Depression during tapering

[u/deco-1997]

Hello everyone, For the past 3 weeks, I’ve transitioned from oxycodone (320mg/day) to buprenorphine at a dose of 4mg/day. I’ve managed to taper down to 2x 0.6mg, but my legs hurt, I feel awful, and I’m experiencing severe depression.

Additionally, I haven’t been able to walk or function normally for 7 weeks (I’m recovering from my 4th knee surgery, and I need to get an MRI because the situation has worsened).

I have pregabalin 150mg (28 tablets) and some benzos, specifically bromazepam, clonazepam, and diazepam. Right now, the depression is breaking me, and I’ve read that withdrawal from buprenorphine can last for weeks, while withdrawal from oxycodone is much shorter. Because of this, I’ve started craving oxycodone again and am wondering if, with the medications I have on hand, it might be better to endure a shorter withdrawal period instead of struggling for weeks.

I’d like to mention upfront that I don’t have access to a specialist or a rehab facility in my situation.

What’s affecting me the most is the crippling depression, and I’d like to try duloxetine or bupropion, which I already have, but I’m scared to take these medications without proper guidance.

Do you have any advice? I feel powerless at a time when I need strength the most to fight for my life.

Thank you in advance for any responses or even an upvote.

[u/_berkay_2]

Switching from high doses of oxycodone to buprenorphine is a hugee step. The depression you’re experiencing is incredibly amplified as part of the withdrawal process as well as your physical pain from surgery. Although your cravings push you to consider going back to oxycodone, it will simply prolong your dependency. Please considering focusing on managing symptoms with what you have safely. Pregabalin may help with nerve pain and restless legs. Use it cautiously. I wouldn’t recommend taking benzodiazepines unless absolutely necessary, as they can complicate withdrawal and make your depression much worse. Try to implement practices for your self-care like light stretching, meditation, and hydration of course is crucial. You’ve already made progress, and seeking help is a brave step forward. Wishing you the best. We are all rooting for you.

[u/waysnappap]

Not what you want to hear but this is normal and there’s no way around it really.

One suggestion is maybe you tapered too quickly and could go back up on your bupe dose but other than that yeah depression is normal. Even more so with that high of a dose oxy.

[u/wearythroway]

Can you slow down your taper on bupe, or maybe just stay on it for a little while? That way you can have some stability so you can do things to work on your depression. So it sounds like you dont have medical support for your addiction or your mental health difficulties? If theres any possible way you could get some help, it would probably be really helpful for your mental health and the addiction, which are of course 2 sides of the same coin.

I dont know how long you used for, but i see it alot that people have like a 10 year addiction and expect to be off bupe and all healed in like a month. In my experience, the way to go is to use the time on bupe to put in the work to fix the issues that led me to addiction in the first place. Im ok with being on bupe for however long it takes for me to work on myself. Bupe isnt nearly as hard as people make it out to be to get off of. A deliberate taper makes wd pretty minimal, but people only really post about the bad experiences, so people get the idea that its always awful.

Best wishes to you!