tkslake

Hi! hoping someone out there can help, My fiance has used heroin on and off for 15 years he has tried to get clean I do not know how many times, he has been on meth etc. Well we are trying once more, he is now on suboxone and he started it yesterday about 36 hours after his last time using. It is not helping he is prescribed 16mgs a day and was told he can take one more 8 mg dose. he is still kind of sick we thought he would feel better after 30 min. at least thats what we were told. Does anyone have any advice?? thanks Julie

Hopefloats

Hi Julie..sometimes I pop over here and read. My daughter is the addict in my life. She just finished her detox and was started on suboxone as well. From what the nurse told me, before giving this to my daughter, there was a fine line of administering this pill, because too soon can make them sicker. My daughter had to get the opiates out of her system, and I think the methodone that she WAS on can linger.

She too is stuggling a bit with not feeling that well, and has had to call her doctor. They did increase the dose..and she is still not feeling that great.

Feel free to pm me and ANY information I gather I will be very happy to share. I hope others can come along and help you as well.

God Bless!!!
Hopefloats

erino134

How is he now? Suboxone is AMAZING - considering the alternative. But it isn't necessarily going to prevent him from ALL w/d. Sub is going to make w/d about 5000% better. But if it doesn't take care of every single little feeling - well - come on. Life isn't that easy. Maybe your guy is just dealing with adjusting to the "not high" feeling. If you've been high constantly for the last .. say 2 years... (like me)... your perception of normal feeling is certainly messed up. You have no idea what normal is.

I am guessing that by now he is worlds better. Don't worry about overusing. I don't believe you need to worry about that. I am still using suboxone long after the detox stage. It is helping me avoid relapse. I'm not confident to go it alone yet. The sub prevents the relapse because if you try for relapse - you can't feel it - therefore was it a relapse??? HA.

Let me hear how he is doing today if you are around. I am guessing that he is past the hell. Normal C/T w/d is about 72 hours of absolute HELL. 72 hours on sub - you feel unusual (remember you've been constantly high for a long time and you have no idea of what this un-high feeling is). After 72 hours - you are officially clean - now the MUCH harder part - staying clean.

I'm curious how he is doing.

didntexpectthis

Its a miracle drug. Begin taking it only when you have entered detox and are feeling w/d symptoms pretty bad (earlier will put you into full blown detox symptoms and be hell). Then take it first every 2 hours, then every 4, 8, 12, then every 12 until you ultimatley wean off. Your back might still hurt, very tired, but you feel relatively normal and can function after the first couple of days. Its by far the best way to detox. Its also an opiate blocker, so it curbs cravings and if you take opiates while sobozin is in your system they will have little or no effect. Also, soboxin has a full strenght life of 12 hrs I thiunk, then a 12/2 strength for up to 48 hrs I think.

Roxann

I have been on Suboxone for 31 days now. It really has helped, I wouldn't say it took care of all of the crappy feelings, but it did get rid of a lot. I am on 8 mgs 2Xdaily.

I think if he needs to tweak his dose, he needs to be at the doc's office to do it. That way, it's easier for the DR to see the response, and adjust it as needed. Does your AB take the pills together? I think you are supposed to if taking more than 1 at a time.

Good luck to your fiance, I know it's rough, but it will get better.

logo

I used Buprenex to get off metadone (45mg. for 2 yrs.). Took 1-8mg. 3 times a day. Went right into withdrawls. Went back & DR. said take 2-8mg. 3 times a day. I remember leaving the DR. office & took 2 right then. Before I got home I could feel the norphine (felt high) in the drug. It walked allover the Methadone. Suboxone is a mixture of Bupenorphine & a blocker. So anyone taking Suboxone is still taking Bupenorphine. After the taper down,I still had to come off the Buprenex( at the end he switched me to Suboxone). You can get blockers in pill form or a inplant with no opiates in it. Buprenex is Bupenorphine with no blocker. Suboxone & Burenex is the brand name for Bupernorphine in the US. Buernophine is made in the UK. It is all made in the UK & US drug co. just call it a different name. Please read this. Buprenophine and Opiod Addiction

Buprenophine is opiod analgesic with agonist/antagonist properties at the mu-receptor.
• Can elicit withdrawal if given concurrently with full opiod agonist
• Was originally schedule V as Buprenex, then changed to schedule III
• Does not show up on BWH opiod toxicology screen!

Use of buprenorphine (Buprenex) in pain management
• Used to treat moderate-severe pain
• Less respiratory depression, difficult to overdose
• Long half-life, disassociates slowly from receptors
• Not as addictive as other narcotics, yet still abusable

Suboxone is a sublingual preparation of buprenorphine/naloxone at 4:1 ratio
• Naloxone is present to prevent misuse of medication
• Available at 2mg/0.5mg and 8mg/2mg preparations
• According to SAMHSA, no doctors at Brigham have a license to prescribe it
o Only one doctor in Longwood has a license, John Knight at Childrens

Use of buprenophine (Subutex, Suboxone) in opiod addiction
Studies have been performed that show buprenophine can be used to acutely detoxify a person in 3 days. This comes from the UK.

Hope This Helps.

sobersusie

How can you get the Dr. to let you stay on Suboxone even after detox? I'm new here and have 17 days sober. I've been on Suboxone for 17 days. I started out on 2 ea 8 mg pills and I'm down to 1 ea 8 mg untill March 28th and then down to a half. I'm getting kind of scared to go under 1. I'm thinking I have no choice. I don't see what the big deal is. I don't get high and I used to take 26 Vicodin a day. Wouldn't you call this an improvement

exhman

OK, I just read this thread and there is a lot of misleading info. I am an ex heroin user who has tried most treatments to get off it (AA/NA, rapid detox, meth, rehab several times, and bup). I was detoxing from a high meth dose when I had to switch to Bup. (suboxone) because I moved out of the US. First off, the drug buprenophine contains both agonist and antagonist, i.e. it is both an opiate and an opiate blocker in one drug. I am not talking about the naloxone (or similar) that is mixed with bup. in drugs like suboxone, I am talking about straight bup. Subutex is only bup. Suboxone is bup. mixed with naloxone. The naloxone is only to prevent people from shooting it up, which some kids died from doing in France. It (the naloxone) is rendered inert by your stomach acid as long as you take it orally as intended. If you are taking anything containing buprenorphine you are still taking opiates, just like when taking methadone! If you take bup. for anything other than detoxing (i.e. more than 3 days) you will have withdrawal when you stop! Clinical studies are split between people saying coming off bup. is easier (ie the w/d) than coming off meth, and those who say it is the same (all subjects going from meth to bup. and having detoxed off meth before). When starting bup. from meth you have to be REALLY sick before you take your first dose, or you will be REALLY sorry. If you are already sick, you should feel relatively ok by the time you leave the docs office. He had me take 2mg (subutex) about every 15 min. until I took 8mg total, and then 4mg. at a time until 16mg total. At 16mg. I felt pretty "normal." I went from 35mg. of meth to 0mg. in 2 weeks and then nothing for 2 days, before taking my first dose of bup. All of this only applies to those going from meth to bup. For any other opiate (heroin, morphine, vicodin, oxycontin, etc.) you can start taking bup. no matter what "dose" you are taking (you don't have to wean down first). This is because meth is so powerful, and more importantly, has such a long half-life. I'm sure the same would apply for LAAM (similar to a super long lasting meth), if they still use LAAM. In the US, doctors need a special, separate, license to prescribe bup. You can take it for maintenance, but usually only through private methadone clinics. The many detox clinics/hospitals that use bup. for detox purposes will not give you scripts for maintenance. Bup. maintenance is VERY expensive. Unless you have good insurance, or are rich, you can pretty much forget it (just over $1000 for a 1 month supply at 32mg, which is the maximum dose they will give you, or is effective). I am currently down to 2mg. of suboxone) a day (a quarter of an 8mg. tablet), which wasn't too difficult to get down to. I still have about 20 full pills left (about 3 moths supply), and will get off of them when my supply runs out. I can't get bup. in the country I now live in. I have been taking bup. for 9 months and began at 16mg for my starting dose. I will let you know how the detox goes, but I am not looking forward to it. I hope this helps someone. All my info comes from various doctors I have seen, and medical papers. The impressions/opinions are from my personal experience.

REZ

Can I suggest that you take your discussions about specific drugs and specific drug detox regimens to the substance abuse forum. This forum is for Narcotics Anonymous--12 step related. Recovery in NA occurs through working the 12 steps and going to meetings. NA recovery is not pharmaceutical therapy.

Thank you.

exhman

Rez and those who thanked him, sorry if I upset you. I was, however, replying to a thread that was begun 3 years ago. I did not begin a thread on this subject. I am wondering however, why in the 3 years of this threads existence nobody has had a problem with it until my recent post, what are diehard NAers doing reading a thread about buprenorphine anyway?? Unfortunately, the same treatment doesn't work for everyone, so why don't you guys worry more about recovery itself, rather than the method of recovery. The important thing is that people recognize they have a problem and do whatever they have to do to try and solve it. I am not anti-NA/AA AT ALL, it has helped tons of people. Please don't give those who it hasn't worked for a hard time for trying to find something that works for them.

REZ

I hadn't read the thread earlier (3 years ago). I have nothing against a suboxone treatment program or a methadone program, but these programs are not what NA is about. This is an NA related site, plain and simple.

exhman

So let me get this straight, if someone asks a question or posts inaccurate/incorrect information and it is not about NA/AA I can't answer it (read: you dont want me to answer it)??? Should I tell them I know the answer, and would love to help, but unfortunately since this is an NA/AA forum I can't because REZ and a few others don't like it??? During the course of your recovery haven't you ever been told. "if you can use it, take it. If not, leave it." That's what I'm suggesting to you. Take whatever helps you from this forum. If there is anything that doesn't help you, just leave it alone, maybe it is something someone else wants/needs to take. I mean really, so you opened this thread not because you thought somethingin it might help you, but because you wanted to put your two cents in about the way things are supposed to be. Well, the US is supposed to be helping the Iraqis, not killing everything that moves, and Muslims are not supposed to commit suicide or kill innocent people. Most things aren't the way they are supposed to be. "TAKE WHAT YOU CAN USE, AND LEAVE THE REST!!"

exhman

Oh, and by the way I know a ton of people who are in a meth or bupprenorphine program AND in N/A, so I would argue that they ARE N/A "related" in the real world. Maybe not in the world of the "little blue book," but hey, real life is rarely black and white. I hope life treats you well REZ, and that you stay clean forever, and are able to help even one other person do the same. No hard feelings,huh. I am not trying to be an a*#hole.