Here's how you taper off Suboxone. What you need to know!

[@dennisstanworth1718]

I can't thank you enough for putting this information out. Thank you!

[@wc9458]

Makes a lot of sense. I’ve never heard this explained so simply. Thanks.

[@Lit-soles]

I was on 16 mg a day now I’m down to 4 mg a day. I can’t wait to get off of this stuff. Thank you so much for making this video and the sub slicer is a lifesaver. one day at a time EVERYONE ❤️🙏

[@Greenskiii]

Happy for you! wish I was there too, my boats sinking. will say a prayer for your journey 🙏

[@mikegodich7468]

I’m just went from 4 to 2 . Down from 16 and I’m happy yet scared to death 😢. We got this

[@s.p.8870]

Did you ever get off?

[@jasonh.1648]

Thank you for posting this!

[@alyssalewis7672]

I'm down to 1.75 from 8mg. I actually decided that I would go down .25 every two weeks and then stop at .175. So I'm glad that the plan that I have in place is exactly what you'd recommend. My Dr didn't have any recommendations for withdrawal meds unfortunately, so I'll have to look into some of the ones that you listed.

[@MaxJuarez-m9b]

How it's goin I'm trying myself

[@alyssalewis7672]

@MaxJuarez-m9b it's going alright. I'm at 1.75. I'm definitely starting to feel it. But it's tolerable.

[@susiequsie1980]

Hey friends, I'm on 8mg/2mg strips. I desperately want to taper&be off once &:for all.i was so close to the end. Just taking a shred. But back to taking a whole film. We can totally do this. Something that helped me was eating healthy & exercising. I also took melatonin to help me with my sleep but all this is doable. Hope you are well and hopeful.

[@alyssalewis7672]

@MaxJuarez-m9b So I'm down to 1mg now. I started taking a b complex vitamin, I tried clonidine but it makes me feel worse unfortunately. I've noticed that when I lower my dose it's a much easier transition to do like .75mg on day one, 1mg day two, .75mg day 3, 1mg day 4, and then stay at .75 after that. I'm still only decreasing at .25mg every other week. I've also always split my dose up 2-3 times throughout the day, but that's just personal preference. It honestly hasn't been bad at all. I've actually noticed more mental clarity, and I'm less grouchy lol. I take magnesium for sleep and I also recently started taking a low dose thc edible at night. I personally don't like weed or the high but I take a low enough dose that it just helps with sleep, CBD helps too. Have you started tapering?

[@racielgonzalez4854]

One good thing I've noticed about suboxone is how quickly your body adjusts, I have a lot of experience with it, having been on it back from 2011 to 2014 when I finally decided to get off if it, I would lower my dose a little and just feel a little discomfort like upper back cold chills and a little bit of the restless feeling on my elbows at night while I was sleeping which is not as bad as the restless leg but still annoying, and maybe diarrhea once in that day, but on the second day my body would feel normal with zero withdrawal, then the following day I would Taper down a little bit and go through the same thing of being a little uncomfortable for that day getting diarrhea once and a little bit of restless elbow during sleep and then the next day be completely fine, so I would Taper 1 day, the next day be fine and on the third day Taper down a small amount more so basically I would Taper down a small amount every other day until I couldn't cut the piece any smaller and that was on a 2mg film, and then instead of trying to cut it into a smaller piece I would just take take longer in between dosing, so instead of once a day, I would wait 36 hours until dosing and then 2 days later I would wait 48 hours to dose, and by that point it was just a mental thing, where the tiny amount I was taking had zero effect but there was still that fear that I would somehow get withdrawals if I didn't dose amd then I went 2 and a half days, so 60 hours without taking that tiny dose and then I just stopped and I was done, it took me maybe like 3 or 4 months to do it, going from 8mg a day to like way under a mg something like .02 mg so a 50th of a mg before I jumped off and it worked.

[@juanmurillo3176]

How long to wait to take Suboxone from taking 20mg of Methadone tablets for chronic pain

[@dylandworsky186]

Hi Dr. Starr! I'm literally allergic to Bupinorphin & I definitely want to quit & I don't know what to do other than Methadone? which is what several doctors had suggested to me but the downfall to that is I don't want to wait in a 3-4 hour line every morning at 7am cuz I have work at 8:30am. Please can you please give any suggestions?

[@KenStarrMDWellnessGroup]

Have you tried generic buprenorphine (Subutex)? Did you have precipitated withdrawal?

[@dylandworsky186]

@@KenStarrMDWellnessGroup Yes I tried both Subutex and Suboxine and the hospital tested me and concluded that I'm highly allergic to both of them. Ever since I have been trying to find another option. Most doctors are suggesting hallucinations to me since I don't want to go to get Methadone at 4am every morning. Any help you can supply would be appreciated because it has been a super long road? Thank You So Much for getting back to me!

[@calpoker21]

will you get pwd from Subutex?

[@leelaferro]

@@calpoker21yes

[@danielbowman3157]

​@@calpoker21pwd doesnt come from nalaxone, it comes from buprenorphine being a partial agonist with a high binding affinity for the receptors, so it rips the other opioid youve been taking off of the receptors.

[@ApexMedicalWellness]

I'm wondering about the consistency of the medication's distribution throughout the strip, particularly the generic strips. Do you find any issues with regard to this? For my patients who are on tablets, I suggest using a gram scale to consistently determine the amount they are taking and to decrease just as consistently.

[@jasonh.1648]

I have never noticed any inconsistencies in dosing even with generic strips. The tablets and using a gram scale will work fine. I find it is a little difficult to separate them, and it's not as convenient to take with you if you aren't at home.

[@bigt4331]

My dr is against me using the shot to get off and says there should be no difrence between the shot and tapering with strips. Im down to 4 now..

[@lauracornwell9129]

Hi Dr. Starr. Was preparing to use Sublacade to end my use of Suboxone. Our medical insurance is TriCare for life and Medicare part B. Neither offer coverage for Sublacade. Apparently, Medicare part B, in addition to a supplemental commercial policy will cover Sublacade. Any ideas on which insurance companies will offer the best policy for this coverage? My provider has turned in a request to the pharmacy they use for starting Sublacade. They said I will have to be denied first by TFL, then Medicare. From what I have read, a supplemental commercial policy in conjunction with Medicare is the only choice I have to avoid paying full price for Sublacade. I do not qualify for any copay assistance either.

[@KenStarrMDWellnessGroup]

It's hard to say. Blue Shield, Anthem, Medi-Cal all cover it in our area but it can depend on the plan

[@lauracornwell9129]

@KenStarrMDWellnessGroup I called Humana today. They offered three supplemental commercial policies. I was quoted around 200.00 per month. This will be substantially less than $2000.00 per shot without the policy. It's interesting how many people over 65 on Medicare and served in the military are probably convinced they can't afford Sublacade. I thought politicians wanted to assist people trying to quit opioids (including Buprenorphine). The main driver for addiction is lack of mental health care and pharmaceutical assistance. Our veterans deserve better. No wonder our military can't recruit personnel. This loop hole to save money is killing people. Sublacade would be free if our political and medical system wanted to actually end our opioid use. So many suffering from oud are afraid of Methadone and Buprenorphine because of how difficult they are to stop once you become dependent on them. Plus, how many oud sufferers have $2000.00 a month to get Sublacade to end their Suboxone use? Trump suggests killing drug dealers is our way out of this crisis. What makes people think he won't stop at executing only major drug dealers. Something about his plan seems weird, dark, evil.

[@SirCarlosMusicBMI]

🌴🌴🌴 Interesting 🧐🧐🧐 Great advice ❗️ Talk to you in about 30 minutes. Blessings,Carlos ✝️🙏❤️😊🇺🇸

[@danielbowman3157]

Please reply to this question: If I take 6mg daily, generic subutex, what would be the best route to go with Sublocade? How many shots of what dose shot? Thank you in advance. Edit: I've been on it since January 2024.

[@andrelebrun3972]

What do you mean by strips in point no. 2?

[@alisonroosa4200]

I ask for prayers please. I have been clean for 8+ years. I have been on a very low dose of Suboxone for a long time. Im desperate to get off and be free from it for good. I’m down to .5mg/ day, it’s one quarter of a 2mg strip, and somehow I can’t seem to get lower than that. I ask for prayers please. Thank you, Ali

[@ryanknuth6915]

Been on subs for about 8 years…Im soooo tired of the brain fog and lethargy….hard to describe but it feels like my brain is spinning a million miles an hour

[@AudreeAdam]

Honestly, Sublocade injections are painful (especially the 300 mg ones!), but you get used to them and it works wonders. I hope you can get them and be free. I’ve had 2 of 300, 5 of 100, just did a 75 and I have 2-3 more to go… 75, then 50.

[@AudreeAdam]

It’s a LOT easier to decrease than Suboxone, or opiates like Dilaudid or Fentanyl.

[@igoelbowdeep1527]

Do a video about methadone

[@kennethamend8557]

Im at a loss for word's...I was taking 1mg of buprenorphine every day for about 3 weeks. Blood pressure was fine and all was well. Though i had no idea how precise i needed to be during the final quarter of my taper??I have always been 100% honest with my care provider. Though when i completely stopped dosing the 1mg...here came the tremors, insomnia. I asked for 2 weeks of Ativan or Klonopin to help? The answer was NO. Though ill call you in more Suboxone. Just to hear you state that there are meds that can be used as needed to help with the taper brought a sense of peace inside. It took roughly 3 weeks of these lingering side effects to finally dissipate. I understand biologically were all on our own clock when it comes time to taper if ever. For many tapering improperly without the proper support can lead to relapse. Thank You 😊

[@hec1287]

How much do you charge for sublocade 100mg shot?

[@hopeschimmel]

It's around 1200$ .. no joke

[@calpoker21]

hi doc loving your videos very informative and you seem to really care. so many docs seem happy to get ppl on subs for life with no interest in tapering them off. one question i can't seem to get a good answer to is if you'll get precipitated withdrawals from subutex (without naloxone) if you switch over from opiates to it without waiting 12hrs+? say you take a dose of oxy before you go to sleep you wake up ~8hrs later feeling shitty but instead of an opiate you take a subutex? and if thats possible whats the best initial dose of the sub? tyvm

[@vileproductions8511]

Dr. Star , I am currently in the northern california area, on 4 mg of suboxone tabs . I would i really like to work with you on getting on the sublocade to taper off this medication .. Are you guys currently accepting new patients?.. background - been on subs over 7 years , tried tapering numerous times but always hit a wall around 2 mg .

[@KenStarrMDWellnessGroup]

Happy to help, but you'd need to come down to our clinic for the shot. We have patients do it all the time.

[@vileproductions8511]

@@KenStarrMDWellnessGroup I’ll be getting in contact with you , i havd cali choice anthem gold insurance … i’m under the impression that sublocade will be covered in “ most “ cases ?.. Also , how does it work if i’m currently prescribed suboxone from another practice ? i’m assuming insurance won’t cover the shot until i’m out ? .. are these questions i can call about over the phone ? thank you 🙏

[@AustinB.3322]

Lucky that people in those parts of the country are tougher and accustomed to being left out of everything.