MysteryWriter

This is to EXJUNKY:

Please be careful when making blanket statements about Suboxone. After 40 years of opiate use, I was put on 32 mgs of Suboxone and told I'd likely have to take it for the rest of my life. At that time, I accepted the diagnosis. I wound up taking Suboxone for a total of for six years. But four years into that six year period, I decided I could not, I would not stay on that drug for the rest of my life. (When on Suboxone, any feelings of joy or elation are ARTIFICIAL - one's good feelings are created by the drug, not by your own brain's endorphins - for me, this was not acceptable.) From that four-year decision point, it took me almost another two years to titrate down to a level where I could jump off. The problem was, on the way down, once I got down to about 8 mgs per day, I started going into withdrawal every morning. This am/withdrawal went on for a year and a half, every day without fail, until I finally got down to 1/4 mg. Then I stopped. Two and a half days after I went to zero, I went into full-blown withdrawal. I could not leave my house. The physical symptoms of this w/d lasted for 23 days! In my opinion, this was much worse than Methadone withdrawal (I went rhough that 7 years ago) because that only lasted for about 5-6 days and then it was over. I repeat: the Suboxone withdrawal lasted for 23 days! I'm now 47 days out from my last dose of Suboxone and I'm still having some physical w/d symptoms coupled with major anxiety, sleep disorder, depression, and a general feeling of uselessness. Right now, this second, I have no idea what's keeping me from using again. All I know is that I refuse to accept other people's opinions, including some doctor's, about my own ability to survive without having any drug of any kind in my system.

In my opinion, Suboxone is a drug that is much too highly touted for its effectiveness. Yes, it works. Yes, it stops withdrawal and it makes you feel as if you're normal, as if your brain is functioning normally. But is your brain really functioning normally? And what will happen to your brain's neural pathways and pain receptors after long term use of Suboxone? Suboxone offers relief, BUT AT WHAT COST? In fact, it's my belief that in a few years, doctors may well be shaking their heads and saying, "Oh, oh. Almost no one can get off this drug." Truth is, many doctors are already asking this question.(I'm talking about doctors who genuinely want to support their patients in their committment to be free of all drugs) . It's my undertsanding that a smaller percentage of addicts are able to get off Suboxone than can actually get off drugs and stay off them.

I'm happy for you that you did not have to suffer when you got off. However, some addicts suffer horribly when they try to get off Suboxone: few find it as easy as you did. There is a psychological component to the prolonged use of Suboxone that is not present with any other drug: the brain believes that Suboxone may well be the answer, the magic bullet, the perfect pill. It is not.

Continued good luck to you,

Lee