Attitude in bup or any opiate/opiode withdrawl

So, this is kinda a chicken or egg story here. I have been totally stopped from taking suboxone now for about 3 weeks- a week before that I was pretty much just taking a mental dose of less than 1 mg per day. (and before that I was coming off of an initial daily dose of 6 mg, although that doesn't mean that on some days I didn't take more or even way more)... in any case, I have now come off of suboxone 4 times and each time was different. The first time I came off of it I noticed almost nothing... that time I had been on it for over two years and had been taking 1 mg per day for two months before stopping. That time I sneezed quite often every day for about two months but didn't notice anything else at all.

The second time I was in jail and was given codeine and clonopins for the w'd's and had some stomach probs but ... well, a girl there made me eat every meal and also made me exercise and it really wasn't bad. At all.

The third time was at home and I came off quite quickly. A 4 or 5 day drop then stopped. It was bad for a week or two but not too bad. Mentally I tried to not give it more power than it would have... plus that time I was only on it for maybe 3 months so maybe that is why.

This time... my tiredness has just been extreme. Chills. Cold even when it's super nice out. Have been able to sleep but for weeks now have had this feeling of extreme tiredness and soreness in joints/bones (which I NEVER get w any type of opiate detox)---which has had me, until yesterday all the sudden (which leads to the chicken/egg thing...), feeling rather blah/depressed-like. Anyways, it was starting to seem like too much when yesterday all the sudden I felt light come back. Energy. Hope. The thought that "maybe this is ending and things are good right now"... in any case, it was like a switch went off in my head that turned any boredom/tiredness/sadness into hope and a feeling of well-being. I don't know if I caused this myself by telling myself somehow that things would soon be over.... or if time was just ticking along and things are ending very soon and that is why. But it happened like a light switch and now I am not allowing myself (even though I still have some chills, stomach probs, etc--and didn't sleep well last night...blah) to feel sad, tired, etc.---
So, I guess my point here is that for quite a while I have had an interest in how much your brain can control opiate/opioid withdrawls... I know when you fear it/panic--- it is much worse. I assume you can change quite a bit with your brain.

Anyways...two questions. For any who have come off of suboxone, how slow of a taper did you do and how long did it last? How long til you felt ALL better? And also have you ever had any experience (with any opiate like substance) with having diff detoxes simply by your attitude?

 

With me and my meds it's like if I run out early the anxiety that will set in is based on how much time before my next refill. A week is scary as shit and a few days don't seem to be bad cuz it's only a day or so to the next re-up. So I would relate my wds based solely in how much time before next time I get more meds

 

it,s hell to come off suboxone...worse than dope/pills.
lucky ma doc always gives me a few extra strips, i try to take one a day.
4mgs-moring-4-mgs afternoon. sometimes an extra 2 mgs on bad days,
also it,s better than any anxity med they tried to give me.
but costs alot, bout 550-600 a month with no ins.

 

Suboxone w/d is NOT worse than w dope. It's much, much, much less intense. BUT... it lasts so damn long that it starts to mess w your mind and you start to FEEL it's worse.

And I don't feel good today and I'm trying not to focus on that...

 

AT, your attitude or mindset is absolutely key to a successful detox but its also a critical ingredient for staying clean! Getting off Subs is going to be different for everyone and different, I eventually found out from one try to the next with the same person(as you already know). The latest try for you made more sense to me just based on suggested amount of time. I see where you said you were on 1mg for 2 months, what I didn't see or was unable to guess was the amount of time from beginning to the 1mg/day point. I spent about 17 months total on Subs(In hindsight, no one should ever have to be on Subs that long), but for some reason I had a hard time getting below 6mg/day(when in reality I should have been on 6mgs/day after 1st week), to this day I still can't explain that, however, when all was said and done, I was on 2mg/day for 4 months then 1mg to .75mg/day for the same two months once I jumped. Fatigue was my biggest and pretty much only withdrawal I felt. I also remember those "Awesome" days in amongst the tired, slow feeling days. It will go away. For me, that took longer due to length of time on Subs and my age as opposed to your age. Your mindset plays a huge part in getting beyond the crappy days because you have to WANT to do things that go against how you actually feel. I'm not talking about things you know you have to do (i.e. work, errands, daily routine...etc), but things that have no "must do" value and go completely against what you feel, exercise/parking farthest away from entrance to a place of business.....etc I'm sure this is stuff you already know, much like I did, what kicked my ass was understanding that in order for me to do those things, other things had to change, the biggest one being my diet. Eating healthy can't be more important during this phase, unfortunately, I spent many more days than necessary feeling like shit when i didn't have to. Hang in there, you got this shit beat, just don't let that lump, 3ft above your ass, make you believe there is an alternative to being clean when you truly want to be!