what to do now

[burnman1]

hey all! i have been on suboxone now for almost 2 years. i have a history of opiate abuse after being burned badly at work. got on the sub to kick opiates but i also have pretty severe chronic pain to deal with. i am in the construction biz now doin my own thing and if my hands and arms hurt then no work is getting done. have considered goin to subutex if the doc will let me because the suboxone doesnt seem to be working anymore like it did. before it was great but now not so much. also have heard that sometimes the naloxone can cause depression probs and other issues and there are times my wife says i act like back on opiates again! but ive been totally clean for like a year and some now! she seems to be worried about subutex because its a pill and not a film. has anyone had this come up before and how did you deal with it. also seeing lots of stuff in the news now about how the maker of suboxone isnt playing fair and this crap is waaaayyyyy expensive! anyone have o thought?

[Heather8448]

I know nothing about subs but I have severe arthritis in my neck and upper back, a few herniated discs, my siatic nerve is in contact with a disc, was told I would NEVER get off meds, and by 30 would be in a wheel chair, I am almost 31 and I AM WALKING, I havent had any pain meds in 15 months. I was in pain, on medication, off meds I have a little discomfort from time to time, but I think the meds somehow made me hurt worse so i needed more IDK. Any way you never know till you try. I do believe meds are made for a reason and sometimes people do need them. But i also feel that you never know how bad the pain is unless you try, and I tried yoga it helps a lot...Good luck with what ever you decide

[EvolverU]

Hi there & Welcome :)

I'm glad you posted. The thing is, Buprenorphine (which is the active fully-synthetic opiate) in both Suboxone & Subutex is highly addictive. It is not a harmless substitute. In fact, it binds more tightly to the receptor sites than M'done or any other opiate out there! So, when your wife mentioned that you seem like you're back on opiates again, she pretty much hit the nail on the head. (I wish Drs. would tell their patients this really important detail when they switch them over!)

I have had friends who experienced both depression & an increase in pain after being on Subs (which is only a partial agonist, btw) for a while. It is possible that the depression is being caused by the Narcan as there have been small studies done that seem to indicate this but I think it's hard to sort out as the effects of the Bupe is sooo much more powerful.

May we ask what your dose is right now? Are you interested in tapering off?

We're here & we're pulling for you! :)

[atthebeach]

Hello and welcome. After long term opiate use pain levels actually increase.
The opiates make more pain receptors.
It is caused hyperalgesia. Opiates induced pain.
It will take a few months off everything to re-evaluate your true pain level.
Most people find a significant drop in their pain.

[LindyTara]

Maybe it's just time to taper off of everything completely.  Have you thought about that at all?  Those drugs are meant to help for a short period of time.  I have a long history of drug addiction.  In June I decided to give methadone a try because it was the only thing I haddnt done.  I was drinking, shooting dope, taking 100 + mg of percoset a day.  The methadone cause SOOOO many problems that I though it was going to kill me.  I jumped off of that at 45 mg after a 2 month taper from 85mg. I am currently 3 weeks into a 6 week saboxone taper off of the methadone.  I will be off of everything by Dec. 1st!
I am on the box/naloxone stuff.  I feel fine on it but not 100%.   I am definitely irritable.  
Have you though about just tapering offf for good?
Then you won't have to worry about any of this stuff.