buprenorphine

[petroglyph54]

Can anyone help me with some knowledge of this medication????? I have a relative who's suffered badly for years and tried every clinic and therapy and medication and nothing helped till now. He's lately been prescribed this buprenorphine and he swears it's just about given him his life back. My question is it a narcotic, therefore addictive. Does it have the nasty side effects of oxy or other pain meds. This site has been a great resource and hope someone can tell me what this stuff is like? Appreciate any info you can give me about this med, thanks in advance!!

[Atlastfree]

Yes this drug is addictive, but I can tell you after going to rehab and detox through methadone and just going cold turkey with nothing this was in the end how I got off heroin.

You can get this drug in two forms subutex or suboxone.

Subutex (buprenorphine) is the drug which helps you control and slowly taper off opiates.

Suboxone (which I used) is the same as subutex apart from it contains naloxone, which in this case is used as a blocker, so if you where to try and use opiates either they wouldn't work or the effects would be minimal, kind of making it pointless buying opiates in the first place.

There is no easy way to stop opiates. Best to take things slowly, taper down over time and stop on the absolute minimal dose.

With lots of help and will power your relative will get there!

[worried878]

It is the strongest narcotic prescribed in this country

yes it is addicting...wds are worse and longer as a rule for many due to its long half life

Proceed with caution//that is all i can say to your friend
If he plans on staying on it for life//he wont have to deal with wd
Many cant afford this nor want this//I dont know his goals?

[petroglyph54]

My relative isn't seeking recovery or anything to do with meds, but for years has went to the mayo clinic and many others to try and find some kind of relief from debilitating pain. For a while they thought he had fibromyalgia, now he has some new diagnosis, but has lived in terrible pain 24/7 for years. He's at the point where the pain absolutely constrols his every thought and is desperate for relief. He's had many differant meds for pain over the years and this new med for him has let him smile again. Thanks so much for getting back with me, I didn't know it was "sub", I shoulda googled it, but I relish anecdotal evidence from the "pros" here at med help. I want to know from someone who knows. I ask the question originally because of my ongoing pain issues and large dose oxycotin for years. I've never taken even one for a buzz, but am really starting to hate taking them or anything. I was hoping maybe big pharma had finally actually tried to make a med that would help and wasn't addictive.

[Jaybay]

Yes, it is a narcotic and very addictive.  The brand name is Subutex.  It is a very long-acting medication, which means at the proper dose, the patient will be "normal" and not experience the euphoric high as he did with his drug of choice.  If an opiate naive person takes it, he will get high.  Bupe is also used in a detox drug called Suboxone, which contains naloxone.  If the pill is crushed and snorted or injected, the naloxone is activated and the patient will go into precipated withdrawal.  No amount of additional narcotics will stop the withdrawal symptoms until the naloxone has worn off.

The idea behind using Subutex, Suboxone, and methadone for addiction therapy is to stabilize the patient, get him off the drug of choice and out of the cycle of chasing after a high and the assorted harmful behaviors that go along with addiction.  Meanwhile, he's supposed to work on getting his mental house in order and slowly taper off the meds.  Without some kind of recovery therapy to assist with major lifestyle changes, taking these drugs is nothing but maintaining an addiction.  It's legal and there is harm reduction, but the addiction is still there.

I really hope your relative hasn't been on bupe for very long or at a high dose.  Withdrawal is VERY prolonged, and the emotional side of the detox is unbelievably brutal.  Read through some of the posts here that mention Suboxone, Subutex or just "Sub" detox.  The few success stories I've read were from people who were at a low dose and only for a few weeks.  

Thanks for taking the time to educate yourself and help your family.  I know it's not easy.  :-)

[my_mayberry]

actually, ignore everything i said. i was mistaking this drug for butorphanol.....which is the generic for Stadol.

different drugs so forget what i said.

[my_mayberry]

i've heard it works wonderfully for some migraine sufferers.....however, i've personally known people who've become severely addicted to this medication. one person (who had experience with many other opiates) said it was the best high she's ever had.

each person is different. what one may become addicted to may not do anything at all for another person....but this drug DOES carry a serious danger of addiction.

as a side note, i've reports of migraine sufferers who've used this drug for years and never had a problem.