suboxone

[lou166]

I have a 30 year old son who lives alone & is seriously addicted to opiates. He says that he usually takes lortabs
or somas. He has been to the er numerous times, usually because he was driving his vehicle & has gotten stopped. We sent him to rehab once, he left after 30 days & seems like after 2 weeks of being out of rehab things became worse. Now he says that he wants to quit (but won't go back to rehab) & has gotten some suboxone strips to help him. Friday night when I went to his house he was very groggy & his speech was slurred. He is spending the weekend
with us. Yesterday he seemed fine. He didn't do very much, just lay around but he was groggy & he seemed normal.
What should I expect when an addict is given this suboxone? I doubt that he will see the doctor very often that prescribed it to him . thanks

[Catslady]

Can your clinic get me off Subutex? I have been on 32mg/day for almost 3 years. I am just as dependent on it as I was on Hydrocodone or Percocet. I have gotten down to 16mg/day but was so sleepy and lethargic. Now thst I've started trying to taper myself off, I find I just want more. My doctor is only in this for the money but he's the only game in town. You sound very wise snd compassionate. Thank you,

Marsha

[Julia M Aharonov, DO]

I think it is admirable that your son wants to get off of opiates. I do want to caution you and him that Suboxone in also an opiate.  Let me tell you about it. Suboxone is the brand name for a medication consisting of buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine is a thebaine derivative with powerful analgesia approximately 20-40x more potent than morphine. Buprenorphine is a partial agonist and antagonist of the opioid receptors in the central nervous system which means  when the its molecule binds to a receptor, it will transduce only a partial response in contrast to a full agonist such as morphine. Buprenorphine also has very high binding to the opioid receptors such that the opioid receptor antagonists (e.g. naloxone) only partially reverse its effects. This means that an overdose of buprenorphine cannot be easily reversed. Naloxone is opioid receptor blocker. They are combined together to prevent inter-venous abuse of this medication. In the US this Suboxone has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of opiate drug addiction. However many individuals who start using it to treat their addiction, become addicted to Suboxone itself.
Having said that it is still a viable option and does work for some people as a tapering tool off of opiates.  Patients on Suboxone should be able to function well. It is not normal that your son is so groggy. Either he is taking too much or he is taking something else. He may also be in withdrawals if he is not talking enough.  I am a bit worried. Something is not quite right.
I personally prefer our method of getting clean: just get done with it. We get people through withdrawals under deep sedation and start them on a Naltrexone therapy with an implant that will last two month. It will literally block their opioid receptors and stop their cravings. It will also stop any narcotics from working should they try. That ensures success. They can continue receiving Vivitrol shots in their own community which may even be covered by their insurance. You need to do something for your son. Read the blogs and testimonials on our blog. It hurts me to know that there are people out there that we can help, but they do not know how to find us or think that just because the drug is FDA approved for addiction treatment, it actually works. It does not in most cases.
Please click on my name and read some of my blogs especially the one about options for detox.  You can also reach it by clicking on my name or by going on www.MDSDrugDetox.com