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MedHelp Member's Question

New Medicine to stop craving for Herion Addicts in recovery

by alex1381, Mar 01, 2000 12:00AM
I have an 18 year old son who is a Herion addict. I heard on a news show that there is a new Medicine to help stop the craving for Herion but was not yet in the U.S.

Can anyone tell me where this medicine is.

My wife and I are going crazy trying to keep him sober.

We truly belive him that he does want to stay clean but can't

Drug rehabs have not been the answer.



Thank you

Alex1381

Member Comments (46)

by Rick, Mar 01, 2000 12:00AM
I believe that de-tox fascilities are now prescribing Buprenorphine for opiate withdrawl. I ordered a batch from an overseas pharmacist to see what all the fuss was about.  I didn't experiance any euphoria from this drug, but I did feel a little numb all over, indicating this to be a powerfull pain reliever.

by steve, Mar 02, 2000 12:00AM
I believe it's the buprenorphine. It worked very well for me. Read the posting between myself and Brighty below and run a search engine on "buprenorphine". There's a lot of info on the net. Good Luck.

by Brighty, Mar 02, 2000 12:00AM
We have the same problem with our daughter. I think it's buprenorphine. Look below and see my questions to Steve and his responses to me. Also our family doctor is doing a little research on it for us before prescribing it. Also please look at my questions here on Wellbutrin and Zyban, and the responses. My daughter is to start on it this week until we get more info on the buprenorphine. It's an antidepressant and may help to some degree, which is to my thinking at least worth trying. The concern seems to be the possibilities of seizures so think it over. If I learn more I will post here to you. Good luck. Brighty

by brian, Mar 04, 2000 12:00AM
The medicine is, as the others posted, Buprenorphine.  It's brand name in the US is Buprenex.  As of right now, it is available in injections only, although the pill is being released soon.  Buprenorphine is an interesting medicine (I have been detoxed with it 3 times).  It is an opiate, however, it has agonist-antagonist qualities.  Esentially, it binds to the opiate receptors in the brain, therefore one does not crave opiates or have withdrawal.  Because of its antagonist properties it does not get one "high" and therefore has limited abuse potential.  (I say limited because I understand it is diverted for street use so it is somewhat abused).  To further limit abuse, the drug is going to be released in pill form combined with Naltrexone, a narcotic antagonist.



Buprenorphine is still untested long term, and hence I am not certain I would want my child on it on a long term basis like methadone.  It is great as a week long detox drug.  If you read the journal articles on the internet, you will get more information.  I think you will find that if your son keeps relapsing, methadone maintainence may be the way to go.



Another thought just hit me.  The "drug" you may be referring to might not be Buprenorphine, but might be Ibogaine.  Ibogaine is believed to limit cravings and "break" the addiction cycle.  It is in preliminary research but can be obtained over the internet.  For more info. see www.ibogainedossier.org.  Best of luck to you and your son.  Stay strong and remember, it is a disease like cancer.  It is not his fault.

by brian, Mar 04, 2000 12:00AM
Sorry, it's www.ibogaine.org and the name of the website is ibogaine dossier.  A fascinating potential "cure" for opiate addiction.

by Brighty, Mar 07, 2000 12:00AM
This is for Steve... can you find our dialog on Buprenorphine here anywhere ? I was just trying to find it and it seems to be gone.. or else I need to see the opthamologist !!! Can anyone locate it ? I was wondering if you had replied to my last question and alas.. I can't find any of our Q and A ?? I did a search on Buprenorphine and find nothing also. Did the staff delete it ?? I will look again before I post this. Can anyone help me with this ??

by Brighty, Mar 07, 2000 12:00AM
This is for Steve... can you find our dialog on Buprenorphine here anywhere ? I was just trying to find it and it seems to be gone.. or else I need to see the opthamologist !!! Can anyone locate it ? I was wondering if you had replied to my last question and alas.. I can't find any of our Q and A ?? I did a search on Buprenorphine and find nothing also. Did the staff delete it ?? I will look again before I post this. Can anyone help me with this ??

by steve, Mar 08, 2000 12:00AM
Hi Brighty. Gone for good. Question for the "moderator" of this site..... something wrong with the posting? something wrong with the subject? Looked like a very civil exchange of opinion to me. I do hope there have been technical problems... kinda strange though.... does the webmaster care to comment? Think you guys should. The doubt of deliberate censorship is enough to make me wish i had not open my heart...... we'll see.

by Brighty, Mar 12, 2000 12:00AM
Hi Steve,



I got a general type of reply in my e-mail that when messages get old they "age out" and are removed from the forum. This does not apply to our postings. Your replies to my questions were valuable to me and other readers. I realize that we engaged in a tiny bit of "chit chat" but the information on BUPRENORPNINE should be posted here. I did a fourm and arvhive search and nothing comes up. When our postings were here in the forum the search for BUPRENORPNINE did come up. I agree there seems to be  censorship at work here which will render this a controlled forum.. afterall much of the information here is not verified by professionals and is just experiential exchange by participants. The information you passed to me is not erased from my memory... an addiction specialist is to meet with my daughter in her recovery program.. he is very optimistic about buprenorphine... so maybe he'll have her on it depending on the results of her eval with him.. and the policies of the recovery program. In any case I am certainly glad you opened your heart here... it was appropriate and helpful to us and likely to many others. Thank you Steve. PS... I wonder if ibogaine discussion is welcome here as it relates to addiction ??

by Brighty --- thehealinglight@hotmail.com, Mar 12, 2000 12:00AM
This is for Brian who posted above.. thank you for sharing your experiences on Buprenorphine.. Can you tell us how long you used it.. only a few days of detox ?? How did you handle cravings after the detox and did you consider if a light maintenance use of bup would have helped you for a while with them ? Did your doctor tell you much about it? I am curious because your comments led to recommending the  powerful addictive drug methadone for maintenance rather than the buprenorphine... I am simply wondering what brought you to this conclusion since you did have 3 detoxes with the bup. Your reply is appreciated. Brighty

by Clayton, Mar 12, 2000 12:00AM
Your son will not stay clean until he WANTS too.Simple

by Brian to Brighty, Mar 12, 2000 12:00AM
The longest I was on buprenorphine was 5 or six days, as a detox drug only, not for maintainence.  I handled cravings after detox sometimes by using (great way to handle huh) and other times simply by going to meetings.  Yes, buprenorphine will help with cravings, but the bottom line is it is a narcotic.  Any narcotic will stop cravings since what the cravings are are your opiate receptors crying out for more opiate.  Thus at some point one has to get off the narcotic and face the cravings.  Buprenorphine has some good qualities for detox, but less is known about how effective it will be for long term maintainence.  Therefore, since methadone is so established, I think if one is going to be maintained long term it is the preferred drug.  However, methadone is VERY hard to get off of, and buprenorphine is less so.  My recommendation is for addicts to detox and not be maintained on any narcotic long term (unless they are chronic relapsers with little hope of staying off narcotics).  Just my opinion.

by Brighty, Mar 14, 2000 12:00AM
Thanks Brian for your reply. I did not know that buprenorphine was a narcotic. I did know that it does touch the opiate receptors thus causing a feeling of opiate satisfaction. If it's a narcotic, then why is it not addictive and why does it have little abuse potential ?? Also, you mentioned the ibogaine site above. I also agree that it is fascinating.. however illegal in the US. I am a proponent of people seeking alternative remedies.. especially in cases where our modern western medicine cannot offer any cure or any hope. Good that you mentioned that web site. Best wishes, Brighty

by Brian to Brighty, Mar 15, 2000 12:00AM
Buprenorphine has a limited abuse potential because it is in a class of narcotics that have both agonist and antagonist properties.  Basically what that means is it both binds to the opiate receptors and stimulates them mildly, thus making them satisfied (and not causing withdrawal) while at the same time it will keep other opiates from binding to the receptors (and will also cause withdrawal if taken too soon because it will cause other opiates to be "knocked off" the receptors).  By only stimulating the receptors mildly, buprenorphine does not give one a "high" and hence it is not frequently abused.  The mild feeling it may give some users does not really increase with an increase in dosage, also limiting abuse.  I agree with you about the Ibogaine and would love to find out more directly from someone who has undergone that treatment what the result was.  There are apparently places to order the Ibogaine on the Web, but as you said it is currently not legal in the US.  Guess the government would rather have millions of addicts!  Take care, Brian

by ALEXIS, Mar 16, 2000 12:00AM
Hi this message is for anyone who is on this list.  I stumbled on this list because I was looking for some help on Heroin addiction and withdrawl.  THis is my seventh day of goinh without the Heroin.  I have been awake the whole time and I still haven't slept.  It's rough . Quite rough.  I feel like I am going crazy.  I need peolple to talk to.   I know that when my friend were going through withdrawl from other addictions such as alcohol, etc.  So if some one could write back to me with some information on how to cope it would be greatly appreciated because I am doing this cold turkey.  Today is actually the first day I have had the ambition to even get on the computer.  I am a writer and artist at heart.  And the addiction got such a hold of me that I let my talents go to waste.  I wrote a poem. I'll put on the next time I check my e-mail.  Thank you everyone.     Alexis

by Brighty-- thehealinglight@hotmail.com, Mar 17, 2000 12:00AM
Peace and blessings to you Alexis !! My daughter is in recovery now for heroin addiction. You are courageous and I will pray for you !!! Steve and Brian post here often and have had success with buprenorphine... I hope you read all the posts here and find out things that can help you. Please find an addiction doctor in your area right away. You really should look into a recovery program right away  also... there are different types. I'm afraid that without some support you could lapse into your old habits before too long.. so PLEASE don't handle this alone. I will be happy to correspond with you for encouragement if you want someone to talk to and to share stuff... but I am not addicted so I won't be able to offer you what others here can offer. I am sure you will hear from them soon. But feel free to write anyway.