Hi Ginny, and thanks for your thoughtful reply.

I'm so happy you got sober, and that's an accomplishment given what you went through. I take 1 and 1/2 of the smallest pills each morning. I think that's 6mg bupe to 2 mg naloxone. It's very small but quitting still scares me.

My Dr has said that no matter how low the dose, stopping Subx will result in w/d symptoms.

Your experience was like mine - ok for 48 hours, then whammo. That half-life of bupe is long and this is the cause for the delay.

Sometimes my inability to get relief from opiates usually used to treat pain can be, well painful. I had my right hip replaced in March, limited pain and recovered quickly. Too quickly, because one month later, doing a stretch I was now advised not to do, I dislocated the new hip. I was at the gym and in horrible, horrible pain. The EMTs arrived and gave me two, 100mcg shots of fenatnyl. The Subx blocked it completely. In the ER they gave me another 100mcg of fentanyl, Again, nothing. I had to wait four long hours until an ER Dr could help me (heart attacks and gunshot wounds come first in an ER, as they should.

After about an hour, the Dr ordered ketamine for me. I had never been given ketamine before. It definitely helped, but the experience was borderline hallucinogenic. I certainly forgot about all the pain. Sadly, ketamine only works for 30-45 minutes. It was one day where I wish I hadn't been on Subx and could have been treated with opiates. But that was the only time I've experienced that much pain.

I'm assuming you're completely off Subx now - is that right ginny? Good for you and well done.

(Ginny was my Mom's name - Virginia, but her brother always called her Ginny. It's a very sweet name!)

Joe