CONFUSION ABOUT SUBOXONE?!

  Here is what I can tell you based on why I am going to be on suboxone!

I have been using and abusing(mainly abusing) painkillers for 10 years or so now.  So many painkillers have apap(tylenol) and when an addict is abusing 30-40 pills per day, day after day that can be deadly!  That is only 1 reason.  I also spend tons of money on meds even when I was getting them through a DR script i was spengind over $200.00 per month, but without it is more like 500-600 each month..  Suboxone can be used in different ways for different people, for different reasons, and goals!  What you see alot of on here is people using it as a quick acting detox tool, but when they stay on it too long or take too much then they get withdrawl (withdrawal) from it, and it seems to be just exchanging one drug to another right?

Well, in my case I have actual pain that is usually my #1 reason for relapsing, then I have others as well and then once I get them I abuse them.  With the suboxone you cannot get high, or a buzz from overtaking them. Also if you take other painkillers while on them the naloxone which is the other ingredient in suboxone, will block the painkillers affects.  so you wont get a high or a buzz if you taker a 80mg oxycontin when on suboxone.. Plus Many many people have stated that it takes away the cravings for the other painkillers, and lets them get back to day to day life activities that they were not able to partake in due to the abuse of painkillers and the sickness without them..  So if I was to be on this for the rest of my life that would be better than abusing these painkillers and risking my life, and then spending my rent money, bill money and every other cent we have to get high...  ALL AROUND THIS IS THE BEST THING FOR ME! AND MANY OTHERS!

When I can get a job and hold it down after getting on suboxone and bringing in money to help my 14yr relationsship then that will be a start.. Then I will also get my many other goals going strong as well, which I CANNOT DO ON PAINKILLERS!  So it can do many positive things for me and many others.. Then down the line when things are better and more productive (ALONG WITH MY AFTERCARE, AND ADDICTION COUNSELING) I can worry about tapering down off the sub very slowly, and that will be my ONE AND ONLY LAST DETOX FOR LIFE!  Then I will have the tools to be able to stay clean and have more tolls to help identify with the reasons, and triggers as to why I abuse..  

This is just what I am using it for, and for many others they just want something for a quick detox off opiates.. That is not what I am speaking of just to be real clear!!

HOPE THIS HELPS!!

[oxyaddict420]

I just want to explain a little about suboxone.  Like you have stated yourself everyone is different.  So when you read a post or two here and there about someone who is getting withdrawl (withdrawal) symptoms from suboxone, that doesn't mean that it should just be thrown into the list of just exchanging one drug for another catagory.  There are alot of people right here on mehelp that post almost everyday that can inform you on the details of their suboxone experiences.  People use suboxone for many many different reasons.. See my post on the suboxone confusion for more details on that.. Also suboxone should not just be lumped into the catagory along with methadone either.

Methadone is just a pure narcotic that is very addictive and has horrible withdrawls due in part to the half-life..  Suboxone is a completely DIFFERENT DRUG!  It is Subutex which yes is a narcotic opiate, but then has naloxone in it.. This is used to make sure that you cannot get high with this drug. When you take subutex alone it can get you high, but not along with naloxone.. That is why suboxone is unique.  The naloxone keeps the person from abusing other painkillers as well as not being able to abuse the subutex in the suboxone.  This is why it is so helpful for certain people that are battling addiction.  

Some people that do not have all the facts might be quick to judge something that they have only heard neagtive things about, and don't really kno much more than that.. anything new and foreign to us can be intemadating!  That doesn't mean it doesn't have it's rightful use and place amoung helping addicts deal with their abuse with painkillers..

HOPE THIS SHEDS SOME PERSPECTIVE FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF SUBOXONE..

[sickcookie]

Is it just me ,what I hear is someone looking for a way to stay an addict different drug for another 10 year run .!st crack 2nd pills now sub.You want someone to tell you this is a great long term plan.Well from how I see it insanity.Keep reading the post about people who use this sh** long term its not pretty.Why not just use it to detox and then grow up.NO its not easy but trust me easier than the future you are invisioning,it took years to get here and for some years to get out .I have read alot a heartbreaking post but this one is screaming.Sorry

[oxyaddict420]

It is UNINFORMED people like you that make others that are weak to harsh judgment want to leave this site that is actually supposed to help, NOT CRITISIZE!  

The true friends that know me and my story are all that really matters for me as far as this site goes. your weak attempt at critisizing an acutal different attempt at combating this abuse of pills is UNWANTED, AND USELESS!  Please take your negativity somewhere else!

[sickcookie]

I did not mean to upset you ,but I am speaking from my own up close and personal experience with sub.

[oxyaddict420]

No, that is not all you did. You decided to personally attack my character, and assume you have some idea about who or what I am about based on a few posts you may have read!  I would rather be alive and managing my life and addiction using suboxone and using addiction couseling rather than abusing painkillers and ending up DEAD because of relapsing once again.  you are some punk who has no idea about what he is talking about when he tries to sum up my life and addiction with a negative statement as listed above!

Now you have put in your opinion, NOW PLEASE LEAVE!

I am trying to inform, and support real people with real issues.

[worried878]

I need to know my options just in case I fail and relapse...I dont think I will but damn, I never thought I would be addicted to hydrocodone either!  I think people need the info and may or may not use it..I now understand what sub is...it is like Narcan I think that we give people after an overdose to wake them up from the narcotic, get them breathing and stuff, also to reverse accidental overdoses during procedures...it is on the crash cart at every hospital...I never knew it was habit forming but have never known anyone who took it either, I mean for recreational purposes or pain and I guess that is because you can not get high off of it...If I ever had to< i would choose sub after reading as substituting one narcotic for another makes little sense to me at this point

thanks

[oxyaddict420]

I am glad that some info that you read has made you realize your options and at least now you know the differences.. Thats great.. See for some it might not be an option, but for others it might be literally a LIFE SAVER!!  I am just trying to help people, and when I see people post about not knowing about suboxone or what it is even good for..  i am just trying to share the way it is going to help me PERSOANLLY!

BEST OF LUCK TO YOU WORRIED..

YOU CAN BEAT THIS ADDICTION!

DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET AND STAY CLEAN

I AM HERE FOR YOU AND BELIEVE IN YOUR RECOVERY!

[worried878]

thanks...I hope that I can do this without the help of another drug...but believe me, if i find that I can not, I will do anything that I have to do..i have already looked at the list of docs who prescribe that in my area..believe me, i am not planning to fail, but it feels good to have a security net..an option if i need it

[oxyaddict420]

Keep in mind too that addiction is a very serious disease, and lets say you try to quit tapering or c/t or whatever right?  Well, then if for some reason you were to take a pill, or a few pills suring your attempt at getting clean, that DOESNT MEAN YOU HAVE FAILED!  I just dont want you to feel you only have 1 shot at it or its a complete failure. Alot of very knowledgable people on this site that post everyday and help many people have also replapsed many times even. This does not mean they have failed. It just means that for that one battle the pills got the best of them, but in the end they will WIN THE WAR!  So I am not saying to set yourself up for dissapointment, and I am not saying it is OK to just popp pillls.. I am saying it can be VERY HARD!  and for people that are only doing this for the first time or first few times even they can have unreaklistic expectations of recovery too.  Just work at it, and make sure to stick around and keep reading and psoting as well.  You are a good person that just needs some support to help get, and STAY CLEAN!

YOU CAN DO IT

I CARE

[FLaddict]

Hi there.. I don't post much anymore but I have been a member here for over a year and clean for almost 8 months with much help from this site.  In my journal there is a Sub FAQ written by a patients experience,  in order to give another perspective on this subject. I also have chronic pain and used Sub. I took it for 10 days to detox. With Sub I truely believe "less is more" after my personal experience and those of others. I researched Sub endlessly before taking that route.
I hope this helps.

[oxyaddict420]

Wow, I take it you didn't read my first 2 posts or you might have remembered me.lol

I know you haven't been around lately but I do remember us having alot of chats a while back though when I first found the site and was sick.. You also gave me some of the great info on the suboxone that has helped me decide on what I am going to do and why! So thanks foe the info and the PM's when I was first on here.. I can't believe you don't remember me..  I was taking 300-600mg of oxycodone per day and I have been abusing pills for many many years..  anyway, you gave me some great info and I appriciate it.. Thanks

[FLaddict]

Now I remember.. Sorry.. So many people come through here its hard to keep em all straight when you have been here as long as I have.

Best of Luck to you..
XOXO

PS I try to check my Pm's at least once a week so if you need something of just want to chat

[oxyaddict420]

Thanks so much.. You wre a big insperation int he beginning when I first came here and posted.. I opened up so fast and then wrote 4 VERY PERSONAL PERSONAL JOURNAL POSTS!  I hit a point where certian @ssholes who I will not name were doing nothing but bashing me for being honest and not lying and being fake about my addiction, and it was like a mini-war.. Rediculous.. So I deleted everything and left for a couple weeks.. I only came back after I recieved like 20+ PM's making me feel so wanted.. So I started back out with only PM's those people and basically lurking around here.  Finally it hit me like a ton of bricks..

This is not high school, or some frat club where people gang up togather to see who is best correct, or who has more friends to say there are right or wrong. This place (for me) is a place to get real, get honest about my addiction as ugly and brutal as it may be.. Certain people just could not stand hearing my truths, and my real life addiction unless I sugar coated it for everyone to accept it.. Well that is not what this is here for..  So since then I have been posting alot more, and trying to give back for all that I have recieved.  Im glad to see ya back around!

CONGRATS ON BEING CLEAN SO LONG!!!

[allaboutmary]

Your gonna do fine !  I just know it.  You have a whole plan set in place and did your homework. As always my best wishes to you.   Mary

[worried878]

Good outlook...like when you are on a diet and you screw up and eat a piece of cake...you have not failed but have to get back on track...of course this is a bit more serious than that..way more...I will look at it day by day...As you can tell...i do not like failing and am an acheiver (or at least I used to be) as now I kinda just exist and do the things I have to do every day...but believe it or not I went way out of my way to help a patient at work today,,,over and beyond the call of duty to get help for an uninsured patient who may lose his foot if he does not get some serious help..I really felt good about it because it was alot of work and energy and i really did not have to do it...I did not know I had it in me still...I have tapered down so low and my focus has been on myslf and just getting by everyday...I think that if I was still at my high dose that I may not have been as helpful....anyway
....

[nogie1717]

I am with you on the suboxone.  I have tried it all when it comes to quitting.  I am satisfied with Sub maintenance for now.  I don't have to crave all the time, think up lies, come up with money, etc.

Each person's addiction is just that:  EACH PERSON'S.

I don't know who sickcookie is but that is the stone age, haven't been to the real world for a loooong time response to your post.

BTW, Suboxone binds tighter on the mu receptor than other opiates/opioids and that is why other pain killers won't get you high.  The naloxone is only to prevent IV use and has a poor bioavailability, meaning a tiny amount only gets into your system.  If it was too much, it would knock all the Buprenorphine off the sites as well.

Luke

[oxyaddict420]

Wow, I read that somewhere but I have just been thinking it was the naloxone that kept it from getting you high.. Thanks for the extra info!!  I am trying my hardest to read up and know what I am getting myself into.. I really want my life back, and I need to do whatever it takes..

Thanks for caring man, and thanks for all the support to everyone who understands how bad my addiction really is, and knows why I would rather be on a miantanance program of Suboxone than be DEAD!! Seems to be a simple choice to me at this point!!

[IBKleen]

Hey hun. go to naabt.org

Great site for research..........

[hopsing94]

Where is naabt is it anywhere near Houston. I don't have much money for gas right now.

[oxyaddict420]

I think it is a website not a place.. But not too sure

[allaboutmary]

Goodmorning.  I think Hop was being his usual funny self.  I'm pretty sure he was kidding, but you never know with Hop. lol

[allaboutmary]

Oh I meant to ask how you are doing ?  A few more weeks til Sub doc, right ?   Are you trying to cut down at all ?  Be careful, I would so hate for something to happen right before all this comes together for you.  I say this because the day before my Sub appt.  I took more pills than I normally would . I guess it's just the anxiety of it all.  So just take care my friend.     Mary

[triggers]

How long have you been on sub and how long does it take fore short time detox

[oxyaddict420]

He there Mary?  How are you doing hunny? I am not doing so well.. I have went back to my old habits of abusing the oxycodone.. My parents were my #1 source for oxycodone, and last month they told me that I was cut off and that they were not going to sell pills at all ANYMORE PERIOD TO ANYONE!  They did this without warning or heads up or anything//  The first of the month came and I had only been taking (weaker, less addictive pain killers) and in even smaller dosages throughout the day..  They called me and said that they were needing the money real bad this month for bills and debts and ****.. So they said that "THIS MONTH WAS THE LAST TIME NO MATTER WHAT"  And I spent $345.00 in just a few days on 15 of the 80mg oxycontins, and then a few days later they got their 10.325 percoset and I bought 45 of those... I think I have been taking around 300mg each day give or take a few mg...

I hate this ****, and I am so sick and tired of it all, yet have no self-control over it.. I am using the suboxone date as like a "SAVE MY LIFE DATE"  I am so afraid of an OD, or anything that might scew this up for me..

[Angel929]

Hey, I am so proud of you and your goals!! It really sounds like you have taken the time and really thought this through.  I know you can do this, you are an awsome person and have a lot of people that care about you. I do not know much about sub. but I know that you sound determined and I know you will succeed!!!!  Hang in there!

Love,
Angel.

[oxyaddict420]

Wow, thank you so much for that comment.. I read it over and over many times and it just makes me feel so good to know this.. I AM GOING TO DO THIS!!  

[wait2long]

for some people, not all, long term suboxone treatment may be the only solution for them...simply detoxing and  "growing up"  doesnt have a damn thing to do with it!!! and it IS uninformed people or the ones who used it the wrong way  who chime in with the negativity that gives sub a bad rap...sub can be used for many different reasons and many different ways!, short term, long term, for pain, and yes, i have even heard of it being prescribed for depression...this is what is good about sub...it can be tailored to the individual, it is not a 1 treatment fits all type of treatment.
if i have to stay on sub for the rest of my life, so i can continue to be a productive member of society and live my life without being a full blown addict or in full blown withdrawals every other day...then dammit I WILL TOO!!!!
if you have relapsed after sub...maybe you were not on it long enough to heal, or you didnt work on yourself while you had the chance...or you didnt take the necessary steps to continue to live addiction free, or you didnt have the tools needed to combat the disease you live with every day for the rest of your life?
there is no cure for addiction...only remission, and sub puts you into remission...so you can fix yourself...fix yourself while you have the chance!  grab it by the damn horns and take control over it!!! once and for all!

[oxyaddict420]

Well said!!  I agree with you 100% on that...

[ruby441]

Hear, hear!!! I sometimes beat myself up for being on the suboxone as a maintenance drug. I literally dole out all kinds of opiates in my job & doing it without sub is just not an option for now. I agree with you, & for me it has given me my life back, has given me hope & a way out of the private hell I was in addicted to painkillers. So for now, I do not have a plan as to when to taper off of this drug...it has been 2 1/2 months & I will continue to put that little orange pill under my tongue each morning until.....

ruby441

[oxyaddict420]

That is great that you are managing your addcition, and I can only imagine working at a place where you are constantly giving out opiates all day and handling them and seeing them and everything.. TOO DANG TEMPTING!  

I agree with the statemtn above about the people that decide to chime in with negative comments about suboxone and their "uninformed" opinions on what it is used for and why..  For me personally my addiction and abuse is so out of control, that for to be able to be a contributing, honest, functioning human in soceity I need to get my addiction in check.  I am not even saying that this is the "end all" answer, but it is the first huge step to me getting it under control and regaining smaller tasks that were unachievable before.

So for a % of us on suboxone it isn't our #1 goal to be clean and stay clean 100% drug free.  It is to have control over an addcition that has taken COLPLETE control over us.  It is to choose to live without the abuse and fear of killing ourselves!  So for me and I am sure quite a few others, it is very good for us to say we are on Sub and we are managing our addcition.. I would rather be on the mantanace plan for  years rather than try to stop c/t and replaspe time after time after time like all the times before!  


I say be proud for getting our addiction under control and being able to function and contribute to life in a positive manner!  Don't be afraid to say that we are taking a maintanace plan of suboxone just because "certain people" have their opinions on what is, or isn't the correct way to recovery!  Recovery is different for everyone, and to those that have no clue how bad it can get out of control and have no clue to what it is like to be in my shoes, they should keep their judgments to themselves!  ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE ME!  

[Paulcalif]

I am not an addict, but I am married to one. I have a question about Suboxone. I have done a lot of reading on the subject, but I haven't read about anyone taking it long term and whether they feel the need to increase their dose. It would make sense to me that if it's an Opiate, that an Opiate addict would need more and more to get the same initial effect. If not, why not?

Also, how much does it cost? I'm out of work and my wife is permanently disabled, getting social security. She is in her late forties.

[oxyaddict420]

Sorry to hear that.. That is actually a good question to ask, and I haven't seen that either.. Right now I guess I am just to worried about making it to my appointment, and after everything else not working for my recovery, hoping and preying this will AID in my recovery!  But that will be a question I will ask for sure when I go see my DR on the 26th.. Thanks

As for the price I have heard it vary.. But without insurance I have seen around $800-1000 per monthly supply.. Thankfully I only have to pay $25.00 for a monthly supply with my ins coverage, but let me tell you. If I could afford it without insurance and had no choice, i WOULD FIND A WAY!