switching from methadone to suboxine? any thoughts?
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Seeking Peace
Posts: 1,371
switching from methadone to suboxine? any thoughts?
Does anyone out there have an opinion about suboxone? Is it better than methadone? Is suboxine harder to get off of once you are on it? Is it cheaper? More convenient?
Thanks for any input you might be able to offer...
Thanks for any input you might be able to offer...
NA Rocks!
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Location Location
Posts: 517
Hi there! 
I'm a Suboxone patient; on it for seven months so far, after heavily abusing painkillers and benzos for 7-10 years. It's saved my life! It's a very misunderstood medication. There's no euphoria or bad side effects. You just feel "normal". It's hard to explain. Of course, it's most effective if used along with a lot of support, like a physician/addictionologist who'll follow your progress and help you taper your dosage throughout your treatment and a 12-step program with a sponsor (I'm in NA).
Here's one of the best articles I've found yet that explains Suboxone, and even compares it to methadone and LAAM.
http://usatoday.com/news/health/2006...reatment_x.htm
Good luck!
I'm a Suboxone patient; on it for seven months so far, after heavily abusing painkillers and benzos for 7-10 years. It's saved my life! It's a very misunderstood medication. There's no euphoria or bad side effects. You just feel "normal". It's hard to explain. Of course, it's most effective if used along with a lot of support, like a physician/addictionologist who'll follow your progress and help you taper your dosage throughout your treatment and a 12-step program with a sponsor (I'm in NA).
Here's one of the best articles I've found yet that explains Suboxone, and even compares it to methadone and LAAM.
http://usatoday.com/news/health/2006...reatment_x.htm
Good luck!
I'm an addict.
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Hyde Park, NY
Posts: 1,201
I have never been on sub, but I was on methadone....I do know that in order to transfer you from methadone to sub, generally doctors will make you cut your dose down to 30/mg before they'd even consider it....at least that is what I was told.
X IV
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Northern CA
Posts: 6,365
Thanks for the link to that article Time4change. It was very informative.
I am not on Suboxone but was on methadone for a long time. I think there are benefits to both depending on your individual history. I have heard that getting off suboxone is easier then withdrawing from methadone. Just want to end with this, methadone and the daily working of a 12 step program saved this former long term junkies life. Whatever you try is good. Just keep trying.
I am not on Suboxone but was on methadone for a long time. I think there are benefits to both depending on your individual history. I have heard that getting off suboxone is easier then withdrawing from methadone. Just want to end with this, methadone and the daily working of a 12 step program saved this former long term junkies life. Whatever you try is good. Just keep trying.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: yonkers,newyork
Posts: 13
Just To Introduce Myself I Am Blessed Again I Am Detoxing From Methadone I Am Presently On 5mg As Of Today It Is A Slow Process The Thing I Need Alittle Advice On Is I Have Been In The Habit Of Going To The Clinic For 10yrs I Need Advice On What To Do To Break The Mental Part Of The Going To The Clinic I Fear: Will I Do It Can I??
Last edited by BLESSEDAGAIN; 01-28-2006 at 03:33 PM. Reason: SPELLING
Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: california
Posts: 70
someone directed me and my addict BF to this site...
www.heroine-detox.com
it is a very informative site and we found it really helpful.. he is currently detoxing on suboxone and considering long term maintenance but after reading allot of info on both sub and meth we have decided that it is probably not the right thing for him. there really is no easy way out--withdrawl and addiction suck and there is no easy road... meetings a sponsor, counseling etc seem like a good road... a chemical dependency is just that irregardless of the chemical, but thats just my opinion. allot of the postings on the site above tell allot of horror stories of people stuck on both sub and meth... anyway... I am rambeling...sorry...
www.heroine-detox.com
it is a very informative site and we found it really helpful.. he is currently detoxing on suboxone and considering long term maintenance but after reading allot of info on both sub and meth we have decided that it is probably not the right thing for him. there really is no easy way out--withdrawl and addiction suck and there is no easy road... meetings a sponsor, counseling etc seem like a good road... a chemical dependency is just that irregardless of the chemical, but thats just my opinion. allot of the postings on the site above tell allot of horror stories of people stuck on both sub and meth... anyway... I am rambeling...sorry...
I'm an addict.
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Hyde Park, NY
Posts: 1,201
Originally Posted by BLESSEDAGAIN
Just To Introduce Myself I Am Blessed Again I Am Detoxing From Methadone I Am Presently On 5mg As Of Today It Is A Slow Process The Thing I Need Alittle Advice On Is I Have Been In The Habit Of Going To The Clinic For 10yrs I Need Advice On What To Do To Break The Mental Part Of The Going To The Clinic I Fear: Will I Do It Can I??
In my experience, when I take something out of my life, I have to replace it with something else and do something different or else there is a huge gaping hole.
What works for me is NA. I have been off methadone for 13 days shy of a year and the only reason I"M still clean is b/c I have this support system and program of recovery in my life.
If it works for me it can work for you....check out www.na.org for a list of meetings in your area. THis forum has also helped me immeasurably in the last year.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1
. I tried Suboxone, and i liked it alot at first. (I wasnt on it for heroin, but for pills) but then after about a month of taking it I started to kind of fall asleep at the dinner table, well.. not "fall asleep" but my eyes would get super heavy, and mellow. Then after, about 3 months My wife noticed I had been forgettting things more often. Then after about 5 months, It got harder to have sex.. "couldnt get-it-up" i suppose.
So I switched to Methadone, and now everything works perfect! and Im always ide awake, its easieto get up in the morning.. Ive been on MEthadone 10mg for about 7 months now, and Im staying with it. I eventually wann quit methadone, all togather. But not quite yet.
Now I have run out.. and I heard that grapefruit juice waselpful.
idk though. :praying
Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: md
Posts: 3,042
Why not take this discussion over to the meth/sub forum where you can get some more opinion and advice?
In the mean time, as this is the 12-stepper forum, can I recommend that you check out NA meetings in your area? I did this in conjunction with sub, and I highly recommend it! I don't think you can succeed alone in your recovery, even with pills. You can really get a lot of support at NA!
Love,
KJ
In the mean time, as this is the 12-stepper forum, can I recommend that you check out NA meetings in your area? I did this in conjunction with sub, and I highly recommend it! I don't think you can succeed alone in your recovery, even with pills. You can really get a lot of support at NA!
Love,
KJ
Live it
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: USA
Posts: 255
Hello!
I realize that this is an older post, but I thought I'd offer my E, S & H on this matter, as it directly relates to my recovery. I am using suboxone to GET clean. It's cheaper, safer, cleaner and better than street drugs. It doesn't get you high, but then if you're an addict like me, neither did the street drugs, right?
Suboxone teaches you personal responsibility, because you are accountable to yourself for taking it as prescribed. Nobody controls your dosage but you.
It's good practice for quitting entirely, I personally find. You learn certain elements of self-control through the tapering process. At least, I am currently learning to be more responsible through this process, with the help of NA.
My doctor treats me like a patient with a disease, not a criminal with an illegal habit. I get really good care from him and his medical staff. We are on a first-name basis (my doctor and his staff) and we are very friendly. I don't feel "gross" or "repugnant" when I'm around them, like I've been made to feel at other places.
Suboxone is not for everyone. Ideally, you should enter into inpatient rehab (or the closest thing to it that you can afford, depending on your insurance - partial hospitalization is good, too), detox with non-opiates to get clean ASAP, and commit to working the program of Narcotics Anonymous.
This is the NUMBER ONE option that I believe should always be considered (and, in most cases, tried) FIRST.
However, if you need to WORK full-time (like I do), and you've ALREADY BEEN THROUGH REHAB ONE OR MORE TIMES, then Suboxone may the very best immediate answer to your problem.
Also, if you can't take off work because your work doesn't stop just because you do, then consider this as your best plan of action.
My doctor also made me become a member of NA (well, he didn't exactly make me, but he told me that if I did not become an NA member, then I would relapse once I quit suboxone).
I'm so glad that I did what he told me to do - again! I have a great doctor.
In the end, here is how I see it: Suboxone helps to GET you clean. Narcotics Anonymous helps to KEEP you clean.
You can get clean with suboxone, one day at a time, only to use again once you're finished with treatment if you don't become active in your NA Fellowship. NA is what KEEPS YOU CLEAN FOR LIFE - one day at a time, of course. You HAVE to work a program and FIX your personality if you want to stay clean.
SUBOXONE WILL NOT FIX YOUR PROBLEMS. It is not GOD.
The biggest mistake that I see from addicts is thinking that suboxone will cure their addiction. Not so. Suboxone will NOT cure your addiction. NOTHING WILL EVER cure your addiction. It is incurable.
What suboxone can do is help to free up your time so that you can learn to live, day by day, paying your bills, cleaning your house, your car, your office, staying late to finish your work at the office, taking care of your grandparents/children, your dog, going to the gym, eating properly and sleeping properly. All of these normal life skills that we forget how to do during active addiction because we're always running around trying to get one more.
I hope that makes sense. I'm open to any questions. Good luck on your journey of recovery!
Cheers,
Sugs
I realize that this is an older post, but I thought I'd offer my E, S & H on this matter, as it directly relates to my recovery. I am using suboxone to GET clean. It's cheaper, safer, cleaner and better than street drugs. It doesn't get you high, but then if you're an addict like me, neither did the street drugs, right?
Suboxone teaches you personal responsibility, because you are accountable to yourself for taking it as prescribed. Nobody controls your dosage but you.
It's good practice for quitting entirely, I personally find. You learn certain elements of self-control through the tapering process. At least, I am currently learning to be more responsible through this process, with the help of NA.
My doctor treats me like a patient with a disease, not a criminal with an illegal habit. I get really good care from him and his medical staff. We are on a first-name basis (my doctor and his staff) and we are very friendly. I don't feel "gross" or "repugnant" when I'm around them, like I've been made to feel at other places.
Suboxone is not for everyone. Ideally, you should enter into inpatient rehab (or the closest thing to it that you can afford, depending on your insurance - partial hospitalization is good, too), detox with non-opiates to get clean ASAP, and commit to working the program of Narcotics Anonymous.
This is the NUMBER ONE option that I believe should always be considered (and, in most cases, tried) FIRST.
However, if you need to WORK full-time (like I do), and you've ALREADY BEEN THROUGH REHAB ONE OR MORE TIMES, then Suboxone may the very best immediate answer to your problem.
Also, if you can't take off work because your work doesn't stop just because you do, then consider this as your best plan of action.
My doctor also made me become a member of NA (well, he didn't exactly make me, but he told me that if I did not become an NA member, then I would relapse once I quit suboxone).
I'm so glad that I did what he told me to do - again! I have a great doctor.
In the end, here is how I see it: Suboxone helps to GET you clean. Narcotics Anonymous helps to KEEP you clean.
You can get clean with suboxone, one day at a time, only to use again once you're finished with treatment if you don't become active in your NA Fellowship. NA is what KEEPS YOU CLEAN FOR LIFE - one day at a time, of course. You HAVE to work a program and FIX your personality if you want to stay clean.
SUBOXONE WILL NOT FIX YOUR PROBLEMS. It is not GOD.
The biggest mistake that I see from addicts is thinking that suboxone will cure their addiction. Not so. Suboxone will NOT cure your addiction. NOTHING WILL EVER cure your addiction. It is incurable.
What suboxone can do is help to free up your time so that you can learn to live, day by day, paying your bills, cleaning your house, your car, your office, staying late to finish your work at the office, taking care of your grandparents/children, your dog, going to the gym, eating properly and sleeping properly. All of these normal life skills that we forget how to do during active addiction because we're always running around trying to get one more.
I hope that makes sense. I'm open to any questions. Good luck on your journey of recovery!
Cheers,
Sugs
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