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210982 tn?1280983895

Suboxone question

I think I have heard that taking suboxone won't help with pain, only with withdraw. Is that true and if so, and you do have legit pain, what will a doc give you for the pain? For those of you who have pain and are on suboxone, what do you take and what works best for you dealing with pain? I know everyone is different, but just curious what non-narcotic pain meds are out there and do they work as well as the narcs??

Thank you
22 Responses
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Avatar universal
Im not sure if its legal in the US or not, I believe so, but the buprenorphine that comes as injections called Buprenex. Ive heard that many people say it works great for pain, but I wonder what the side effects would be. We all know how powerful bupe is and how addictive it can become. I wouldnt wish these withdrawals on anyone, they are all consuming and incredibly hard to bare. Ive recently stopped sub 4 days ago after 16wks of use. I was totally prepared and aware for what was coming, but still have to admit Ive never had something with that kind of grip on me. Even now as I can hardly move, theres still part of me that knows suboxone has helped realize that a life of opiate abuse isnt even what I wanted. It just felt so good to when your using, but there is a better way of dealing with pain, both physical and mental. OC had tons of good ideas to help cope with daily pain, have to say my physical therapy has helped me so much. Ive had to take a week off from PT, but Im hoping to be back in there in a few days. Excercise is the key to so many ailments, Ive finally learned that we only get one body and its time to start making it as healthy as possible, both physically and mentally once again. Ok well I feel pretty terrible, so Im off, take care everyone, I'll be sure to check in and give the full details here soon. Peace!
Helpful - 0
536882 tn?1225512859
I was afraid of coming off the pills because of the w/d and because of the pain.  I will have to have surgery next year on my shoulder and was petrified of how I would get pain relief when my tolerance was so high.  As I said earlier, the sub does help my pain.  I don't worry about running out, I haven't counted pills, hidden pills, or any other addictive behaviors.  I take an 8mg in the morning, a half of an 8mg in the afternoon, and an 8mg at bedtime.  I will take sub until I have my surgery.  several weeks before surg I will slowly taper my sub.....have surg, use narcotics for a week/week and 1/2, then start back on sub until my doctor and I decide its time to come off.

I agree there are other options for you.  Have you tried cortisone injections?  Accupuncture?  Hot/cold therapy?  Regardless of what you do try....you are addicted and that is its own problem.  Can't blame it on your neck, or anything else.  Because fact is, even if your neck were fixed, you'd still have to deal with the drugs.  For me, sub has helped me do that.
Helpful - 0
401095 tn?1351391770
It is approved for pain in Europe...called Temgesic and comes in 0.2 mg doses....so like methadone that used  for pain in germany before the us used it for addiction...do was sub...

and like avisg said...surgery or living in pain or addiction to narcotics are not ur only choices..gotta think outside of the box and learn as much as u can for ur condition..for example..inversion theraoy is great for DDD
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Yes Sub/Buprenex work for pain, and it is the first use for the drug. Been around a lot longer than most people realize. Stay away from any long term use. Period. I use alka/seltzer with a packet of Goddies Powders in water. I use aleeve with good success for the knee and body aches.

I thing it has been said already in this thread, it is a better trade off to be of right mind and not be so afraid of pain. Emtoional/Physical pain. How much excercise can do as well for healing the weak areas of ones body.  God Bless, God has been known to heal, it is his nature.

Bart
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210982 tn?1280983895
Your right I haven't tried anything else to reduce the pain. I am so worried about w/d's. I don't even know what my pain would be like off the meds...I have worked myself up so much about the w/d's (because I have experienced them) that is all I focus on. But I know reading all these posts I have taken a step closer to trying to get off because before I was like no way, I am just not ready to get off. But now I am allowing myself to consider getting off because I am so sick of thinking about it!
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199177 tn?1490498534
you dont have only two choices surgery or pills let me assure you that is the addict inside you speaking . I need both of the joint's replaced in my jaws .I have found other ways to mange my pain . you can as well.other then meds what have you tried to reduse pain
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401095 tn?1351391770
when u take ur life back u wont feel so defeated..if u get 2 opinions..one that is not a surgeon...like an ortho or pain doc to have the surgery then perhaps try it..and one should definitely be a neurosurgeon..and that is who touches ur spine btw....try it if u r at wits end...but when u have control of ur life and pain thru natural healthy things u do not feel so defeated..believe me....narcotics make us depressed..i just sense some depression in ur post..pain also makes us depressed tho...but sometime we have to differentiate between the 2
Helpful - 0
401095 tn?1351391770
well do not limit urself 2 2 choices...surgery or pain pill addiction...cos that is not thinking outside of the box!
Helpful - 0
519661 tn?1264516208
hi there!!
i am currently on suboxone right now.  i have been on sub for 9 months now....i started taking it to get off percocet.  i am now within reach of being off the sub...about another month and i am done.  okay, i am going to share my experience with you, good and bad....when i was put on the sub i was pretty much blackmailed into doing so (i had already weaned myself from 12-14 of the 7.5 percs a day to 3 percs a day) i was originally put on the 8mg. of sub a day, which is a pill that dissolves under your tongue...i absolutely LOATHED the sub and cried and whined about how bad it tasted and how sick it made me.  i got almost every side effect that comes with this drug from vomiting, sweating, shakes, constipation, headaches and on and on and on.  i now believe from a lot of research that i was on too high of a dose.  i finally made my peace that i had to get through this program.  the pill has a horrible taste, but like anything else, you get used to it.  as soon as i was weaned down to the 6mg. a day a lot of the side effects eased except for the sweating and constipation, but you get used to that too and this pill affects everyone differently it is just what happened to me.  now about how you feel on this pill.  i was put on the pill when i was in full withdrawls, so it was a great relief at the time.  you do not get that euphoric "high" that you would off pain pills, in fact you feel pretty normal...you almost feel like you did before you took pain pills. it DOES help me with some of my chronic pain....at first i didn't think so, but i have really noticed in the last couple of months since they have been tapering me down even further, how much i do hurt in the morning....a lot more than when i was on a higher dose of sub.  sub can be abused and addictive too....i can very clearly see how that could happen.  especially for those of us who just want to feel and live "normal"...the way it was before injuries and addictions.... please do your research on sub before you decide to take it, it is like any other pill, it may be good for one person but not another.  please feel free to ask me any questions, i am here to help!!  good luck and God bless!!xxxxxx
Helpful - 0
210982 tn?1280983895
thanks for the info...yeah it is beginning to look like my options are continue taking the pills, remain addicted, filled with anxiety, counting pills, hurting my insides, especially my liver OR get off the pills and hope that the pain I once  had is gone and deal with the pain with over-the-counter meds...I dunno, I am just tired of thinking about this all the time.
Helpful - 0
401095 tn?1351391770
38....most have degenerative arthritis to some degree at 40 and above..some feel it...some do not....i do as well..i had a fusion done at 41 and i dont recommend it if that is the surgery u are thinking of...was a disaster for me and after learnig the pros and cons i understand why..now having problems related to it 7 years later..surgery is not always the answer ot things especially chronic pain as damage to nerves and muscles has been done...post accident i think fusions help..not years into pain tho....i am now having problems below my fusion/disc is about to blow from extra work load..if u fuse 2 vertebrae together then the work load has to go somewhere ..the discs below and above are then overworked due to the fusion

surgery may or may not help..it is a tough one..when it oesnt it is a big fat bumber...but get a few opinions as it is important
i think at some point we just have to deal with the pain or become addicts...or stay addicts..find another form of pain relief that is no so mentally painful
Helpful - 0
210982 tn?1280983895
I am not on sub now, I am trying to see if I could benefit from it. I take percocet 10/325 and I am physically and psychologically addicted to them. I take way more than I should, I like the high, and I do have pain in my neck and shoulder. I have degenerate arthritis in my spine and have been told I would benefit from surgery. But I find myself counting pills and feeling a lot of anxiety worrying how many do I have left, then trying to figure out how many days that will last and then worry about what to do when I run out. I wish I had never started these pills...
Helpful - 0
401095 tn?1351391770
I did not mean to say that maintenance narcs were the only way to make it..cos many do make it without them and taper..ct  etc...just have to make it thru the hard part..and then we are free
Helpful - 0
401095 tn?1351391770
most opiates do not actually truly directly relieve pain..they alter the minds perception of pain..when u take them away the mind feels a void..sub can fill that void..depression is part of  pain...when u feel pain u feel depressed after a while/especially chronic pain..then add wds...u have a depression duo going on....sub takes the depression away..so therefore indirectly helps pain..especially the pain the brain is going thru ..take the sub away and there u r back at square one unless u use it short term/but then u still have the depression to deal with when u quit whether it be short or long term..ur body just "aint" gona like u pulling it's "peace" away from it..u have still been feeding ur brain "peace and tranquility instead of doing so with ur own chemicals/NTs......life time use of maintenence narcs like methadone or sub are the only way to try and avoid this cycle....and then i hear that after years of use, these 2 will turn on u like the hydros did on me and left me nothing but empty and depressed no matter how many i took....most of us will have to face the music one day..and it wont be a pretty bouncy tune when people do finally let go of these AD, pain relievers...more like an Edgar Allen Poe poem I think
I feel it still from time to time...the addicts own behavior/my behavior/ has caused a depression that is one of the hardest to kick...and causes many to relapse or stay on maintenance narcotics..it is a dark doomy feeling/thick and deep/ for many and to me was the hardest part/and still is sometimes/of kicking narcotics...getting thru the darkness that our own mind dumps on us due to the damage we have done to our brain's is tough.....I dont know the answer...just not sure that continuing to feed my brain outside sources of endorphins which shut my own mechanisms down,  is what i want to do/and believe me i have struggled with this being a chronic pain patient

Being able to withstand that 2-3 months of doomers/sometimes more/sometimes less/is dern hard and most cant do it..feeling uncomfortable is not in our dictionary...we never let it happen very often...Me, have a bad day?  No way..i would take care of that in a heartbeat when i used..til it no longer worked for me anymore..i was an escape artist...afraid of pain, mostly emotional pain....figured out i had to learn how to feel "not so great" for a bit...and sometimes downright crappy..some can not do this for one day much less one month..takes committment to say the least..and discipline...

longwinded..sorry..havent posted much as of late so i did a longy!  LOL
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Avatar universal
What doeage are you on of the sub b/c I am chroinic pain patient and have had no succes on as little as 8mg and as high as 32 mg I am curently on 8mg a day. My pain is neuopathic and I cannot take Lyrica, neurountin etc b/c of a bleeding disorder. I was just wondering that perhaps it if  is helping my pain and it would be a he77 of a lot worse w/o it it. What pain are you experiencing? I am afraid to go off the subs just in case my pain is somwhat controlled and I don't know it b/c I wasn on oxys for 10 yrs.

Thanks,
PS. I cannot take ibruprofen due to my clotting disorder. I don;t listen though and take a boat load of advils a day which gives me a stomach ache. At least 16 to 24 200 mgs . How bad am I hurting my body. I can't seem to stop b/c it aleves my pain froman 8 to a 6 probably.


Thanks

L
Helpful - 0
210982 tn?1280983895
thanks for your responses..can someone tell me how sub is taken? Do you take one pill a day or 1 pill several x's a day? The reason I ask is I am trying to figure out the difference btn sub and any other opiate...is the only difference not getting the "high" feeling? If that is the only difference then I am wondering do you still have to anxiety of not having enough pills or does the dose fit the pain? I hope that makes sense...I just want to know what are the benefits of taking sub (an opitate and narcotic) compared to say percocet (my DOC, which is also an opiate and narcotic)? so if someone can explain that to me I would appreciate it. I just want to decide if sub would be a good choice for me..thanks!
Helpful - 0
536882 tn?1225512859
I have been on sub for 3 weeks now.  I have a torn rotator cuff, as well as severe arthritis.  The sub does work for my pain, but no 'high' effect.  I have no cravings whatsoever.  On very cold nights or when a storm is coming in (low atmospheric pressure) I do have aching in my joints but I take 800mg of Ibuprofen and it relieves it.  Before my pain would reach a 9/10 on a scale.  Now my worst is probably a 3-4/10.  Its definitely tolerable.  
You should know, when I use my pain seems nearly impossible to relieve and I went straight from my 60+pill of lortab 10/325 per day to the sub.  I know alot of people on here have very negative things to say about sub, but every one of us is different.  What works for some may not for others.  I keep in mind that someday, I will have to wean off the sub and my pain (or my perception of it) will increase.  But for me, it is "doing whatever it takes" to stay away from the lortab.  
short answer:  Yes it has treated my pain well......Very well!
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199177 tn?1490498534
refusing brings up a really good point exercise really helps as well .start out slowly it may seem more painful at first but its does end up being a big help.
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Avatar universal
From my experience - mid way through my addiction my back went out doing pilates at home with no training (thought it was a God send at the time - sick sick sick I know) anyway I had a herniated disc L4-5 that had split open and there was spinal fluid leaking.  I was given massive painkillers and had to spend 2 weeks in the hospital in traction to stabalize.  The back pain stayed for along time and I was an addict kid in a candy store.  The pills did not help my back so much and the only thing I can attest to helping my back was exercise.. I had injections, epidurals, nerve blocks etc.  The epidurals would help for a few days and then that shooting pain down the leg would come back.  Was told I was not a candidate for surgery because I was too young.  For me exercise was the only thing to help.  I started barely able to stand straight and walked a little at a time.. then I increased.. a few months down the road (although I was still an addict) I was speed walking and a few months later jogging.  It strengthened my back unbelievable and healed it better than any pills could. I know that no everyone's pain is the same and a lot of people simply cannot exercise but if at all possible a little at a time can be a huge help.  
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Avatar universal
Whats the Cox 2 inhibitors?
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Avatar universal
Opiates have a 'diminishing effect' as most people who have been on them for chronic pain can attest.  Over time their effectiveness decreases while we take increased dosages to make up for this.   Avis is right about getting off altogether and finding other ways to deal with the pain.  Many use Accupuncture, Chiropractic, OTC drugs, and some have found relief in a fairly new prescription (non opiate) called Lyrica.  The Cox 2 inhibitors are still being used with great success by many people.  For those who bother to seek them out there are many alternatives to Opiates.   My own opinion is that most of us start on the Opiates for legitiment pain but soon cross over into feeding an addiction and only then find out that we need the drug for a different reason.
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199177 tn?1490498534
For some people sub does work for pain so doctors use it for pain .I am a cronic pain suffer my pain was much worse on optetes then off. I have heard many many as well say this .The first 90 days after were the most problematic for pain then as my bodies pain recptors started working again it got much better I now use zanaflex and aleve sometimes I find asprin REALLY helps too .I dont suffer near as much now as I did when I was on the pain meds
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