A taper plan is a collaborative decision, not something to design entirely on your own — but knowing what to bring to that conversation helps.
What to bring to the conversation:
- Your current use pattern (substance, approximate frequency, approximate duration of use — honesty here shapes a safer plan, not a judgment)
- Any past taper or withdrawal attempts, and what happened
- Any other substances involved
- Your own preference between a faster or slower pace, and why
What a reasonable plan typically includes:
- A gradual reduction schedule, paced to your specific situation rather than a fixed generic timeline
- Checkpoints to reassess — a taper plan isn’t fixed in stone once written
- A plan for what happens if a step feels too difficult (slowing down is a normal, expected adjustment, not a failure)
- Discussion of whether transitioning to buprenorphine or methadone, instead of tapering off opioids entirely, might serve you better [link to MAT comparison tool]
Questions worth asking directly:
- What do we do if I have a hard week partway through?
- Is there a point where we’d pause the taper rather than push through?
- What symptoms should prompt me to call you before the next scheduled visit?
Use our tool: [doctor question generator] can build a tailored list for this specific conversation.
Medically reviewed by [pending]. Source: SAMHSA TIP 63.