My Insane Suboxone Withdrawal Story

Hey everyone,

I’m writing this because I feel like I need to journal my entire Suboxone journey and how it almost completely ruined me.

Quick background: addiction runs in my family, and I started taking opioids at a young age — around 15 or 16. I would steal them from my dad’s stash, and they gave me this superhuman confidence and energy that no other substance could match.

Fast forward to now: I’m 29 years old. I had been sober for 120 days until one day at a family gathering, my dad came up to me and told me to try this product called 7-OH. I could instantly tell by the way he was acting that he was already hooked on it himself — I just didn’t realize how intense it actually was until I tried a 10mg dose.

The second it hit me, I knew I was going to get addicted to this garbage.

At first, I only dabbled with it for a few weeks at a time because I was trying to avoid acute withdrawals. I’m a very active person and LOVE long-distance running, and honestly, 7-OH seemed perfect at first. It numbed the pain in my joints and made running feel more interesting and enjoyable. I mainly used it to push my fitness goals further.

But eventually, I took it too far.

I went on a 3–4 week binge using this stuff while trying to “get my life together” with work, training, fitness goals, etc. The entire time, I was hiding it from my girlfriend, who lives with me. I carried so much guilt every single day because I constantly had to lie about why I felt sick or exhausted when really I was in withdrawal.

Eventually, the binge got so bad that I folded and turned to Suboxone.

Huge mistake.

I didn’t dose it properly at all. I was taking 8mg every 48 hours, then using 7-OH for two days, then going back to another 8mg Suboxone dose. I did this cycle for about two weeks.

At the time, I was training for the Cleveland Marathon, and I told myself:

“Once I finish this race, I’m DONE with both Suboxone and 7-OH forever.”

The marathon was Sunday, March 17th. My last 8mg dose of Suboxone was Wednesday, March 13th.

I thought I would be okay.

I was wrong.

By Friday, the withdrawals started hitting, and it was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my life. The anxiety, depression, insomnia, and restlessness were on another level. I was standing in my condo feeling like I didn’t even know who I was anymore.

I tried my best to hold it together, but the symptoms just kept getting worse throughout the day and night.

Friday night, I barely slept at all. I couldn’t stop moving. I was anxious, restless, sweating, pacing — everything came in waves. I maybe got two hours of sleep total.

Saturday morning, I felt emotionally numb and physically exhausted. I had zero desire to eat, talk, or do anything productive, but at the same time, my body wouldn’t let me sit still. Anyone who’s gone through acute opioid withdrawal knows exactly what I mean.

The only thing that temporarily helped was the sauna. I stayed in there for hours trying to sweat everything out and calm my nervous system down.

By Saturday night, I had maybe five total hours of sleep over the previous 48 hours, and the marathon was the next morning. My withdrawals were peaking hard. The restless legs were unbearable, and it took every ounce of strength I had not to cave and take more Suboxone.

But somehow, I held the line.

I spent the entire night scrolling Reddit and reading other people’s withdrawal stories just trying to stay mentally positive.

Then 5:30 AM hit on race day.

I had slept maybe five hours total in two days, and I honestly questioned whether I should even attempt the marathon. But I still had 100mg of 7-OH saved specifically for the race.

So I took about 20mg.

Thirty minutes later, it hit me like a truck.

For the first time in days, I felt temporarily back inside my own body again. I felt human. I felt alive. I felt ready to run no matter what.

At 7:00 AM, the countdown hit zero and I started the marathon.

I carried the remaining 7-OH with me and took small amounts throughout the race whenever I felt myself crashing.

The run itself was brutal, but somehow I finished in 4 hours and 2 minutes. Considering the heat and the condition my body was in, I’m honestly shocked I didn’t collapse or die out there.

I literally ran an entire marathon while going through Suboxone withdrawal — with the help of 7-OH, of course.

When I got home afterward, I was destroyed. I couldn’t do anything except lay on the couch. I was nauseous, exhausted, and I could already feel the Suboxone withdrawals creeping back in.

I somehow dragged myself back to the sauna and stayed there for almost four hours until they closed, just sweating, hydrating, and trying to survive.

That night, I knew sleep wasn’t happening.

I had this horrible feeling in my chest — almost like the comedown from Adderall where your nervous system is so overstimulated that you know there’s no chance you’re falling asleep anytime soon.

Desperate, I drove to my dad’s house and stole comfort meds because I knew he had everything imaginable as an active addict.

I took five 0.3mg clonidine pills and some trazodone.

That was Sunday night.

I maybe got four hours of sleep.

When I woke up Monday morning, I was completely soaked in sweat and felt even worse than before. At that point, I think I was also experiencing mild withdrawal from the 7-OH on top of the Suboxone withdrawal.

I called off work and blamed it on soreness from the race and lack of sleep — which technically wasn’t a lie.

Then I went right back to the sauna and repeated the detox process all over again.

At this point, heat was the only thing bringing me any relief.

Fast forward to now: it’s Day 6 since my last Suboxone dose, and I still feel exhausted writing this. Last night, I finally managed to get around seven hours of sleep, probably thanks to the comfort meds and the fact that my body was completely wrecked from running 26 miles in withdrawal.

I’m working from home today, but I still feel the symptoms — just not as intensely as before.

Please listen to my warning:

If you’re taking Suboxone, even for just a week or two, do NOT assume you can stop cold turkey without consequences. You absolutely can experience full-blown withdrawal if you don’t taper properly.

Don’t make the same mistake I did.

I will never touch this stuff again.

If anyone has questions, feel free to ask. I’ll try to keep updating this post as my recovery continues day by day.

Hey everyone,

I’m writing this because I feel like I need to journal my entire Suboxone journey and how it almost completely ruined me.

Quick background: addiction runs in my family, and I started taking opioids at a young age — around 15 or 16. I would steal them from my dad’s stash, and they gave me this superhuman confidence and energy that no other substance could match.

Fast forward to now: I’m 29 years old. I had been sober for 120 days until one day at a family gathering, my dad came up to me and told me to try this product called 7-OH. I could instantly tell by the way he was acting that he was already hooked on it himself — I just didn’t realize how intense it actually was until I tried a 10mg dose.

The second it hit me, I knew I was going to get addicted to this garbage.

At first, I only dabbled with it for a few weeks at a time because I was trying to avoid acute withdrawals. I’m a very active person and LOVE long-distance running, and honestly, 7-OH seemed perfect at first. It numbed the pain in my joints and made running feel more interesting and enjoyable. I mainly used it to push my fitness goals further.

But eventually, I took it too far.

I went on a 3–4 week binge using this stuff while trying to “get my life together” with work, training, fitness goals, etc. The entire time, I was hiding it from my girlfriend, who lives with me. I carried so much guilt every single day because I constantly had to lie about why I felt sick or exhausted when really I was in withdrawal.

Eventually, the binge got so bad that I folded and turned to Suboxone.

Huge mistake.

I didn’t dose it properly at all. I was taking 8mg every 48 hours, then using 7-OH for two days, then going back to another 8mg Suboxone dose. I did this cycle for about two weeks.

At the time, I was training for the Cleveland Marathon, and I told myself:

“Once I finish this race, I’m DONE with both Suboxone and 7-OH forever.”

The marathon was Sunday, March 17th. My last 8mg dose of Suboxone was Wednesday, March 13th.

I thought I would be okay.

I was wrong.

By Friday, the withdrawals started hitting, and it was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my life. The anxiety, depression, insomnia, and restlessness were on another level. I was standing in my condo feeling like I didn’t even know who I was anymore.

I tried my best to hold it together, but the symptoms just kept getting worse throughout the day and night.

Friday night, I barely slept at all. I couldn’t stop moving. I was anxious, restless, sweating, pacing — everything came in waves. I maybe got two hours of sleep total.

Saturday morning, I felt emotionally numb and physically exhausted. I had zero desire to eat, talk, or do anything productive, but at the same time, my body wouldn’t let me sit still. Anyone who’s gone through acute opioid withdrawal knows exactly what I mean.

The only thing that temporarily helped was the sauna. I stayed in there for hours trying to sweat everything out and calm my nervous system down.

By Saturday night, I had maybe five total hours of sleep over the previous 48 hours, and the marathon was the next morning. My withdrawals were peaking hard. The restless legs were unbearable, and it took every ounce of strength I had not to cave and take more Suboxone.

But somehow, I held the line.

I spent the entire night scrolling Reddit and reading other people’s withdrawal stories just trying to stay mentally positive.

Then 5:30 AM hit on race day.

I had slept maybe five hours total in two days, and I honestly questioned whether I should even attempt the marathon. But I still had 100mg of 7-OH saved specifically for the race.

So I took about 20mg.

Thirty minutes later, it hit me like a truck.

For the first time in days, I felt temporarily back inside my own body again. I felt human. I felt alive. I felt ready to run no matter what.

At 7:00 AM, the countdown hit zero and I started the marathon.

I carried the remaining 7-OH with me and took small amounts throughout the race whenever I felt myself crashing.

The run itself was brutal, but somehow I finished in 4 hours and 2 minutes. Considering the heat and the condition my body was in, I’m honestly shocked I didn’t collapse or die out there.

I literally ran an entire marathon while going through Suboxone withdrawal — with the help of 7-OH, of course.

When I got home afterward, I was destroyed. I couldn’t do anything except lay on the couch. I was nauseous, exhausted, and I could already feel the Suboxone withdrawals creeping back in.

I somehow dragged myself back to the sauna and stayed there for almost four hours until they closed, just sweating, hydrating, and trying to survive.

That night, I knew sleep wasn’t happening.

I had this horrible feeling in my chest — almost like the comedown from Adderall where your nervous system is so overstimulated that you know there’s no chance you’re falling asleep anytime soon.

Desperate, I drove to my dad’s house and stole comfort meds because I knew he had everything imaginable as an active addict.

I took five 0.3mg clonidine pills and some trazodone.

That was Sunday night.

I maybe got four hours of sleep.

When I woke up Monday morning, I was completely soaked in sweat and felt even worse than before. At that point, I think I was also experiencing mild withdrawal from the 7-OH on top of the Suboxone withdrawal.

I called off work and blamed it on soreness from the race and lack of sleep — which technically wasn’t a lie.

Then I went right back to the sauna and repeated the detox process all over again.

At this point, heat was the only thing bringing me any relief.

Fast forward to now: it’s Day 6 since my last Suboxone dose, and I still feel exhausted writing this. Last night, I finally managed to get around seven hours of sleep, probably thanks to the comfort meds and the fact that my body was completely wrecked from running 26 miles in withdrawal.

I’m working from home today, but I still feel the symptoms — just not as intensely as before.

Please listen to my warning:

If you’re taking Suboxone, even for just a week or two, do NOT assume you can stop cold turkey without consequences. You absolutely can experience full-blown withdrawal if you don’t taper properly.

Don’t make the same mistake I did.

I will never touch this stuff again.

If anyone has questions, feel free to ask. I’ll try to keep updating this post as my recovery continues day by day.

Hey everyone,

I’m writing this because I feel like I need to journal my entire Suboxone journey and how it almost completely ruined me.

Quick background: addiction runs in my family, and I started taking opioids at a young age — around 15 or 16. I would steal them from my dad’s stash, and they gave me this superhuman confidence and energy that no other substance could match.

Fast forward to now: I’m 29 years old. I had been sober for 120 days until one day at a family gathering, my dad came up to me and told me to try this product called 7-OH. I could instantly tell by the way he was acting that he was already hooked on it himself — I just didn’t realize how intense it actually was until I tried a 10mg dose.

The second it hit me, I knew I was going to get addicted to this garbage.

At first, I only dabbled with it for a few weeks at a time because I was trying to avoid acute withdrawals. I’m a very active person and LOVE long-distance running, and honestly, 7-OH seemed perfect at first. It numbed the pain in my joints and made running feel more interesting and enjoyable. I mainly used it to push my fitness goals further.

But eventually, I took it too far.

I went on a 3–4 week binge using this stuff while trying to “get my life together” with work, training, fitness goals, etc. The entire time, I was hiding it from my girlfriend, who lives with me. I carried so much guilt every single day because I constantly had to lie about why I felt sick or exhausted when really I was in withdrawal.

Eventually, the binge got so bad that I folded and turned to Suboxone.

Huge mistake.

I didn’t dose it properly at all. I was taking 8mg every 48 hours, then using 7-OH for two days, then going back to another 8mg Suboxone dose. I did this cycle for about two weeks.

At the time, I was training for the Cleveland Marathon, and I told myself:

“Once I finish this race, I’m DONE with both Suboxone and 7-OH forever.”

The marathon was Sunday, March 17th. My last 8mg dose of Suboxone was Wednesday, March 13th.

I thought I would be okay.

I was wrong.

By Friday, the withdrawals started hitting, and it was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my life. The anxiety, depression, insomnia, and restlessness were on another level. I was standing in my condo feeling like I didn’t even know who I was anymore.

I tried my best to hold it together, but the symptoms just kept getting worse throughout the day and night.

Friday night, I barely slept at all. I couldn’t stop moving. I was anxious, restless, sweating, pacing — everything came in waves. I maybe got two hours of sleep total.

Saturday morning, I felt emotionally numb and physically exhausted. I had zero desire to eat, talk, or do anything productive, but at the same time, my body wouldn’t let me sit still. Anyone who’s gone through acute opioid withdrawal knows exactly what I mean.

The only thing that temporarily helped was the sauna. I stayed in there for hours trying to sweat everything out and calm my nervous system down.

By Saturday night, I had maybe five total hours of sleep over the previous 48 hours, and the marathon was the next morning. My withdrawals were peaking hard. The restless legs were unbearable, and it took every ounce of strength I had not to cave and take more Suboxone.

But somehow, I held the line.

I spent the entire night scrolling Reddit and reading other people’s withdrawal stories just trying to stay mentally positive.

Then 5:30 AM hit on race day.

I had slept maybe five hours total in two days, and I honestly questioned whether I should even attempt the marathon. But I still had 100mg of 7-OH saved specifically for the race.

So I took about 20mg.

Thirty minutes later, it hit me like a truck.

For the first time in days, I felt temporarily back inside my own body again. I felt human. I felt alive. I felt ready to run no matter what.

At 7:00 AM, the countdown hit zero and I started the marathon.

I carried the remaining 7-OH with me and took small amounts throughout the race whenever I felt myself crashing.

The run itself was brutal, but somehow I finished in 4 hours and 2 minutes. Considering the heat and the condition my body was in, I’m honestly shocked I didn’t collapse or die out there.

I literally ran an entire marathon while going through Suboxone withdrawal — with the help of 7-OH, of course.

When I got home afterward, I was destroyed. I couldn’t do anything except lay on the couch. I was nauseous, exhausted, and I could already feel the Suboxone withdrawals creeping back in.

I somehow dragged myself back to the sauna and stayed there for almost four hours until they closed, just sweating, hydrating, and trying to survive.

That night, I knew sleep wasn’t happening.

I had this horrible feeling in my chest — almost like the comedown from Adderall where your nervous system is so overstimulated that you know there’s no chance you’re falling asleep anytime soon.

Desperate, I drove to my dad’s house and stole comfort meds because I knew he had everything imaginable as an active addict.

I took five 0.3mg clonidine pills and some trazodone.

That was Sunday night.

I maybe got four hours of sleep.

When I woke up Monday morning, I was completely soaked in sweat and felt even worse than before. At that point, I think I was also experiencing mild withdrawal from the 7-OH on top of the Suboxone withdrawal.

I called off work and blamed it on soreness from the race and lack of sleep — which technically wasn’t a lie.

Then I went right back to the sauna and repeated the detox process all over again.

At this point, heat was the only thing bringing me any relief.

Fast forward to now: it’s Day 6 since my last Suboxone dose, and I still feel exhausted writing this. Last night, I finally managed to get around seven hours of sleep, probably thanks to the comfort meds and the fact that my body was completely wrecked from running 26 miles in withdrawal.

I’m working from home today, but I still feel the symptoms — just not as intensely as before.

Please listen to my warning:

If you’re taking Suboxone, even for just a week or two, do NOT assume you can stop cold turkey without consequences. You absolutely can experience full-blown withdrawal if you don’t taper properly.

Don’t make the same mistake I did.

I will never touch this stuff again.

If anyone has questions, feel free to ask. I’ll try to keep updating this post as my recovery continues day by day.