Author: tearj3rker
Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 8:09 pm
I’ll admit I don’t have time to read your whole post, so I’ll just go on that summary bit.
You have your heart set on getting off Suboxone, and perhaps going back to NA (I’m all too aware how Suboxone / NA don’t mix). You have two options. Jump off 2 weeks of Suboxone, and go through more intense withdrawals. However if you choose to taper, IMO you could taper quite quickly, considering you’ve only been on two weeks.
Honestly, given you’ve already had 5 years clean, and you know what abstinence takes and have all the tools, I wouldn’t stay on Suboxone any longer than you feel you need. NA clearly works for you, so get your ass back in the rooms and do a taper over 2-4 weeks with the help of your peers there.
I’d choose complete abstinence over Suboxone anyday, and you’ve shown you can achieve it.
There are some pertinent questions though, like how long you’d relapsed for. You know the NA lingo, so clearly you were holding onto a really vital reservation. I know if I relapsed after a milestone, like a graduation, it would have something to do with both celebration, but also more importantly, the fact I’d have "caught up" with other people, so maybe I could afford to lose a bit? I dunno if any of that rings true, but those reservations are nasty and should be beaten.
You know how it goes with these drugs by now. Jump off a bigger habit / dose = more intense withdrawals. Ween off = more gradual, less intense taper. It’s a choice you have to make. How intense your withdrawals will be will also depend on how long your relapse / how big your habit got, so I can’t say.
I’ve found that the duration of detox has a lot to do with how long you stay on bupe. Intensity has a lot to do with the dose you come off. After 2 weeks on Suboxone, I’d give myself 1-2 weeks to be functional. Given your DOC is heroin, most of that should be out of your system. But I’m sure you know, how long you’re in the insanity of "early recovery" depends on how long your relapse went for as well. Honestly, two week of Suboxone, while it will be an anxious detox, it shouldn’t drag on too long. It’s when we stay on it for months I’ve found that we get the lingering effects for many weeks.
Good luck, and get back to the rooms. They clearly work for you.
tj
