???? suboxone ???

[lovemypillhead]

Quick question to anyone and everyone who is on suboxone or been on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


My bf went to dr yesterday and he put him on ( 3 ) 8 mg a day. So, a total of 24mg of suboxone a day.

The bottle says TAKE ONE PILL 3 TIMES DAILY
But, the insert from the pharmacy says IF U ARE TO TAKE MORE THAN ONE PILL A DAY, TAKE THEM ALL AT ONCE UNDER TONGUE, ETC.....
If that is true, why wouldnt the bottle say "Take 3 pills ONCE a day"

Im confused and no we didnt call the dr yet.  We wanna make sure he gets the maximum benefit from this.....so i want to make sure he takes them right.

So, if he is on 3 pills a day....is he suppose to take all 3 at once? Or, like one in the morning, afternoon then night???

I would have started the question on a fresh forum but i cant at work. My work blocks certain websites where u can chat and things like that!

[cattalina]

When I first started the doctor had me taking 1 (8mg) pill 3x a day. Especially when first starting on the sub it's important to keep a certain level in the body - which is why taking it at 3 different times is the way it's prescribed. If he were to take all 3 at once he'd feel okay for a couple hours then he'd end up being sick.

DO NOT take all 3 at once!!! Take one at three different times during the day. Tell him to try and space them evenly apart and take them at the same time every day. The last pill should be taken no later than 6pm as taking it later can cause serious insomnia.

I'm soooooo happy for you!!!! :))

[refusingbondage]

My doctor always said take it all one time a day ONLY.  But others have said their doctors prescribed it differently.  My doctor said it best to take once daily as it stays in your system for a long time and is best to take one dose every 24 hrs.  He should check with his doc though.  I would suggest once daily -- hopefully the doc okays that.

[refusingbondage]

OOPS!  Its amazing how differnent doctors swear by differnet methods.  I guess either way would work.. Perhaps Catalina's suggestion is the best way to go for now though - I do remember being quite sick from the subs for a while due to the high dosage all at one time..

[lovemypillhead]

yeah i think we need to call his dr too but he isnt in until friday.................

i know cat---im soooooooooo excited tooooooo!!!!!!  even lkast night he was sooo different! he seemed like himself back in the day. it's been so long i forgot how he was .

i dont care if it's "trading one drug for another".....i dont. he wont have the junkie behavior on sub. plus, it has a script so i dont have to worry if he is gonna get arrest'd at the local walgreens or something.................

we are still trying to find a way to get the sub cheaper (with him not having insurance and all).....Gosh, it was $30 for 4 of them last night. He couldnt afford to get the whole thing at once so they were cool n broke it up for him.

If anyone knows of a way to get them cheaper....let me know please. No insurance and no he doesnt have ins thru the state either....

[mtgoat911]

being on suboxone will not stop junkie behavior, i know there are so many sub patients on this forum, and i probably step on their toe's atleast once a day
i have been on sub and i treat patients on sub.
the addict thinking does not disapear, there is no miricle pill that is going to "fix" anyone
its hard work to get out of that type of behavior, and if it was as simple as taking a pill then we would all be cured!
i see that right now you feel that you have your boyfriend back, he's not running the streets or getting arrested, but what if he runs out of money and cannot get his sub.? that junkie behavior will take over and he will do what it takes to get it, or be terribly dope sick
ans people on matinence drugs are running from that sickness
if your focusing on his overall health then this is not something that will be good for him in the long run
but if you are looking for that immeadiate gratification, yes you may have him back for a few weeks, but eventually sub. turns on people, it may take a month or 10 years, and then after that period of time the person will look back and say man i wasted that many years on that stuff
everything has a price,
i suggest that you talk to people who have been off it for a while, they will have a good perspective on what can potentially happpen
people on sub. think its a God send, i was there myself a while back,
dont you want you loved one to be free?
i am not trying to be hard on you, i saw that you have gotten responses from several sub. patients and i thought you should hear someone with a different experience
i believe that one day you will care about your boyfriend substituting one drug for another

[refusingbondage]

I wish you and your boyfriend nothing but the best in recovery.  As harsh as it sounds.. mtgoat in my opinion is right.  And I am agreeing as someone who has been on it and is now off it.  its not talking down to you and its not about not encouraging someone to be clean- whatever that means to you and to him.  Is being on sub considered clean?  Its a matter of opinion and it's not about that.  But the warning she gives is very true and many found this out--myself included-- the hard way.

[cattalina]

Ok - I need to get this off my chest.. I'm sorry but mtgoat911 - you annoy me!! I respect your experiences and admire that you help other addicts... But regardless you annoy me. Everyone has their own opinion and we're all entitled to it. One way is no better or worse than another. It's a personal choice for each addict how they choose to deal with their addiction. IMO you're missing a big point that some of us try to make... and you step on my toes all the time. I'm gonna have to start wearing steel toes... :)

Now - love: I'm super excited for you guys! You know the deal with sub - what to do, not to do, length of time, side effects.... blah blah. Make sure he starts going to meetings and networking with other clean people. That will be the part that sustains his recovery. YAY!! I'm so glad hun!! Look into those websites I gave you SOMEONE has to be able to help you guys!

[christos24]

It all depends on the individual. if the doctor wants him on 24 mgs taking 3 8mgs tablets daily then what most likely he wants him to do is take one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening, but depending on how your bf reacts to suboxone or how if effects him he any like to take a couple the morning or more at night. its really up to him and how he feels. the doc just doesnt want him to take anymore than 24mgs a day, thats the maximunm dose and would prefer that he sticks the same amount daily and usually at the same time so he can get a routine started with structure. the pharmacy bottle says that because suboxone needs to be dissolved under the tongue if he has to take more than one at once they want you to put (insert the amount of pills) under the tongue at once. i was on 32mgs of suboxone for over 8months. i took 16mgs twice daily. so i broke both pills in half  making four pieces and put them under my tongue to dissolve twice daily , and it takes sometime right around 15-30 minutes to fully dissolve. they alos ahve smaller tablets than the 8mg tabs he has, at first when is tarted i was only on 8mg for the frist week and i was prescribed 2mg pills, so overall to save time the pharmacy most likely puts the same directions on all the bottles. Some info for your bf on suboxone just so this process of treatment can be as smooth and comfortable as possible from personal experience is when he decides its time to get off the suboxone remember too talk to the doc, and to slowly taper down the dose from 24mgs. that is a high dose, the high effective dose for suboxone is 32mgs, its a unique synthetic opioid, in that it has a ceiling effect, where the higher you go the actually more negative effects you get and the more it acts like an opiate antagonist(what they use for heroin,oxy, etc. overdoses in the hospital).from my and others experience i would say the most effective dose is between 4mgs-24mgsx, any higher is pointless. you actually get more of a typical positive "opiate" effect from lower doses, but eveyone is different so that needs to be taken in consideration for everyone. he also does not want to stop taking the medication( going cold turkey), or run out way early because the withdrawals from suboxone, like methadone, take longer to begin but once started they last for over a month and can be absolutely brutal. people think theyre DOC wd's were as bad as it gets, but try going cold turkey from sub or methadone and it gets much much worse. i dont mean to make it sound soo scary, but tis something he really needs to remember and pay close attention too, cuz ive been through both suboxone and methadone wd's and good lord it was bad. the wd's will be,lighter the less amount of time he takes the suboxone, but most people in recovery need to be on the treatment drugs for long periods of time, at least a year. i know myself and the severity of my addiction i will need to be on methadone for at least a few years, but i can honestly say i am so much better, happier, structured, stable, and motivated than when i was a down and out junky at only 22. Im also a much much better boyfriend too :).Suboxone can work extremely well for lots of ppl and ive seen it personally, and i didnt touch or even come close to taking any oxycontin, H, or any other opiates for over 8 months thanks to suboxone, along with counseling, group and NA meetings. Both are crucial for success. I wish both of you the best of luck, stay strong..you are being a great great girlfriend..-christos

[lovemypillhead]

MT GOAT:

I will always make sure he doesnt run out of money for suboxone....if that's what it takes.  I supported his sh!t *** oxy/H addiction........So, I have no problems helping him, if needed, to get suboxone.

He has been on some sort of opiate for 10 years........Oxy, Herpon, Roxy, etc......he has done so much damage to himself and his brain and everything else.....if the sub helps him get thru this addiction, mental or physical, then i dont care.  I really do not care if it is trading one addiction for another. I know that is controversial on here...but, i really don't care.  I am all for whatever it takes for him to not go to the hood and buy heroin. Or Oxy's at $60 a piece. Or steal from me to have drug money. Or lay in bed and NOT move for 12 hours except to go the bathroom all the time.  I mean, whatever.  I do think he needs to talk to someone...I think NA meetings will help him. But, i am just so happy that when he woke up this morning he wasnt blowing my emailing up flipping the f out because he doesnt have pills and is sick and needs money or needs the car to go look for stuff or whatever.  

[lovemypillhead]

i have been  thru so much with him............and his lies regarding pills, money, etc. that really--the only hope we had was suboxone.....or something of that nature. he has tried tapering and it didnt work. he has tried ct and that surely didnt work. we have changed our phone number when he was getting clean BEFORE so that way his contacts couldnt call him ... but, of course....that didnt work.  he has done it all...inpatient detox. there is such a big mental part of addiction, too, that maybe if him taking suboxone tricks him into whatever...i dont knw?  again, i dont care. i think suboxone is awesome. i think everyone has a different method and ability to recover and be drug free, eventually. i think what works for sally sue wont work for the next person.

if he would end up needing to be on sub for a year -- that is fine with me.  of course, he can't just stop that....but, the medicine was designed for opiate addiction.  

of course i want him to be "free".....free of everything would be awesome. i cant wait til the day when he doesnt need sub......but, honestly, im not sure if he is the type that will ever be free.

[christos24]

yeah suboxone isnt 100% a miracle cure, but i am very confident especially with the support he has from you that he will do great and be able to stave off the addiction. he will have no withdrawals, minimal cravings that are manageable, so he should be good to go. i defintely have been in the same situatio he was and its terrible, im sure he was same way, but i was definitely not myself in the slightest. the drug had complete control every part of me. i was a selfish junky who looked past his girlfriend, family and closest friends just to get a "high"...i am soo grateful and glad that i got to treatment when i did and have the rest of my life to live..best of luck-christos

[mtgoat911]

catt when i was on sub i hated people like me too, completly normal
i am a memeber of na, and i respect the na traditions
one of those states that the ONLE requirement for membership is the desire to stop using
you dont have to be a likable person to be a member, no one can throw you out!!! you can be on sub and attend meetings heck you can get high in the parking lot and walk in and someone will welcome you
i am lucky that way because i have not always been a likably person
i am glad that you got that off your chest, i am also glad that you are reading my post
i definantly have my own way of carring the message, i work with addicts by volunteering for an addiction phone line, i have even been known to detox people here at my house
and i try to stay connected with our local tx facilities
addicts including myself are very sensitive, we do not like being told what to do or that what we are doing needs to be changed, i have also found that when someone is really pissing me off then they usually remind me of myself or they are saying something i know i need to hear, i actually slapped someone in an na meeting for this reason
catt no matter what you are taking i still care about you and i know you want recovery! this is pure and can be read in your post, you are on sub. yet you tell potential sub. patients, "hey, its not all roses", i do respect you and love reading your post
and trust me, my life is far from perfect, i can be an emotional basket case, i have just started homeschooling my learning disabled child and usually when i come on here its because i am wanting some distraction from the stress of that, oh and my husband maybe loosing his job soon and we may have to move, i have pulled my butt out of the homeless shelter, bought my dream house and now i may loose it at 4 yrs clean! yeah, i know ...focus on the 11th step, Gods will, theres always a plan, When one door shuts another one opens, what else, oh i am fatty fat fat fat and this is making me hate myself, so no one is perfect, i just carry the message in that in your face kind of way because thats how i was taught, so dont give up on me yet
we are both addicts and we both need help

alright i have hijacked another thread today, i need to get off here and pack for vacation, but i wanted to ask lovemypillhead what drugs she takes? pain meds, alcohol, pot
usually people in her situation are ... a. on something themselves or b. terribly codependent

i was personally in this situation with my hubby, we were both using, at times i would just smoke pot and he would drink, but to make our relationship work we had to both be clean and working a program,
when i did decide to stop, he refused tx,, so i went to alonon, there was no narcanon meetings in my area at that time, i learned how to love without being co-dependent

i can get back into that mode where i need to focus on his needs but i must remember that i have my own problems and he is grown, he can take care of himself

[steveo30]

alot of good info.today.it's good to agree to disagree,thats how we learn .GOOD POSTS

[lovemypillhead]

Actually, to be honest with you.......

POT:  No. I have never cared for it.  Of course i have smoked it....but, i get paranoid and want to eat non stop. So, im not a fan of it therefore  i dont do it.

ALCOHOL:  The last time i drank that is even worth talking about would have been....oh, about 2 years ago.  I have a 6 month old........that requires me non stop........and then of course i was preg for 9 months before that...........then, before that....oddly enough.....i stopped drinking because my bf wanted me to stop. LOL.  for real. i was going thru a bad divorce, was robbed and lost everything.......so i turned to partying and going out....and drinking. Got a DUI.....still drank tho.....then, met my bf......he wasnt a drinker...and he got my drinking to stop.

PILLS/OPIATES:  I have done them with my bf......i do blame him for me ever doing them because i didnt know anything about opiate addiction until him.  So, i wont lie and say i never did them.  I have for sure.  But, not anymore.  Not to mention, I never got addicted to them. I am sure because i didnt do enough of them.???  but i never did. I could do them and party for the night. And then back to reality the next day as if i never did them before.  

[wannabefree330]

Just because we take suboxone doesn't mean we aren't serious about being in recovery?  I don't call it a miracle drug, and I don't expect it to cure my addiction.  I will always be an addict.  Till the day I die.  So mtgoat don't assume all of us using sub are looking for the easy way out?  For me, it brought my head enough above water for me to see that life is worth living, and I don't have to live in shame anymore.  

The question was about how to take the sub....  Dividing the doses will provide a more constant level of the medicaiton in the blood stream.  If you take it all at once say in the morning, the level peaks quickly, then begins to decrease as time goes on.  When I started (after I came home from detox) I took 1 tab four times a day (8mg).  Now I am down to 1 tab (8mg) twice a day.

I'm really happy for you and your bf.  I hope it will pull his head out of the mudd long enough to see that life is worth living for.....just like it did for me.  I know for a fact that sub has allowed me to get the mental and emotional and spiritual areas of my life in order.  When and if I decide to come off of sub, I will be in a better spot mentally to do it.

[wannabefree330]

ps:   mtgoat911  this thread is not about you.....and its not about lovemypillhead either?  

[worried878]

getting clean is always a great choice and a great goal if the person is ready to do the work to get there..and wants it deep down..Is ur boyfriend a heroin user?  that is a high dose of sub for a pill popper....is he doing it long term or short term?..if his goal is to get off in the 21 days then 24 mg is a high dose to start at...be safe and look out for him as he is now on a more powerful narcotic than before.....is it the same as being clean?..dont know about that and dont make opinions on the subject but if no behaviors are changed then nothing will change...if he is ready to go head first into meetings and recovery then he has a chance to be successful..if he is using sub to avoid physical wds cos he is forced to quit or because he is afraid of feeling bad for a week or less..i would think twice about it as sub addiction is no fun either and some even go back to oxies or hydros to get off sub!   I have never known anyone to take 24 mg at one time...that is alot....most take their dose twice to three times a day but i dont know many on that high of a dose..be safe

[ochooked]

Gotta agree with Worried ---- that is one huge amount of Sub ---- Many if not most doctors over prescribe Sub ---  Let me tell you that with Sub -- Less is better -- and how do you know how much is enough?????  You allow your own body to tell you -- start out with 2 mg  -- -if that works stop -- if not - then wait 1 hour and take one mg more.  
Then when you are not having severe W/D's STOP -- this is the amount you need to take twice a day.  Sub is very wicked --- Hell hath no fury like coming off of Sub.  The W/D's lasted for 2 months-----  I highly recommend you go to the Health Pages (above right) and look for a post titled  "Members experiences coming off of Suboxone."  Let the buyer beware ----  And -- one more thing -- Cattalina, sorry to tell you this but you were rude and out of line --- Getting P.O.ed  at a fellow member for expressing their heart felt opinion is beyond the limits ----  If it is true, as you say, that everyone has an opinion -- then allow Mtgoat to have theirs -- Hey everyone --- this sub debate goes on and on but it is very good for us to hear ALL sides ---- get a grip.  Wish everyone the best and Happy Thanksgiving.

[lovemypillhead]

thanks for the support :)

He basically broke them up.....thru the day.

One in the morning, afternoon then evening.  

He does heroin and pills. Both. Whichever he can get first. Snorts the pills and the H.

[cattalina]

You more or less stuck your foot in your mouth... my post was not mean and mtgoat and I have since spoken and come to understand each other better. Also 'beyond the limits' is an extreme description... I didn't burn her house down - I said the word 'annoying'!!! As far as I know - all people are allowed whatever feelings they want. If it annoys me that people are constantly telling me I'm less than, or that I'm not clean, or that I took the easy way out or any other ignorant comment... then it annoys me. Period. If anyone has a problem with MY feelings... then that's their own problem - not mine.  You're definitely allowed to think of me as rude but I'm not the only person on this forum with 'rude' habits like expressing my feelings. So hopefully in the future you will call everyone out on expression of feelings. :)  

[ethereal1]

The Golden (or Orange) Rule: take only as little Sub as you need to feel well.

how ironic that Subs are octagonal and referred to as 'stop signs'. ; )

Sub w/d is less severe than full-agonist opiates, but much longer. god-awful long.

figure w/d from full-agonist opiates will be 5 to 7 days. take enough Sub to feel well for that long. then start getting off it via tapering. just MHO.

[lovemypillhead]

I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.......


If someone takes suboxone and they are NOT addicted and NOT in withdrawl.....would that cause them to get high from the pill and throw up, etc?

My boyfriend's friend......took a suboxone....like a month ago....but he told my bf that he'd never take them again because number one he got really sick from it (throwing up, etc) but also he said he felt high from it.......like really high. But, then, i got to thinking that this kid that took it wasnt some addict...that i know of.  I think he just messes with pills here and there.........my boyfriend doesnt get the least bit sick from sub. Nor does he get high from them...so we were wondering if that is because his friend doesnt need them....

ANybody know about that?

[lovemypillhead]

ur my girl :)

[lovemypillhead]

suboxone also have a cross on the back of them too.

[refusingbondage]

My guess would be if someone who is not an addict and not use to opiates and large amount of opiates would get really sick of suboxone.  The opiate contained in suboxone is very strong and even 2 mgs of sub is a pretty hefty dose of opiates.  For someone with little to no tolerance, it would probably make them very sick.  I had a huge tolerance to opiates and was still sick off the subs for the first week or two that I took them.   As far as getting high off them.. the verdict is still out.  Many people say they did get high off subs.  I did not think I ever got high on them, but now being off them, I can say they did cause some thing of a high.. not the same as fast acting opes but also not the same as having nothing in your system.  

[lovemypillhead]

thanks :) very informative.  

[cattalina]

Thanks love :) At least SOMEONE likes me around here!!!
And refusingbondage is right - 1mg of buprenorphine is equal to approx 30 mgs of morphine... so someone who does not "need" them would get high/sick. I've heard of people who pop sub to get high but they're generally not actively using large amounts of other opiates... Anything is possible tho. I recently read a blog about someone who used to IV sub. I didn't think you could do that so who really knows?

[lovemypillhead]

Holy canoli  wow that is strong........so that would make sense as to why people that don't have a tolerance can get high from it.

I didnt think u could shoot it either.  

Lots of love from this way!

[jt808]

i had to doit the same way and i think alot of it has to do with the fact that u cant od on it and the taste is terrible but its normal to take it all at once everyone i no does it that way.

[ExPillHead]

I have been on suboxone for 4 years. Goat has no idea what he's talking about, he's arrogant and ignorant.  IT IS A MIRACLE DRUG WITH THE RIGHT COMBINATION OF TREATMENT.  Without seeing a Doctor, without seeing a NA group or outpatient group, then Suboxone is NOT a miracle drug. But, if you take the subs as prescribed, go to meetings, do what your doctor tells you...then YOU ARE NO LONGER A JUNKIE!!! YAY. I have done everything my Dr. told me to throughout the last 4 years and I have NOT had a single relapse and I am NO longer a junkie, or have junkie mentalities. Don't let someone claiming to be a doctor (goat) get you down. As long as he doesn't abuse the subs, and gets outside help from NA or group therapy...it WORKS. I am in a suboxone group through the clinic my doctor works at and there are 35 people in there that all feel the same way I do.

[indiana2008]

Yes take them all together.......mine said the same even the doctor told me to take them all together but wrote take 1 twice daily.  I was told it was for insurance purposes but not sure.  I do know it is vital to take them together for maximum benefit.  I am sure you are on your way to finding the one you love again as suboxone saved my life.
Best wishes to the both of you
Scott