Twinlynn

Frankie - Congrats on getting the help you need! You've done a wonderful thing for yourself! :-) Subutex did change my life!

Please check out (about two posts under yours--"Need help from vet on Suboxone")--my own take on Sub--on issues like working closely with your doctor, establishing the right dosage per day, etc.

Basically, my main concern is that your doctor should be monitoring you very closely now--please do not try to figure out the amounts without his/her medical help! This is a wonderful--but very potent--drug, which requires that you and your doctor "tinker" with the dosage until you reach a level that works safely and successfully. Please do NOT leave your doctor out of the "tinkering" process!! :-)

Just to share my own experience, tho'.....32 mg WAS too much for me--and I THINK your doctor might find that you could do well with less (I started at 16 mg--which was too much for me...so I went down to 12 mg). But--again--you need to be modulating the dosages WITH your doctor. We can give you loads of support--and share our own experiences--but we are not "you".

As I stated on the other Sub thread, here--I am always floored by all these Sub doctors who do not work day-by-day with new patients to establish the correct dosage! The amount we require is so individual. (Like others here, I've read less is best, too...and, with my doctor's supervision, weaned down to about 6-8 mgs a day. But I did it very slowly, giving myself at least a week per mg. to focus on just how my body was reacting to the changes.)

I had no problem, though, dropping overnight from 16 mg to 12 mg, the day after I began the Sub. The 16 mg was just too much for me. (I am on Subutex--not Suboxone--and there is one ingredient in Suboxone that Subutex does not contain. This ingredient MAY...possibly..... affect how the body reacts to sudden dosage changes. But your doctor will have this information. I went straight on to Subutex and never switched over to Suboxone...which I've read many people do.)

One of the problems with Sub. being a relatively new drug in this country, (tho' it's been approved and prescribed for years, elsewhere) is that doctors are still learning about it...and its long-term effects. Also--there are so many different types of doctors who can prescribe Sub. They vary from those who have taken only the one 8-hour course on Sub--to those (like my own doc), who's an addiction psychiatrist, doing research in this field.

But--regardless of whether your doc is a psychiatrist or an addictionologist...or a standard GP--it is so important that you work closely, together. Even if you have to keep pestering him to return your call(!!)-- do so--until you've reached the dosage that is the correct one for you brain chemistry! (You'll know pretty quickly--you'll have no withdrawal symptoms--no negative physical reactions to the drug--and your mind will feel calm.)

"Call me in a month" is NOT a satisfactory level of care, when first starting a medication like Sub. I am unfamiliar with this off-and-on approach that your doctor wants to try--I take Sub every day (3 times a day)--but please, please ask him all the questions you have and keep him informed of all your reactions.

If you are taking Sub on a longer-term basis, like myself, you will probably be taking it every day. But it sounds like he may be establishing a weaning schedule right from the start. Whatever the case--just make sure he answers all your concerns and gives you the medical support you need.

And, we'll all be here for you in the "psychological cheering section"! :-)

Lynn :-)