Was I Given Suboxone Inappropriately?

[GinghamButterfly]

Six days after taking my last Vicodin, my Psychiatrist administered an initial dose of two sub pills at 9:30am.  I fell into an unsettling sleep until 7:00 that night, when I woke up with severe withdrawal symptoms.  I was dripping sweat, vomiting, and felt only half-way conscious.  

I went to the E/R, where a physician all but said the words, "what was your doctor thinking?!"  I had been taking 10 Vicodin per day on and off for a couple of years, and was feeling more anxiety and irritability when my Psychiatrist suggested Suboxone.  My initial W/D aches, pains, and heavy depression had subsided, for the most part.

I feel like I was mislead.  (And it cost A LOT of money!)

Does anyone have suggestions/insights?      

[Tom1130]

Potential for dependence
SUBOXONE and SUBUTEX® CIII (buprenorphine HCl sublingual tablets) have potential for abuse and produce dependence of the opioid type with a milder withdrawal syndrome than that of full agonists.

Contact your doctor if
You feel faint, dizzy, confused, or have any other unusual symptoms, or if your breathing becomes much slower than normal. These can be signs of taking too much SUBOXONE or of other serious problems.
You experience an allergic reaction. Symptoms of a bad allergic reaction include difficulty breathing, hives, swelling of your face, asthma (wheezing), or shock (loss of blood pressure and consciousness)
You suspect liver problems due to any of these symptoms:
Your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice)
Your urine turns dark
Your bowel movements (stools) turn light in color
You don't feel like eating much food for several days or longer
You feel sick to your stomach (nauseated)
You have lower-stomach pain
Cytolytic hepatitis and hepatitis with jaundice have been observed in the addicted population receiving buprenorphine.
Your doctor may do blood tests while you are taking SUBOXONE to ensure that your liver is okay.
You've recently experienced a head injury (SUBOXONE can alter pupil size and cause changes in the level of consciousness that may interfere with patient evaluation)

[worried878]

doesnt seem like a very good choice for a dr to make after 6 days of being clean...the sub dose should not have caused wds tho//cos ur doc was long gone after 6 days..so any yucky feelings must be associated with the sub if u had been clean for 6 days///perhaps too much?? hard to say

what was ur original dose of hydro?  and ur original dose of sub/or did he tell u?  if u r thru the physical part from the hydro/i would hesitate to continue sub...sub can be used as an AD/and some use it as such..i have heard of alcoholics staying on sub as an AD...but it is highly risky AD when there r so many ADs out there made for this purpose

did u talk to ur dr to find out WHY?

[leeisgettingclean]

not smart, six days your phsical  w/ds were over, were you conplaining about the emotional part? parhaps ypur doc thought you were at high risk of relaspe and for that reason started sub, but then again IMO sub for a vic addition is not wise

[chopper841]

wow that is crazy most people start feeling better around that time.  From what I have read that is not what you want to be taking, get off of it the wd will be allot worse.  Wow that reminds me of my situation I was put on Xanax 2mg 3 times a day just crazy never taken the stuff before.  I slept for almost the first 3 days.

[10356]

Sounds like Psychiatry is trying to break into the big bucks made off sub.. The anxiety you felt would have gone away in a couple of weeks.. Please do not take anymore as a allergic reaction is possible ? I would definitely change Dr.s and one without money signs in his eyes.. take care of yourself lesa

[TrayCee]

OMG!!!! You were 6 days off opiates an started Suboxone????  yeah!  Thats CRAZY!!!  The sub is to get you off the vicodin!  After 6 days youre already off.
Are you still taking the Sub?  For how long and how much?

Suboxone is W A Y stronger than vicodin, and MUCH harder to come off of.

[salsinator]

Hi Gingham,  I don't know the exact situation you are in, but to be prescribed suboxone after you had already been off your drug of choice for 6 days is pretty crazy.  Suboxone is meant to be given to help detox with minimal withdrawal and is usually administered within 24 hours of your last opiate dose.  If you had stopped vicodin 6 days prior, then the majority, if not all, of the withdrawal symptom for the vicodin would have been over.  Suboxone also should not have produced a withdrawal reaction either - unless you had taken an opiate within a couple hour prior to the suboxone dose - or as Tom asked, an allergic reaction.  Tom asked what the ER said?  I am assuming that you are not taking any more suboxne?  I would also consider choosing a different psychiatrist as well.  Good Luck.

[Tom1130]

What did the ER say ? did you have an allergic reaction ? because thats quite rare as far as i know !  Were you in withdrawals from the vicodin? i mean six days after your last vic is unheard of.  I'm sorry you had to go through that.  I'm just in shock trying to put everything all together.