Has anyone been on Burprenorphine (Subutex) for years and how did you reduce?

Question

Has anyone been on Burprenorphine (Subutex) for years and how did you reduce?
I mean anyone been taking Subutex for last 2 or 3 years and how did you reduce and how much by, i have been on Subutex for the last 2 years and now i am on 14mg but i want to ask what is the best way to reduce, weekly? daily? and how much, anyone wiht experiance please help, thanks

Answer 1

My husband was first on buprenorphine in the form of subutex....now he has been on the buprenorphine (transtec) patches for over 7 years for pain relief associated with MS....funny thing is, he was prescribed subutex as a form of withdrawal aid from heroin addiction which was a result of inadequate pain management for the ms in the first place.....I really think you need to take advice from the prescribing practitioner here....but I know that you need to do it very slowly over a longer term rather than quick to avoid withdrawal symptoms and one step at a time so I really do think professional guidance is the best way....good luck x

Answer 2

There isn't a set way to reduce Subutex, as different people cope in different ways. From what i have seen reducing doses works better when done over a longer period of time, but some people cope really well.

As in the answer above it is important to discuss reducing your dose with your prescriber / keyworker as they will know you better than anyone on here. Also, providing you have an understanding professional, share any problems that might affect your ability to reduce such as side effects, personal problems - if they don't know they can't help you, and might assume you are ready to reduce further when you are not.

Finally don't expect too much too soon, and if things don't go as planned don't beat yourself up, if you have come this far, you can go all the way.
Good luck, Mel.