suboxone--does it help?

[butterfly19]

I'm just wondering if suboxone will help or hurt my addiction. I fear that as long as I'm on something then I won't truly be sober. Any personal experiences with this are very welcome!

butterfly19

[Gmoney]

Hi Butterfly19,

I have no experience with drug replacement therapy, and for many in NA, this is a very controversial subject. I don't doubt that there are those in NA who have gone that route, but since NA doesn't endorse outside programs or procedures, your question may be best suited for the Substance Abuse forum. Below is the WSO bulletin on drug replacement. Check it out:

Regarding Methadone and Other Drug Replacement Programs

[kwheat1124]

Hey all. My first post. but anyways, Suboxone is a saviour drug. Sure you could argue that you aren't truly sober, but if you have been using opiates enough to have hard withdrawls, it is a necesity in my opinion.
I had quit opiates about 3 months ago and the rehab i went to detoxed me on suboxone for 4 days. They gave me four two mg suboxone the first day, three 2 mg's the second, two 2 mg's the third and so on, so forth. This worked amazingly for the first four days but when they cut me off after four days, i still had withdrawls for weeks. They werent half as intense as the first 4 days would have been without suboxone, but ruthless none the less.
It is my understanding that Suboxone should be used in at LEAST a 9 month program. After getting out of in-patient, i was thrown back into the unsafe world of drugs. If i had been on suboxone i wouldnt have wanted to use, and even if i did, suboxone has opiate blockers that make it so that you don't feel the opiates you take after taking suboxone. And if you take opiates before your suboxone dose, you will go into serious withdrawls. for example, i take a 40mg oxy an hour before i take an 8mg subox. After taking the suboxone I will feel ten times worse than if i were withdrawling from the oxy.

In my opinion thats a pretty damn good incentive not to use again. Like i said suboxone is a miracle drug and dope sick bastards like me thank god for it.

[jd2008]

I am starting sub soon and will post my experience

[SoberRyno]

I am an opiate addict and have been on and off Suboxone for 3 years. I am clean and sober for 34 days. I was in a rehab where they would not allow me to take suboxone as long as I was a patient. My cravings were brtual, then a few days ago I got back on Suboxone and I feel amazing. My cravings are nearly gone, and when I do crave they are not very intense. I never had a problem detoxing from Suboxone, but some people say that had a horrible time getting off it. Personally, it is saving my life and helping me to stay sober.

[hairgirl]

Sub has really helped me work on my recovery.What works for one does not work for another, I would post this in Substance Abuse Forum.

[notkernels]

I totally agree with hairgirl, sub worked for me also but its not the end all of all solutions. It has helped me but I also go to NA meetings and see a counselor once per month.
From my experience, you have to make a point every day to do something that will help you fight your addiciton. Being on sub it is easy to forget about the disease, so I force myself to meetings and counseling.

[kj3880]

Butterfly, you and I talked about this in the chat room, but for the benefit of those who were not there, I'll talk about it again: I got on pain pills after some surgeries about a year ago. Prior to that I didn't ever have any addiction problems. I couldn't kick the pills on my own. Every time I tried, I started getting sick, and had horrible cravings, so I got with a detox doc who prescribed suboxyn. I've only been on it for about a week, but I can tell you that I've had very few probs with it. I feel really terrific. Virtually no cravings. I had the acid test on Thurs when I had the last in a series of some dental surgeries. The doctor offered to prescribe me some percs and I turned her down. I could never imagine doing that a couple of weeks ago, but I just didn't want to go through the risk of going off suboxyn just yet, and then reintroducing percocet, and then going back on suboxyn next week. I was afraid that I wouldn't go back on suboxyn, so I just decided to deal with the pain by taking motrin. I never thought I could turn down a free pass to take percs!!! So it's really working for me.

[Gmoney]

"You'd be surprised how much pain we can handle without medication. In this program of total abstinence, however, we need to feel no guilt after having taken a minimum amount of medication prescribed by an informed professional for extreme physical pain." - NA Basic Text, page 99

[Latte]

It isn't for everyone. It worked for me.

I like what GarryW quoted.

[Danishthorn]

My husband quit the first time with the help of Suboxone. It was a wonder drug. Unfortunately, he stopped it after 4 weeks because he felt great. He was no longer physically addicted to the Oxycontin, but it didnt take long for the cravings to kick in and he relapsed. I wish he had stayed on the Suboxone longer. Sometimes he thinks he is superman

[Gmoney]

Originally Posted by Latte

It isn't for everyone. It worked for me.

I like what GarryW quoted.

Well...this IS the NA/12-step forum. I figured I'd try to add something NA related to the discussion. What the heck?

[Latte]

I am believer in the 12 steps and was not being sarcastic at all. I don't use sarcasm here as it is not part of my recovery. I have another message board for that.

If you were being sarcastic, continue on. I may have taken it the wrong way, as I've been known to do. *steps away from thread blushing*

[Gmoney]

No...I wasn't being sarcastic!! I'm actually grateful you posted what you said.