Author: Amy-Work In Progress

Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 8:31 pm

Hi! Welcome to the forum! I hope we can help you with your question. First, what dose of sub were you on per day before you stopped prior to surgery? Secondly, have you noticed whether the norco alone is helping with your pain? It sounds like you’re being prescribed 7.5 mg of hydrocodone per pill. Are you supposed to be taking 1 or 2 at a time? It’s important to know whether or not you will be getting any pain relief from the norco alone or combined with anti-inflammatory meds (motrin, ibuprofen, aleve, etc.)

The reason I’m asking is that it won’t make sense to talk about cutting out the sub right away if you’re needing it for pain relief. If you can already get by without the sub, and you’re set on going off completely, then you shouldn’t take any more sub. Suboxone has a long half life and it takes probably 4 to 10 days (that’s a guesstimate) for most of it to leave your body.

Does your sub doc or your surgeon know about your plan to go off of sub? Your sub doc could prescribe comfort meds if he knows that you plan on going off. Clonidine is a helpful medication to manage withdrawal symptoms. And maybe some xanax for anxiety? Is your surgeon knowledgeable about sub to the extent that he understands that you might need extra medication for your tolerance level. Is he/she willing to prescribe you a refill on the norco to help the sub withdrawal go easier?

We don’t usually recommend using short acting opiates to quite suboxone, but this scenario does come up from time to time and a surgery recovery can be a decent time to get off sub if you’re going to try it anyway. I hear that you’re pretty confident that norco wouldn’t be a temptation anymore, but I want to caution you to be very careful. Do you have a trusted family member who could hold onto your norco and help you taper down?

So I guess my main suggestions are to get at least one of your doctors on board and have a trusted person to help you keep the taper under control. Good luck!

Amy