MrsB08

My husband has been on Suboxone for about two and a half weeks. The first couple of days on it were great. No withdrawal symptoms, he was able to sleep, no worries. After that, he started experiencing insomnia, much the way he was when he was taking pills. Its like he becomes a zombie. He wont be able to lay down and go to sleep at night. Instead, he will start out laying down, end up sitting up in bed, slumped over. Eventually, he gets up and goes downstairs to the couch, where I usually find him in the same position. It is so aggrevating for me. He falls asleep, well temporarily passes out, and drops things. I am constantly telling him to wake up to keep him from spilling whatever itemit is that he is about to drop.

I don't know about drug interactions, but he is still smoking marijuana. I am worried to death about the overall situation because he has a lung disease and I know all of this is not helping that situation. I'm just beside myself.

CleanBreeze

IMO he should see a doctor.. It doesnt sound like it has anything to do with the Sub but 1 thing you could try if he's only dosing with the Sub once per day is to make sure he takes his daily dose before noon everyday.. some people have trouble sleeping if taken any later. If that doesnt make a difference then he should see a doctor about possibly needing some type of sleep med and to rule out other serious problems, im leaning more towards he needs to see a doctor though, Ive only heard of people having trouble falling asleep if they take their Sub later then noon, I've never heard of not being able to sleep at all.. def. get him to bring this problem up with his Sub doctor ASAP, sleep deprivation is NOT healthy and could cause alot of serious problems. Good Luck & I hope he gets better soon!

NoWhereGirl

I'm on Suboxone also and so far have agreed with everything CleanBreeze has said about the subject in this thread and elsewhere in the forum where the subject comes up. I also have to recommend contacting his Sub doctor ASAP about the symptoms and see what they say. Do they know he is smoking MJ while on the Sub? I would assume that would have an increased effect, it certainly did on me when I mixed the two early on until things evened out in my system with the Sub but not in a negative way. (My doctor also knew I smoked at the time. I got a scrip for medical MJ instead of contining to take the opiate painkillers I eventually became a slave to and addicted to so for me, it was the better and safer route to go for my issues but that certainly isn't true for everyone! Only a doctor can say for sure based on individual situations and circumstances.)

Anyway, I had problems after the first few days on Suboxone that sound simlar. At first I felt great, it was a few days later that I started to feel extremely sleepy and lethargic, but wasn't really sleeping per se. I was clumsy, forgetful, out of it and barely functional; very much like a zombie - in fact, I used that exact term to describe it. I called my doctor immediately and reported what I was feeling and he told me to space out my Sub more evenly in smaller doses throughout the day rather than taking a larger dose twice a day like it said on my scrip. He said spacing it out in smaller doses would avoid spikes in my system and let things even out. Once it evened out, I could try to go back on the once or twice a day dosing but I haven't, because the other way works better for me personally.

This is not saying your husband should do the same without consulting his prescribing doctor - only my experience and what worked for me. His doctor may recommend something else entirely so whatever the case, go by their advice, but DO tell them what's going on so they can help and adjust things; that's what they're there for. Once I did what they recommened I felt much better and back to normal and still do. I hope things work out for your husband, but definitely talk to his doctor about it and let them determine the best course of action for him. Good luck!

KurtShakur

Yeah, I had insomnia on subs. They made me feel relatively euphoric and perked up, to say the least. Bear in mind, the first time around I was also smoking weed and doing other drugs, so perhaps I'm not the best litmus for this. Now I'm on a tiny chip and looking to get off when I have some time from work to just rest. As I've noted elsewhere here, it's so little that there are none of the effects normally associated. So, my advice is that he take as little as he needs to not feel sick. Taper down or maybe just cut the dose. In my experience the doctors are clueless. The guy I went to started me out on 8mgs twice a day, which had me higher than I'd ever been on pills. The best rule is to not be "high" on it. At least for me. Is he there yet? I'm not sure. But if he's leaning and dropping stuff, common sense says he's not on the right dose.