Suboxone Question

[lilchad]

Hello everyone,

I have been doing alot of reading throughout this site and have come to like it. I really like that fact that everyone helps everyone no matter who you are, what you've done, or for whatever reason you are here. It's just amazing and very rare to see that this day and age. I would like to let everyone know that you are all amazing people here and deserve recognition for all of your efforts.

I started taking Oxy's almost 3 years ago. It got to the point where I was taking 10 Oxy 80's a day for over a year and sometimes more. The most I ever did in 1 day was 16 80's. I finally went to my doctor and confess. I was prescribed clonidine, trazadone, and ibuprophen. I did the detox at my house on my own and it was not near as bad as I thought it was going to be. I quit cold turkey from nearly 1000mg of Oxy's a day. I wasnt sick at all. The only symptoms I had was being cold all the time with hot flashes every so often, diareah, restlessness, fatigue, insomnia, and extreme RLS. The detox would have been alot easier if I didnt have the RLS. It was the hardest part by far. I went back to work on day 7 and was fine. I had no more symptoms other then insomnia and diareah. When I stopped taking the sleeping pills a few days after being back to work, I stayed up for 66 hours. I had 2 hours of sleep the last night I took the sleeping pills, then went to work for a 12 hour shift, never slept at all, went to work for a 10 hour shift, and was still not the slightest bit tired. I stayed clean for just a little over a month with no trouble at all other then thinking about it when I was bored. Then one friday afternoon I had nothing to do so I decided to do an 80, thinking it wouldnt hurt me. So then that turned into a weekend thing and before I knew it, I was back to doing them everyday and back up to 3 a day and on the weekends, 4 a day. I have tried quitting several times in the past month and seem to not be able to do it. I dont know if its the mental thing of knowing what I have to go through again or what. But I am finding that I feel worse come day 2 then I remember being at all throughout the entire 5 days the first time I detoxed. The first time I detoxed, I never got the RLS until the evenings and now, at day 2, I have them the entire day and it gets worse at night. I really cannot take another week off of work due to missing too many days as it is because of the drugs. I know I can stay off the pills if I can get off of them again. I only did the 80 after over a month because I thought I could keep it to a once a week or weekend thing. But I was wrong and now that I know I cannot control it, I wont do it anymore. I just need to get off.
So my questiong I have is about Suboxone. With the reading I have done lately, I havent seen anything anywhere about Suboxone being available in Canada. I was just wondering if it is indeed available in Canada, and if so, how to go about getting into a program if that is forsure the route I want to take. I know I definately do not want to do the methadone route. I was thinking of subonone because I seen that you can do like a 21 day program and stretch it out a few days longer to taper further and further down to make the withdrawals and minimal as possible. I feel like that would be a good route for me to go. So if anyone knows anything that could help me, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[mechanic100]

new here, hello all.
I too am addicted to oxy's and am wondering about the availability of suboxone in Ontario, Canada.
Everywhere I look I hit a dead end.
I did find this post though, dated Nov 2007
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/11/20/subutex-canada.html
if anyone knows a doc prescribing it in Southern Ontario, PLEASE pass on the info.

regards

RICK

[lilchad]

Oh I know that there is no magic way of detox. If there was, this site most likely wouldnt exist. I just dont know what route I want to go yet. I was thinking of going back to my doctor and trying the other way again. I did it once, I'm sure I can do it again.

[avisg]

worried is right It is available in Canada but I agree with the other here if the colonadine worked really well for you I would try that again ,however like wait2long said you need to find some recovery care getting clean is the easy part staying clean is the hard part.

[ochooked]

I just completed a 21 day program on Sub.   I totally agree with TysonRed and Worried.   It does not eliminate the W/D's but does allow you to manage them and take a little when you 'need' to be 'normal'.  The hardest part of my Sub treatment was getting off that 'crumb' at the end. This is one very powerful drug and not to be taken lightly.  I am now at day 5 off of it but it has been a rough go.   I wish you well in your recovery.

[TysonRed]

Yes, Worried is right dont go on sub thinking its just gonna be this easy cake walk way of detox, you will be unpleasantly surprised to find that yes it does take away all the negative feelings associated with withdrawl, but it's not an easy thing to stop either. It should really only be looked to as a tool to be utilized in your recovery, not a cure all. You must be mentally prepared for what you will be getting yourself into, my advice is to really try and stick to the 21 day method, I myself wish I'd known about it when I started Sub, although I was on methadone, and for most cases doctors like to do longer treatment periods for people on methadone. But never the less we just had a good friend complete his 21 day treatment this last week, and he said he had about 5days of pretty bad w/d's and that he was still extremely fatigued a week after. If you do end up having to do a longer taper still try and start as low as possible that makes you feel comfortable, talk with the doctor and ask specific questions like how long he feels you need to use Sub. You do have to be in a mild withdrawl from the oxycodone, so before starting sub youll need to be off oxy for atleast 12hrs, Id imagine maybe a little longer. Keep posting your progress as you go, this is a tremendous place for help and support. Good luck in your journey, any questions about Sub Id be happy to try and answer them for you. All the best to you!

[worried878]

suboxone can be a tool to help with getting clean...it is available in canada...not as much so as here but there are doctors there who prescribe it..be safe as sub is no free ride..u gotta do the work to stay clean inside urself

[marcatj]

i'm a supporter of Suboxone.

it helped me tremendously.

it is not, however, a "magic pill" that makes it all go away.  it DOES help, but there's still work to be done.

i would say if you are a chronic relapser, and deal with pain issues, for me - it was a good choice (altho i can't say i was really a "chronic relapser.. a few times.) when my doc suggested it i wasn't using...but it made sense that i had damaged some brain cells (lol) as well as, still needed pain relief.

if you have not tried other methods of support (n/a meetings, counseling, an addiction/pain mngmnt specialist - who personally saved my life, btw) try that first before putting another drug in your body.  again, for me, it has helped. but it really depends on how you use it, and what you expect to get out of it.  it is, again, not a magi pill... but a great tool.

for the record - there is no "high" at all.

btw - i am a little sleepy, so if i misconstued what you needed here, i apologize. would be happy to lend any support, anytime, that personallyi have to offer that you may need.

be well. you'll do great if you feel it's time..... it happens when you're ready...

warmly,
mj,

[wait2long]

the reason it is harder this time is because you had clonidine last time...that stuff is a godsend and really reduces the withdrawal symptoms...can you talk to your doctor again and get the clonidine???  it is a blood pressure med used for detox... its nonaddictive...and it WORKS!
i thought i heard suboxone WAS available in canada...the place to check would be www.naabt.org   the information would be there i bet as well as tons of information on suboxone available,..i am on suboxone, long term...if you have any questions about it send me a private message anytime...but if the clonidine worked so well for you, i would try that way again and get into some aftercare so when you get clean, you will have the tools and knowledge to stay clean...staying clean is the hard part...its just too tough of a disease to fight alone, it really is, everyone needs help, well most do.
good luck to you...