Suboxone Questions

I have been reading all I can on Suboxone treatment. I have read intensely all the literature I can find. I have read the pros and cons and have decided the benefits out weigh the cons. I go to doc tomorrow at 9am. I am excited yet scared. I am worried about the side effects of this drug. I read some good stories about suboxone and also the horror stories. I am looking for something to get my life back.

I went cold turkey in April and the withdraws were horrible. After about 2 months I couldn't stand feeling bad anymore. I had no energy, all I do is just sit in a chair and on my computer or watching tv. Well I relapsed, started taking low doses of vics and darvocet. (darvocet my doc gave me after I told her I was addicted to the vics and somas) I was using 3 mo. worth of meds in 10 to 15 days or so. I have a bad back and in chronic pain.

Has anyone had a good experience using suboxone? What should I expect?  I have less than 24 hrs before I go to doc. Like I said I am excited from the positive benefits, but also scared from the side effects. I did not sleep good last night, I keep wondering if I am making the right choice.

[janet19]

I think I am saying something that is not allowed. Darn I need some advice. I will follow my doctors orders and talk with her about anything I am not sure of. I am just wanting some positive feed back to see if anyone has something to say about suboxone. I go to doc tomorrow.

[laurel453]

No , no... don't worry :) you haven't said anything wrong,,,this is a slow time at the weekends  and not a lot of people have experience with sub... but someone will come to help you......about half an hour ago i sent a note to one of our members who have a huge knowledge with sub... HenryS354 ...Salsinator is another one.... i am sure that when they see your post they will help you, just be patiente ,please :)

btw, welcome to the forum :)

[janet19]

Thanks for tips.

[abritt121222]

Hello and welcome to the forum and you have come to the right place for help and as for the question you have i will say what i believe i can without getting in trouble ;)
I used suboxone for my oxy addiction and i can honestly say it saved me and helped me get my life back because without it i really dont think i could have done it and my addiction was farther along than you i was at 250-350 mg oxy a day so i am so happy to see that you have not went to oxy from hydro because it turns worse a lot faster from there but the suboxone will help you as long as you do it the right way and when you talk to your doc my suggestion would be ask him about a 30 day suboxone treatment because you dont wanna be on suboxone any longer than you need to be because suboxone is still an opiate it is just a partial opiate and it also has a ceiling effect which is why it will not get you high what i mean by ceiling effect is at 4mg of bupe(thats the opiate in the suboxone that stops withdrawals) it is at its max effect so it does not matter how much you take even if you take 24 mg only 4mg will work because of the ceiling effect and 4mg is all you need because 4mg will cover 98% of the opiate receptors i believe i might be a little off but im pretty sure it is right around 98% but neways if you take suboxone for a while it will just get harder and harder to come off of just like any other opiate that is why i say talk to your doc about a short term suboxone treatment he may agree he may disagree i just always tell ppl to ask about short term so they dont become addicted to the subs just like they were their DOC before either way just go with what he sais and everything will get better well i hope i answered some of your questions and if you have any more or anything else you need help with feel free to ask and i will help ya any way i can but i will say i am a success story from suboxone because it helped me SO SO MUCH you just have to do it the right way and not become addicted to the suboxone and never never try to take it to get high because it will not work and it is also dangerous just because you dont feel high does not mean you can take more because you will overdose just like any other drug if you keep taking more

well good luck and godspeed

ABRITT

[salsinator]

Hi Janet - welcome to the forum,

I used sub for nearly 4 years and it worked very well for me.  The most difficult thing with sub is stopping when you have been on it long term, but it can be done.  Don't let some of the things you read fool you, it is still an opiate and there is some withdrawal.  Overall though, I did not have much in the way of side effects and it worked very well from the first dose.  I maintained for years on 2 - 4mg/day.  Sub is designed for people who have tried quitting and are cronic (chronic) users, so listen to your heart and ask questions when you visit your doctor.  Work out a plan with your doc and if he/she feels that you need to stay on sub long term and it is working for you, then go for it.  Once you get to the point of stopping, work with your doc on a good taper plan.  HenryS354 can give you some excellent advice in that area.  For me, I had a really hard time tapering and I decided to go through a medical detox - which worked great for me.  I have been off sub since June 2009 and have been doing great - no cravings and no urge to use.  Feel free to ask any other questions that you may have and keep posting, let us know how things go tomorrow.  All the best.

[cpdave]

I cold turkeyed from 300plusmg of oxy daily cause sub scared the crap out of me in my opinion sub is for real heavy opiate or herion addicts not for hydro users.Grnted you have a bad addiction and everyone is different but you said u were off for 2 maonths and relapsed did u have aftercare cause without that no matter what ur on u will relapse in my opinion.Good Luck and God Bless

[abritt121222]

i just read your reply on another post about having to wait until you are withdrawaling to take suboxone and yes that is exactly right because if you do not wait until you start withdrawal to take suboxone it will def throw you into what they call precipitated withdrawal and it is ALOT worse than regular withdrawals but i am kinda confused by what you said about trying to find something to abuse today to get help tomorrow? what exactly do you mean by that?

[janet19]

I have not used since last Thurs. and all it takes to put me back in withdraws is a few pills and tomorrow I will be having withdraws. I have to get on suboxone, I will never quit on my own. I WANT MY LIFE BACK!  This addiction thing is bigger than me. I am so friggin tired of feeling sick and lethargic. I was taking 25-30 vic 10s a day and along with that 25-30 somas 350 mg each. I have had a drug habit almost all my life and I know me. If I do not do something now I am going to lose my marriage. I also would be filling a script refill on Friday if I don't get help.  This will continue forever if I do not do something.

[abritt121222]

i am kinda confused by a few pills will put you back in withdrawal? are you not in withdrawals right now because if you are past the physical withdrawals then i would stay away from suboxone because the suboxone make withdrawals go away it doesnt help with very much of the metal effects you will have after quitting and it will take a little while for you to get used to life without pills because you will no longer just be numb to everything and you will have to find ways other than pills to deal with the problems because you are going to have to face them head on now not just run away from them by taking pills and numbing yourself so i would def go find a good NA meeting and start going to them ASAP because like everyone sais aftercare is  MUST

ABRITT

[pattifan]

Hi Janet,

I agree that this may just run on and on if you do not do something now.

You are doing exactly the right thing in seeking professional medical help by going to see your doctor.  Remember that your doctor may offer other options as well as suboxone, so listen carefully and keep an open mind.

Whatever happens, please rest assured that the list members will always be here for you, to give you all the information, help, advice and support that you may need.

Congratulations on taking this first and very important step.

Please post back and let us know how it went with the doctor.

Wishing you all the very best,

Take care

[laurel453]

janet, you have said " This will continue for ever if i do not do something "...

this will continue only if you let it continue. We are powerless to them while using bt we have the power within ourselves to stop taking the pills or whatever and then we are not powerless any more...we can stop and , please, but do not think that tomorrow or never.... it is not about dates, it is about you making that decision and you have the power in making the decision. Once you are made you will get clean.

also, as abritt said, it would be a good idea that of looking for aftercare now , find a meeting, give it a try :)

[janet19]

I have been seeing a therapist and going to NA daily for 4 months. It is not helping while going to both. I have chronic pain for an automobile accident and when the pain gets unbearable I go back to the pills, I am not rational when I am in severe pain. My addiction is ongoing and I am about to lose my marriage. All the info I read about suboxone says that is used to help chronic pain. That is another way they use the drug. I have withdraws about 5 or six times a month every month. Any bottle of pills I get I will eat until they are gone with  thirty pill a month script that consist of about 4 or 5 days and I am out and that I just started because I cannot get the med easily. I was using a 3 mo. script in 10 to 20 days. I know some think I should just not use. It is never that simple.When I get off the pills my pain returns in a few days and I am out on the streets looking. My addiction is bigger than me.

[lex225]

hi i just wanted to jump in and comment as u hear so many stories and i was in exactly the same position as u, i tried everything to get off in the end mentaly and physicaly close to death i had enough i was on methadone first then went onto 12mg subs, first few days i was getting some wds but nothing like the hell of the dreaded rattle!!  im now a year down the line and down to 2mg, im back working full time have met an amazin guy and thank god every day that im nearly free of that life of misery.. Truly good luck to u x

[abuelabx]

Hi, I am new here. I sent you a note but now that I know my way around a bit, I can tell you. You will be fine on subs. I have been on 9 months. If you follow dr. instructions, you will be o.k. Good luck. Love & hope

[HenryS354]

Hi Janet!

Welcome!!!

Its great to see that you are taking a proactive approach to your recovery!  I was on Suboxone for a little over 2 years... I can only give you my personal opinion and what worked for me, but I can tell you that suboxone saved my life.

I was a Surgical Technologist using IV Fentanyl, Morphine, Dilaudid, and Demerol.  It wasnt until I almost lost my license that I moved on to pills.  I got tired of that ride and went on to a methadone clinic where I took large doses of methadone for over 7 years.  I decided to leave the medical field and begin working as an International Flight Attendant for the Military- I had to get out of the methadone clinic, which lead me to suboxone.

Suboxone was designed to be a dual based treatment approach.  What it does is gives you a reprieve from the constant obsessing of our addiciton, as well as the constant withdrawals so that we can focus on the primary cause of our addiction- Ourselves.  Keep up the NA meetings and meetings with your therapist while on suboxone. You will be amazed at how differently these things will begin to seem.  For me, they just "Clicked"

As far as your dose-  That is up to you and your doc to decide, and no one else.  Most docs tend to stabilize their patients between 12 and 16mgs daily.  I myself maintained at 16mgs for most of my treatment.  Talk to him about your pain, and work out a program.  While sub can certainly be used for pain control (Buprenorphine was originally designed for pain mgmt)  It is done so under different doses.  Way way less than what is used for opiate addiciton.  

When suboxone is given for pain, its usually dose in micrograms, and up to .4mgs  With Buprenorphine, at lower doses it acts more like an agonist, the higer the dose, the more it acts like an antagonist.  Your doc will be able to explain this a little more to you.

You want the dose that takes away the wd's and cravings, but doesnt sedate you!

I had no side effects from the sub at all. I had my energy back, and even lost a lot of that methadone weight!

Since sub is an opiate itself, it does come with a set of withdrawals.  For me these were far easier than full agonist wd's though!!!  I got up, ran errands, and literally flew half way around the world during my wd process.  Sure you will feel like hell, but it gets better.  I stopped sub at 3mgs, and have over 100 days clean today. :-)

Educate yourself as much as possible as knowledge is power!  You can get a lot of great info here, and also at NAABT.org

Keep us posted with your progress!

Henry

[PinPinPatrick]

Please keep this consideration in your addictions...

Pain pill/ opiate drug addiction is very much a deficiency in your body's natural endorphins and enkephalins.  The reason why these drugs cause a deficiency is because the pain pill or opiate drug takes over the function of the body's natural pain killers... and the body wants to stay in equilibrium!  The body's struggle to stay in equilibrium is the reason why it is so uncomfortable to stop using.

After stopping use or gradually cutting down... you should keep start your body's production of it's own endorphins and enkephalins with the following supplements.

B-vitamin capsule, a multi-mineral, and amino acids L-glutamine(1000mg), DL-Phenylalanine(2000 mg), L-Leucine(500mg), and L-Methionine(500mg).
Take the amino acids 3 times daily on an empty stomach... a good time would be an hour before your meal.  

[janet19]

Hi its  me, I looked for the oldest thread I could to start with my new questions.

I was a heavy vic 10 and soma user, along with ativan and halcion dependent for sleep. I also took elavil for depression and trazadone for more of a hit to help me sleep. I went clean cold turkey off of vic and somas April 28th. I start an aftercare program and also started to see a therapist.

I did the detox of the vics and somas and it was pretty darn rough the first 7-10 days. I still felt like **** but could sit up. I still did not function well and had no energy and no desire to do anything but just sit on my *** in front of the TV, computer. I found no end to the nasty feeling and the nausea. I was suggested suboxone by my therapist. She had clients who had done well on it.

I started doing extensive research on suboxone and read all the pro's and con's. I studied the use of it and side effects. Scared the **** out of me and I decided not to use it.  Well the feeling of living in my own little personal hell continued and the nausea and horrible feelings would not leave. I started bumming a vic here and there to get a few hrs of relief. Then ended up at doctor who gave me script for Darvocet. It took the edge off but I so wanted to kick my addiction and started reading about suboxone again. I finally decided the benefits greatly outweighed the risks. I studied more on the side effects and found I also had to be off of benzo's and decided to kick the ativan and halcion pills that I swore would totally disrupt my sleep and could threaten my recovery. But to my surprise I did it  easily and still managed some good sleep. Still nauseous constantly. I found a suboxone dr. and made appt. The day before I was to go I read where elavil which used as an antidepressant could not be mixed with suboxone. So ok here I go again, I stopped the elavil 2 days before appt. and when I saw doctor he also told me I should not take trazadone either. OK before I started the suboxone, I had already gave up all the make me feel good drugs I had. That has left me with my blood pressure meds, hyzaar and lasix, and my sugar med Medifornen.

Wow most drug free I had been since I can't even remember. Well doctor gave me suboxone and when I said I had trouble sleeping gave me lunesta. I started the suboxone and stayed away from the lunesta until I got use to the suboxone. I wasn't sleeping much, but the suboxone made me feel %100 better. I actually got rid of the nausea which had plague me since April and started getting some energy. I stayed with my son the first few days until I knew how the suboxone and I got along because my husband works out of town every other week. I did great with it. I was able to play with my granddaughter 2 yr old and got so much joy from watching her laugh and play and also cry when her new babysister 3 days old came home from hospital. So I had it all 2 wonderful grandchildren with me and my son who has been overly supportive of what I have choosen to get better.

Anyway everything was going well. I did get sick and vomit one time while I was visiting with them. Scared my son, but I thought nothing of it. However I went home and now and then was vomiting. But as soon as I vomited I felt fine. Still have energy, feel good, no pain. Almost unbelievable I could go from nasty to good so quickly. Well the vomiting continued and I decided to cut my suboxone from 16mg to 8 mg on my own. I still felt good no WD and all is good. I thought the change had helped my vomiting but I started doing it again a few days ago and sometimes vomit 5 or 6 times a day.

Yesterday I was suppose to see suboxone dr, but when I got there he was in hospital so all I got was my med refilled for a month. I couldn't ask all the questions I had for him. I did tell the nurse that I took myself back to 8mg on my own and I was still fine but vomiting. She said I need to go back to the 16mg and I should of asked dr before I cut back. Well to late did it already. I am still feeling just as good as I was taking the bigger dose as taking the 8mg now. I see no reason to go back to 16mg.

I want to know if anyone with any experience with suboxone has had anything similar happen to them with the vomiting. It is not like I am nauseated all the time. It just comes quick the need to vomit and when I am done I am feeling peachy again.

Also how can such a small amt of medicine make me feel so good, I don't have a craving for drugs or even a pain in my body. I am wondering how powerful is this **** and am I as drug free as I feel. I used to use to feel good. Maybe I misunderstood the uses of this medicine. I am beginning to wonder if I have done the right thing. I know I don't feel like I am living in my own little personal hell right now and I feel good and look forward to the future now. I get out of bed and I can function and I am finding happiness and things I enjoy again.

[janet19]

Another quick thing, since I cut back I have had this weird rushing feeling in my legs. Its like a warm tingling from top to bottom. It is not there all the time, just occasionally. I notice it really bad at bedtime.

[dominosarah]

Let me look some people up that have been on Suboxone and hopefully they can answer your questions.  The vomiting has me concerned.......sara