suboxone

[sandicat]

Can suboxone be used to help manage cronic lower back pain?

[PainIsWorse]

I will put this into perspective from my OWN experience ONLY.  I had a DUII 7 years ago, and as a result, was asked to go to 30 day inpatient treatment as a condition of my sentencing.  First of all, if you are ANY kind of addict or alcoholic, inpatient treatment will likely save your life (if you can afford it).  That is beside the point, however.  I have a Rheumatological Arthropathy called "Ankylosing Spondylitis" which has caused my spine to begin fusing at the SI joint...and now has begun moving up the spine.  It is INCREDIBLY painful, particularly at night and in the morning..and when I checked-in to the alcohol treatment, they informed me that my normal regimen of opioid medicine would NOT be allowed while in their care (which makes perfect sense).  I had never had any issues with my pain meds, as I literally need them daily and do not burden my doctor with early refills. They used SUBUTEX, not SUBOXONE, to ween-me off the opioids...and kept me on the SUBUTEX for the remainder of the treatment to address the chronic pain that is so real in my life.  When I left the treatment center, I was given a one month supply (8mg sublingual/2 times daily) and a letter to give my primary care provider stating that "this medicine can be prescribed for PAIN ONLY" without special certification.  For the last 7 years  I have enjoyed uninterrupted sobriety, AS WELL AS extremely well managed pain from the SUBUTEX sublingual tablets every day.  IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO OVERDOSE ON THIS STUFF (once tolerant), IT ONLY MAKES YOU "RUMMY" FOR THE FIRST MONTH, AND IT REMOVES ALL CRAVINGS FOR OPIOIDS!!  I have never looked back at hard-core opiates for the obvious reasons that they almost always eventually lead to complications or addiction.  I even go so far as to note that this medicine has helped me stay off the booze, as I no longer need to "self medicate" this pain!!  Now for the bad news:  I just received notification from my doctor that a "drug rep" told him he was illegally prescribing the Subutex for pain...and my doctor has now told me he will be stopping the almost 8 year long RX this month!!  I hope people in the medical community will wake up!  The big Pharma companies are so threatened by Buprenorphine, and the potential it has to replace their trillion-dollar OPIOID empire, that they have stigmatized it using the federal government as a vehicle to make this drug VERY hard to get for chronic pain!  I had a "pain specialist" take me off Subutex a few years ago, to replace it with high-dosage OxyContin, and it was a bit of a withdrawal...so be careful there.  As expected, the OxyContin had varied results, had me wishing I had more of it in a very short time, and did not manage the pain nearly as well as the Buprenorphine!!   So here I am now, facing the very addictive, very problematic powerful opiate routine again soon..and i'm scared as hell about it!  I don't care who you are, if you take high-powered opiates for long-term pain with frequent "spike" pain, you WILL develop tolerance and eventually an overwhelming dependence on the stuff.  It looks like Methadone is in my future...and this is a drug I have watched other loved ones with similar diseases struggle with immensely!  This may seem like a rant, but Subutex subligual tablets have been like a miracle for me...and considering it has been effectively used abroad for decades for chronic pain treatment, I can't help but feel I am a victim to this country's obsession to pump people full of hard-core opioids and ever-increasing NSAIDS.  
Side note:  If you are currently taking opioid medicine, DO NOT TAKE BUPRENORPHINE UNTIL YOU ARE ALREADY IN FULL WITHDRAWAL!!  previous posters are correct, if you take this medicine without first detoxing from opioids, you will be thrown into immediate and irreversible withdrawal...which may be among the most frightening experiences I have ever been through!!  
LET THIS MEDICINE BE USED FOR WHAT IT DOES BEST:  CONTROL PAIN, ABATE CRAVINGS, AND KEEP PEOPLE FROM FALLING INTO THE OPIOID TRAP!!

[Jaybay]

Don't do it.  Suboxone is used to help opiate addicts get off their drug of choice.  It has two components: one is a high-powered synthetic opiate; the other is a partial antagonist, or opiate blocker.  This drug was tested and approved only for short-term use, and addicts who were placed on it for long-term maintenance similar to methadone, are now discovering the horrors of getting off the stuff.  Look up the term PAWS - Post Acute-Withdrawal Syndrome, and see what awaits you after using suboxone for more than a few weeks.

Also, since it includes a partial opiate blocker, it will cause trouble if you ever have an emergency requiring higher doses of opiates that what you're already on and increased opiates will have zero impact on your pain.  Also, taking too much suboxone will put you into withdrawals.