2 weeks or so. I might have even taken longer for the last few doses. I think the big thing is not to rush it and take a pace you're comfortable with. Like you say, taking buprenorphine is much preferable to turning to alternatives.

My first experience with a taper was at rehab as they were pushing me out the door. They rushed it, and I was dopesick as I left. You can imagine that didn't turn out well.

Another thing I credit my recovery to is having strong support along the process. Also, building new lifestyle habits like going to the gym helped me improve my self-image. I don't know how much making that sort of change would apply to you but thought I'd mention it.

[addict_throwawa]

great advice - thank you. it's helpful hearing success, and triple from those who have successful business lives especially tech/engineering/etc

yup on on 4mg.

i go to the phoenix snd got into my preferred sport again! something i gave up while using that was a huge part of my life. and it's been so good to get it back both community, new friends, and just getting back into shape.