Has anybody has adverse reactions from Suboxone

[Momcares170]

This a updated posting from Addiction Forum. I got some good responses from the folks there but would like your opinions too.  

My daughter has been in chronic pain for seven yrs after a work related injury that caused neuropathy pain in her thoracic vertebrae area. She has tried physical therapy, she has had 3 failed neural stimulators surgeries 2 which were implanted directly into her spine(failed because of scar tissue) and  morphine pain pump that was infected during implant -caused her to go septic, and pick line IV antibiotics trying to clear pump of infection found she is allergic pencillin and rochephin(?) bad allergic reaction caused her skin to slough off. Pain pump needed to be remove-took a year to heal and since doc left the catheder in so he could use it again and 6 months later found it was infected too and that was the reason she was losing the use of both legs!! They are stronger now since he removed the infected catherder.  On Bipap w/ oyxgen, her breathing and oxygen levels haven't been okay since the infection and allergic reactions to antibiotics. Doc has tried neurotin, lyrica, hydrocondone,methadone, percocet, dilaudin,fentynal patches,etc. all with serious side effects(dilaudinand fentynal patches caused her to go into a physchotic episode that we weren't sure she would come out of). She is now on MS Contin 30mg 4x daily for pain and morphine 15mg for break through pain and prozac 40mg for depression, - she is stable and trying to control her pain without anymore extreme majors-actual she is very frighten of trying anything new. Worker's comp is demanding she tries(Kansas worker compensation laws are really bad) Suboxone or they will take away her monetary benefits!!! (Update:Found out today that they already have!) She has seen the suboxone doctor one time and he really has not revewed all of her updated medical records and is 165 miles away from here. These 6 hour round trips increases her pain from a usual 6-7 to 8-10 for 2-3 days after. Nurse case manager working for the WC insurance company won't even consider the doctors that are only 25 miles from here. She could have some severe reactions to Suboxone if she is allergic to it and when she asked the Suboxone Doc what she should do if she did he said he guessed she would have go to an ER closer to her,which of course would not have a doctor who would know her case! Her pain doc says she doesn't need this treatment and needs other pain management procedures(another pain pump or stimulator) before she tries to get off the morphine-they aren't listening to him either! Lawyer says we need a hearing before the WC judge, which will take about 6 weeks to schedule. The manufacturer states that Appropriate use of SUBOXONE
Do not use SUBOXONE or SUBUTEX for conditions for which they were not prescribed. Patients with a clinical need for analgesia should not be transferred to a SUBOXONE regimen. SUBOXONE is not indicated for pain management.

I called their website and although the lady was very nice she said the FDA forbids her to talk about Suboxone and pain management . I called the FDA and since manufacturer has not applied for approval for pain management they didn't have much info on it, only that it is not illegal for doctors to prescribe it off label. If suboxone has helped, okay but I really need the truth from everyone and can't find it on websites. Why aren't the websites telling the TRUTH!!

With all this stress my daughter is having nightmares again about not being able to walk and being sick again!
Momscares

[Mollyrae]

The above post is my opinion only.....A Doctor should be involved with that decision :)

[Mollyrae]

Hi:

As Mr. Marine stated...I too experienced the very same effect that he did. I was taken to the ER by Paramedics and was in the worst state I'd ever been in. I can give you the full story if you'd like. Send me a PM and I will tell you about it.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND SUBOXONE to anyone. Even under a Doctors care, Suboxone will create Withdrawls and that might not be good for your Daughter..

I hope this helps.
Mollyrae

[MrMarine2u]

If you can AVOID THE SUBOXONE! I have chosen to be removed off my large quantities of pain meds that I have had to take since an AED attack in Iraq. Suboxone is to assist people in getting off narcotics usually after years of abuse of everything from heroin to Tylenol 3 and yes, it is sometimes used to manage pain but only in high doses and is kind of dangerous that way. It promises to make an oxycontin junky clean in a month and walk on water 3 days later. I've never done an illegal drug in my life but I chose to try suboxone in the hopes I could be off all narcotics within a very short period. Within 3 hours of my first dose I was in the ER, on a ventilator and heavily sedated do to extreme halucinations. I know now it was not possible but before they sedated me I was fighting security to see my best friend in the lobby. He was killed in the blast I was injured in so it was absolutely impossible for him to be there. I was told it was not possible to have these type of reactions, by suboxone manufacturer, but it happened. They demanded that I HAD to be doing illicit drugs on top of my prescription, my urine, blood and everything else refuted that. I also offered hair samples after I became myself just to prove to them their medicine is dangerous. I left the Marines as a Lt. Col. on my back on a Navy stretcher. My Classmate from which we both earned our officer commissions is to be receiving the rank of Colonel later this year and I must go in there to his ceremony as close to 100% as possible. Suboxone seemed the path for me to get there in under half the time I had .... it nearly ended my time altogether. The best of luck to your daughter and yourself. God Bless you both.

[f1swede]

I been on Suboxone in the past and when the Doctor starts you on it you need to be present all day at his office. First to get you stable on how many mg and the other to make shure you dont get any ill effects from it. I was forced to go back on narcotics because it has no effect on reducing pain whatsoever. Suboxone is so you dont go thru whitdrawls when coming off Opioids. Suboxone is pretty hard to get off. I did not have problems with that since i went back to painmeds. If you get Suboxone in your system for a while and switch, it will take a while for painmeds. to work. There is a blocker in Suboxone so you cant abuse painmeds. basically the painmeds. dont get you high or work for pain until Suboxone is out of your system which takes 72hours. Hope this helped a little, F1swede

[Tuckamore]

I am glad that you received good responses on the Substance Abuse Forum. I know nothing about the drug other than it is not intended for Pain Management. I don't even know anyone that has experience with the medication. What I do know is what you know, SUBOXONE is not recommended for pain management. It was manufactured to assist with withdrawal.

What I do think is that WC is giving your daughter the run around. In my opinion they are trying to get rid of the liability. If you don't jump through their hoops I they can do just what they have done, stop all benefits.

I think you are doing all the right things. Obtaining an attorney and following their recommendations is the only logical thing to do. I do not know the WC laws in Kansas. I do beleive that some laws are general state to state and mandated by the federal government (U.S. Department of Labor). OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is federal and governs many safety practices in the workplace. WC is an insurance that each employer must carry, that is a federal law. But the word Insurance should tell you a lot.

Best of luck to you and your daughter. My heart goes out to you and her. I will look forward with interest to future updates. Peace, Tuck