Should you choose Suboxone?

[flmagi]

Suboxone is a great option for getting clean.
Ask yourself the following;
Have I tried to taper and failed?
Have I tried cold turkey, only to relapse?
I have a job that I CANNOT take time off from?
I have other responsiblities that cannot be ignored?
I fear for my life if I continue like this?
I fear for my health if I continue like this?
I may lose everything, family, job etc. if I continue like this?
I need the time off my doc, but feeling normal, to retrain myself and get help?
I will check into other options and understand my choices thouroughly?

If you answered "yes" to even a few of these questions, SUBOXONE may be for you.
Go to SUBOXONE.COM and find a doctor near you. Read all about this option.
Make an educated decision.

[Kater81]

I was out of rehab in 2006. I was only given 3 days of suboxone and never knew of it before that. I wasn't out of rehab long before the inevitable relapse... I found a Suboxone doctor who put me on the medication. At 1st i was amazed that i didn't even think about getting high anymore. Well to make a super long story short, i stayed on this med for over 7 YEARS! i was never told the effects it had on the body. Yes i didn't use. But i also had no real feelings at all anymore. I finally met another recovering addict who was also on the drug. Yes it is a drug. He said it was never meant to stay on that long and that every thing i suffered from ( depression,sleeping all the time, no real moods ect) was prob because of the subs. I came to my moms house in another state to withdraw from suboxone. I was so tired of relying ON MEDICATIONS....Here IS THE FUN PART. This was by far the hardest thing ever to kick. I had no health insurance and had to go to e.r. twice. its not just like having the flu for a few days. i wish that was the case! I never suffered from anxiety and boy let me tell you, it was horrid.. The r.l.s was the worst thing ever. I didn't not sleep for almost 6 days, until i went to e.r at 1 am and they shot me with ativan. And that didn't even put me down. I had to take two more k pins to knock myself out. I am 130 pound women. I am here to say this drug was worse then my original addiction to pain meds. It absolutely helped in rehab when i was only on it for 3 days, but seriously beware if you get on a sub maintenance program...I can honestly say it was one of the toughest things i have ever done. I am one month clean off all meds and i feel like a brand new person. I still cry a lot but ill take feeling anything. Its amazing what a numbing effect it had on my life. I no longer sleep a lot. I have energy. I laugh. I wish my doctor would have told me what this medication will do you....esp 7 years on this ****. I f you want out, see a doctor to get help. Clonidine was a life saver and some sleeping meds will help also. It does take a while to get out of you and feel like a human again. But i swear it was the best decision i made ever! Good luck. Anyone can do it.

[luddie]

thanks for your view point on this issue of suboxone curse or miracle? Ive been addicted to opiates for more yrs then I care to remember(15or more) Then I got started on suboxone which for me has helped alot Im not walking around like a zombie contrary my head is much more clear now and I dont have desire to use opiates. although my dr said I could be on this indefintly, this is so much better than opiates which were starting to f--- up my head. Ive been on it for about 18 mo this time and maybe close to 3 yrs total. As of yet i havent tryed to withdrawl from it so i dont know what that may be like but so far its helped tremendouslyd

[Sweetnessing777]

Ive been on suboxone for a yr! Used 8 mg stripes can anyone rec a dosage for coming down w the least side affects? I can only get the stripes thru my ins cant goto pill form..ty for any comments last night i tried half and owee brings me back to the old days of sweating and legpains no energy and an upset tummy..

[sammyb12345]

just wanted to let anyone out there who is thinking of trying subs that I can't recommend it more. I refused to go to the doc to get subs for the three or four months because I didn't know if I could actually be able to get it right away in my area, if i went in the hefty 120 dollar fee just to see the doc not to mention the price of subs without insurance if you do get a prescription (which you very likely will in retrospect), and I refused this in the three or four months that I REALLY wanted off oc (had been abusing it a year and a half altogether). Don't be stupid like me I could have avoided those hellish last months much sooner.

I was on subs for about 6 months 16mg and went down to .5 mg. Last dose was about 40 hrs ago and although I don't feel great, my nightmarish experience with oc withdrawal (coming down from 130mg+ a day cold turkey) this has been a breeze, people who complain about it are usually people who didn't follow their doc's tapering plan or have only been through mild hydro wd and shouldn't have gone on subs in the first place. Any withdrawal ***** but some price must be paid even with an "easy" way, and I will gladly pay it.

Subs allowed me to get legal, gave me a six month free pass on withdrawals to get my **** in line. I have very little craving for my old drug of choice, and I was able to create a support system with my immediate family who I was deathly afraid to talk to before. I went from stealing lying and pawning back to who I was; or a tainted version of whatever that was. Without suboxone I've no doubt I'd have no other thought than my next fix, I'd be failing out of college or dropping out, any valuables would be pawned that i owned, and I'd probably have numerous legal problems; had a few very close calls as it was. I put that behind me, I was always a pretty good kid, that **** never belonged with me. I'm just glad I was fortunate enough to find out about subs when I did so I could stop having my life raped by something as meaningless as a drug---

Anyone who read this thanks for tolerating a rant, you never feel closer to people than you do when they've been through your pain...

Hang in there everyone

[DeeDeexx]

Because I did not realise and its still a good thread.
If a topic is of interest to me then why shouldn't I?

[TrayCee]

these 2 threads are almost a year old, why dig them up?

[DeeDeexx]

People can get high off suboxone at a low dose.
I have done in the past.

[catchiec]

I am not posting stories. My roomates both of them were on sub for almost 5 months, tapered slowly and followed doctors instructions to the t and had horrible withdrawals and depression for weeks however sub has also helped a lot of people. If you jump off any addictive drug without tapering your withdrawals will be worse however people shoould not go on sub thinking they will defintly have no withdrawals. What if someone goes on sub thinking that and loses their job and cant get any more and has to jump off? They should know what they may be in stop for. Share your experencies and ill share mine and its as simple as that. talk about what you know personally. no need to comment on other peoples experiences when you were not there! And the people I am talking about took sub properly. and I am not telling people not to use sub I say uit can be very helpful. I share both the pros and cons. If you disagree with something you disagree and thats that. not everyone agrees all the time. Write your own posts and dont worry about mine.

[catchiec]

I am not acting like this is a compitition. I am sharing my experience with sub that is all. You share your experience and i'll share mine. I have seen sub be very helpful towards people and I have seen people go through the worst withdrawals anyone can imagine..
You share your experiences and i'll share mine. thats it and leave it alone. nAlso I do not wish to talk about methadone these threads are about suboxne and I am sharing my experience s with suboxne. I may have mentioned the word methadone once to answer a comment. But I am only intrested in sharing my suboxne experiences both the good ones and the bad ones

[wait2long]

UHUMMMM...

[ronlove1]

Today I bought all three ingredients of your recipe. The real test will take place 2 days after I run completely out of suboxone. I'll let you know if it works for me!

[ronlove1]

Next time I get hit with RLS I will try your recipe for sure, thanks!

[Lsufan3103]

I have the same problem with my legs at times too. I take some aleve, potassium suppliments, and melatonin . It knocks me out and I sleep like a baby.

[ronlove1]

Just so you know had I gone to the clinic and was given methadone than I would have taken methadone. I would have taken anything that helped cut the death-like W/D symptoms.

Why do you keep coming on her acting like this is a competition or something? This thread is for people to give their positive/negative feedback after using different methods. Remember different med's will have different effects on different folks.

If my W/D symptoms are bad after a couple weeks of SUB than I may cry myself to death. No sleep due to RLS is like torture from the grim reaper.

This week I start tapering off SUB again-I hope I can do this this time.

[worried878]

Long and controversial post...I basically ct hydros but do know about both of these drugs...we give methadone in the hospital for chronic pain and also to addicts...my son worked at a clinic/meth...suubutex (Buprenorphine) is used to treat pain in other countries but not sure if it has been approved yet in the US for pain relief purposes only..never seen it given for pain...I do know it is approved for addiction and suboxone is approved for addiction as well and contains the opiate blocker in addition to the Buprenorphine...I hope that I dont have to back and WD ever again to experience these dangers associated with either of these drugs as I know they are both habit forming as well...but i see how some need the extended help they can provide like flmagi stated...so far...if forced or if i screwed up and had to take one...i would choose suboxone as it would keep me from abusing other opiates at the time i was taking it...subutex and methadone do not have that built in blocker...and everyone is different...i have just read and researched and made my conclusion for what would work for me....IF I HAD TO CHOOSE!   and God help me...I am doing ok now....I never want to have to....good viewpoints and very educating...but could confuse someone new with no knowledge of all this stuff...health pages contain alot of good info on detox to read and digest,,,and make the choice that is right for you

[Lsufan3103]

sub is only a half opiate unlike lortab or stuff of that nature which are full opiates so it is easier to step down on. When you step down like that, it makes the w/d's drastically more tolerable. For me, I only had some leg pains and a little trouble sleeping but aleve and potassium sup's helped the legs and melatonin helped my sleep. I only had to take sub's for 2 - 3 wks stepping down every 2 or 3 days when i couldn't even think about doing it with the lortabs (15 - 20 a day) that I was taking.

[ronlove1]

Went to a new doctor-one who specilaizes in this type of problem. BAck on SUB 4mgx2 for 7 days. will update after the week...

[ronlove1]

I dont want to jump too far ahead of myself but I may have graduated from no-sleep to broken sleep. I still toss & turn and wake up constantly, but a few days ago I was not sleeping at all.....small steps in the right direction

I still have little to no energy all day long and my body is telling me it wants to sleep but when given the chance to sleep, I toss & turn allot with some RLS discomfort.

I have decided through my own research and experience that my sleep problems are from my brains inability to generate dopemine. I understand this can only be done through the healing process of the human body. Over the last year and a half I drained quite a bit, now I am paying the price.

It is scarey to think what it would be like if I can never sleep the way I used to before the oxy's. Anyone who has done it knows the enhanced deep sleep you get while medicated!

[ronlove1]

Can you do me a favor and read my posts and tell me when I ever said my w/d's were from Sub?

I know exactly what my w/d's are from. I am suffering guy, bottom line. These threads are for me to tell folks of my experience and hopefully get some helpful hints to assist me in my ultimate goal: 100% clean 24/7.

If you are under the age of 18 please turn into a ghost. No hard feelings.

RF

[flmagi]

I don't mean to start an argument or anything ...but....
You were on SUB. FOR ONLY 5 DAYS ! What you are experiancing is NOT WITHDRAWELS FROM SUBOXONE. This is a fact.
You are experianceing withdrawels from  oxy/percs use.

[ronlove1]

Thanks Brian thats nice to see we think alike.

There seems to be a misconception here that I have noticed. The problem is not that Methadone or Suboxone either dont or do work, the issue is once your maintenance is complete and you STOP taking either one how does your body react. Some peaple have good luck, some suffer incredibly, like me.

I am sure that while you are taking either one you will feel great. Read my 1st post-When I was taking Suboxone I felt like the man of steel. 2 days later, 100% narcotic free I began my 4 straight days with NO sleep due to RLS and such.

I can beat this addiction-I know that with my heart. I just can not live and function with NO sleep.

This RLS is so unbelieveable it is coming directly from Satin. I tried to take a nap from 9-11:30 p.m. tonight (I work mid-8) and with in 5 minutes RLS kicked in, my right leg felt like it was swelling up and had the creepy crawlies going up and down! Had to flop around like a fish and after an hour I had to turn the TV on and watch repeats of forensic files, now I am at work. This is torture, will I ever be able to sleep normal again without narcotics!!!

[Sael]

methadone on the other hand....if your selling your body for drugs..sticking nasty needles in your arm,selling your kids or have terminal cancer..


That's highly judgmental don't you think? Methadone is used for chronic pain. Did you know that? Oh and I stuck 'nasty' needles in my arm too. This just furthers my point on how methadone carries such a stigma. A person who takes methadone must be 'really' nasty.

[Sael]

I just want to put some things into perspective since I feel methadone is getting a bit of a bad rap. I've been taking it successfully and haven't had any of the nightmarish things that have been said of it. You also have to remember that I come from Canada and there's a different ideology about methadone here. We go to a regular pharmacy to get our methadone and our doses aren't strictly limited as I've heard some programs in the States are. We also don't have forced detox from methadone as in, if you sign up for a detox program using methadone and you have to be off it in a certain time frame.

Methadone is treated as a regular medication from a pharmacy. You don't need to go to some special clinic to get your methadone nor does my country view it as trading one addiction for another. From my observations, and my discussions with my doctor, the US has a different view of methadone maintenance. It's looked down upon moreso than in Canada.

I suppose it matters how you view certain ways to help an addiction. I've heard many people say methadone is bad. I just want to also say that methadone, if used properly and with a very knowledgable doctor, is a fine way to come off opiates and is also used for pain management.

I don't think any medication for easing withdrawal should carry a bias with it on this forum. Every medication deserves fair play through a person's experience, as has been suggested. One person may not benefit from it but others have.

Just trying to balance out things....typical libra eh. :-)

[girlybuff]

You're on it for 26 days already and your dr wants to up your dose?  Chances are that you will have substantial withdrawals from the Sub especialy if you continue to use it above 2 mg BUT if you need to stay on it for maintenance, ther eis no shame in that.
The easiest way to get off sub is to do it for less than 21 days and to get down as low as possible, preferrably .25 mg... barely a crumb.  Believe me, I know.