Author: hopespring
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:21 am
Hi Glen bee,
Yes, I totally agree that there is no rush, and infact, as far as I am concerned, Time is the absolute key to this…
Time negates the need to use comfort drugs like clonidine, ambien etc.
I truly appreciate this, for example, Any drug, even used short term that may help alleviate severe fast taper symptoms, or used long term for mild symptoms(even worse) like say Phenegran, Just makes things, in my opinion worse.
I have been working through the contemplation and actual trialing of drugs for symptonmatic relief of Bupe Wd.
ie. Most NSAIDS, dopamine agonists(mirapex), valium, and xanax, phenegran, clonidine etc.
So far i have trialed Valium, Phenegran, Sodium Naproxen, Ibuprofen and panadol and even though they can help you sleep, or remove pain temporarily, the feeling they give me , especially Phenegran, are just not worth it, albeit the Ibuprofen, which i limit my use on, to avoid desensitization.
I hated phenegran, made me so drowsy, and left me feeling like the infamous "Lead Suit" oooowwhh, Yuk.
I won’t use the dopamine agonist, unless i have to.
But I probably never will take another med, except nurofen, as if you taper slow, you really just don’t need them, nor the side effects.(referring mainly to mirapex and valium and phenegran)
Its actually nice to know really how you feel, it is a feeling of clarity, that actually helps me, understand the bupe withdrawl.
The pain i get if any, is soooo barely noticeable. The last thing I want is some crazy dopamine issue, or valium addiction.
I really don’t feel i need to control my adrenergic system using clonidine, but occasionally on days that I have to get heaps of work done, and if i am in slight WD, i will use 5mg dexedrine, never more than once a week. Which stops all wd symptoms for me, and any mood reduction.
I sleep without any additional meds, from about 1-2 am to 8-9 am at this current time @.07mg
This changes when I am reducing, and i may get a few hours less, but if I use this as a guide, it lets me know when wd’s for this round are over, and I am good to go again.
Glen Bee.
I remember being at .5
As you are saying, and have worked out, I only dropped when I felt that I was 100% as i was before the last drop.
It just did not matter how long it took,
I would say, that if you are dosing once per day, and you needed to drop, without issue.
Just split your dose. When I had issues around this mg level, was when i actually changed to twice a day dosing.
I would take .3mg in morning(6am), and .2mg at night(7pm)
What this did was let me sleep through the night, as it kept enough bupe in system that at dropp off (pre sleep) was no issue)
I found that when dosing once a day @ .5mg at 6am, there was not enough bupe in my system, for a good nights sleep.
This never happened from 10mg to .7mg. I just slept straight through, and got up early.
But as the dose got lower (.5mg) I found that sleep became harder to initiate, and maintain.
It was a big difference when i dosed twice a day, especially when the dose became as low as yours(.5mg)
Some nights at .125 I would lie in bed and have bad RLS, for over 1-2 hours, so what ended up working was decreasing daily dose, and increasing nightly dose.
It worked, and leaves the choice of really, what do you prefer good days and good nights, or great days and rough nights.
I just recently upgraded my dose regime, to 50% 6pm and then 50% 3 hours after, then off to bed within 15 mins.
I am noticing around .08-.07mg, there seems to be no real wd after reducing .02mg every week.
My goal is .01 mg or for the anal(lytically) minded 10micograms (Microweasels in the old tongue).
I am proud of myself, but not over proud.I have been a wimp, and gone real slow, But it has worked well for me.
I am happy that this journey from 10,000 micrograms to current level of 70 micrograms, has been easy, and educational.
I am even more happy that i can share this, and help others in my situation.
It can be done without pain, I am proof of this, so many leaps of magnitude, is amazing for us, that have always thought for some reason, that the road is not only possible, but with time, as the tool, Bloody possible.
‘Take that Buprenmorphine.
Love and Goodthings
Hopespring