suboxone's starting to make me sick
 

i've been feeling alright since i started my suboxone yesterday. but i just had to call out of work because i'm starting to feel sick.

i feel tired, and nauseous. i feel like i'm trashed. is this normal?? i really don't like feeling this way. i have to take another dose in a few hours. is there anything i can do to feel better?

Shelly--how many mgs are you on and how often are you taking it? The problem is differentiating from are you experiencing WD symptoms or symptoms of too high a sub dose, so please let us know how many mgs of the subs and how often--we can help you more than.

Hey Shelly ... welcome to SR.com :)

Might I suggest ... calling your doctor?

And also, maybe just stick to one thread? How about we make it this one?

It definitely can take a little bit for your body to adjust to the subs, and also to figure out the right dosage. Taking too much (or too little) can actually make you feel pretty weird and yucky. Tell me about your habit leading up to your getting on the subs, and the process/timeline of how you got onto it over the past two days, and how much subs you're now taking, and then maybe I can offer some guidance to you ... been on subs a NUMBER of times, myself.

Bottom-line, though, expect it to take from between 24 and 48 hours from your last dose of ANY 'real' opioid before you start feeling 'normal' again from just the subs. THat's assuming you haven't had any methadone in the last 10 days, cause that can complicate the transition dramatically.

You also may be getting sick. I began mine a few springs ago and springs here in AK are still cold and flu season. I was sick as a dog with a URI, and eventually pneumonia. I thought it was the meds until I landed in the hospital with the pneumonia. I thought I was going to die but the ER doc and my rehab doc chatted on the phone and in a few days I felt much better.

I'd call your doctor but always keep in mind, just because we are addicts and dealing with that issue doesn't mean that the regular things like colds and flu can't catch us off guard.

It sounds like you are having the same effect that most without a tolerence have when they take subs. My first question is what was your daily usage and of what drug? I was in rehab with a chick who had a vicoden habit of "5 pills every other day"- not to downplay the seriousness of vikes, but the dr. gave her 12mg of subs daily, and she was wasted for like the first 5 days.

Suboxone IS a strong opiate, and it has the effects of such. The beauty behind subs is that in a highly opiate tolerant person, they simply don't get sick, they don't get high either. And no there's really nothing you can do to take the effect of the subs away.

Hate to say it, but it sounds to me like your dr. is actually raising your tolerance, not really a good thing. You probably wanna contact him, like right now.

4mg every 12 hrs.

i was taking 5 to maybe 8 *depending on my stash and mood* a day for almost the past year. was able to arrange for my insurance to cover the cost of the program on wednesday, and went to the doc on thursday at ten a.m.. had 40mg worth of lortabs about 16 hrs before i took my first dose of 4mg suboxone at the Dr.s office. Told him all of this, including my habit up until the time of treatment. so, he started me on 4mg that day with another 4mg 12 hrs later. this is what i have been on since going to the doctor.

i did call his office twice yesterday. they said to keep taking it as directed and to come in for my follow up as planned monday at eleven a.m..

this stuff is pretty yucky tasting, but it beats the heck out of abusing narcotics! hope this info helped!

How much are you taking and how often? When I had first started on Suboxone my doc had me on 1 8mg tablet 2x daily. The first day that I did that, I kept falling asleep at my desk and I ended up vomiting. My doc said to cut the dosage down by a quarter until I started to not get sick. Of course, it could also be from part of the w/d because of everyone is different but it really seems like maybe you just need to find the right dosage for you. I hope you feel better!

How did you feel after you took your first 4mg dose? Did you start feeling sick after that first one or after you had taken the next dose 12hrs later?

yeah, they started me on 4mg every 12 hours. i felt pretty good after my first dose in the office. i even took a little nap while they were monitoring me. i left and had no bad feelings except for a little bit of wooziness, and being a little uncoordinated. then i took my 2nd dose that evening. i went to bed around one a.m. and woke up at three thinking that i was dying. i wanted to go to the hospital, but i finally threw up about six times, and felt better. called the doc the next day and they said it was because i had an alcoholic drink that night.

i haven't thrown up since then, but i do get a little nauseous here and there. plus i'll start to nod off if i don't keep active. i feel much better than i did last night, but the day isn't over yet!

It really does sound like your does is too high. Although the best thing is to check with your doctor but I do suggest you just monitor yourself, if the time comes when you are supposed to take your second dose but you still feel fine, then don't take it yet. When you start to feel like it is wearing off, then take the second dose. I hope you keep feeling better!!

I agree, good advice!

...but don't hesitate to call your dr.

i visited my doc today for my first follow up since starting the subs. he said to take them only when i feel like i need them, and that i can lower my dose myself to suit my needs. he says the less i take the better as for when i come off of the sub.

i think i'm going to go with a quarter as needed. try to space it out at least six hrs apart. i definitely want to get off of them asap, because i understand the withdrawals from them can be pretty nasty!

Hi Shel,
I remember when I started out on Sub, I was on 8mg, and for the first couple of weeks, I had some nausea and headaches.It did go away after that.My doctor said that it is common for patients who are just starting out- with the body adjusting and all.
Also, please don't rush your recovery.I understand wanting life back to normal, but if you try to get off Sub before you have done some serious work in recovery- you might experience some problems.Your addiction did not happen overnight either, so just give yourself time to heal inside and out.Take care.

ShellySprinkle---I just wanted to make a comment about your sub dosing. I do not agree with what the doctor is telling you about taking them only 'when needed'. Subs are not meant to be taken on an as needed basis but rather on a scheduled basis of sorts. Most users take them either once or twice a day. By taking them as needed, you are still acting as an addict would--when you start feeling like you want to use, you take a pill (sound familiar--when you started feeling down or whatever, you took an oxy or whatever your doc is). The point is, you do not want to be using subs the same way you would use your doc which would be whenever you felt you needed it. Does this make sense? The best thing to do, if you are going to take a quarter (2mg) at least 6 hours apart (for a total of 8mg per day if needed) then you really should take either 4mg in the a.m. and 4mg in the p.m. or you can dose all 8 mg at the same time (1 pill). In the beginning as you're finding out what dose works well for you, it is okay to take it a little more often through the day but just be sure once you find your right dose (the lowest dose to keep the wd and cravings at bay) that you make it so you are only taking the subs once or twice a day. The point is to get you out of the addict frame of mind of wanting to take a pill whenever you feel like it to make you feel better. BV will probably be along and he may explain it a little better than I can. There is nothing wrong with the way you want to do it, but just be careful. Also, the half-life of the drug is so long (upwards of 36 hours) that it really does not matter what time of day you take it, but it is important to get in a routine...IMO. When I started the md told me to take 4mg as needed every 2-3 hours. Once i settled on a dose, then I took it twice a day--when I woke up in the morning and right before bed at night. I wish you the best of luck--sounds like youre on the right track. Just please, be sure to add support groups, therapy, anything that will help you with your recovery. Subs alone will not keep you from using again....they are just there to help you through the physical wd and cravings...you must do the hard work, and I know you can do it!!! Keep posting and let us know how you're doing!!

Sunflower is totally correct, listen to her!!:ghug

Shelly--another thing I wanted to add but my post didnt give me the option to edit. You say you want to get off the subs ASAP--are the fears of WD the only reason? Are you on a time constraint from some reason or another? The biggest concern people have with subs is that they will go through wd when quitting. However, this does not have to be the case. Tapering is the most important thing. You do not go from 8mg one day to 2 mg the next day, etc. Most people drop maybe 1-2mg at the most every week or longer. From what I've read, I'll sum it up by saying on average a good taper wtih good results with the most minimal of wd effects is at least a month. Now, that is just from what people have posted who have not experienced wd. People do it faster than that a lot, but they also post horrendous stories of how awful it was. Look at it this way--if your doc was oxys and you were taking 200mg/day (just an example), if you were to steadily and slowly decrease that amount by let's say 5mg/day, you would have minimal wd--it would take in this case 40 days to get off of it, but you would not be in any discomfort. However, if you take 200mg/day and then the next day take 100mg then 50 mg you are going to have wd symptoms. This is the same for subs...the slower you go with the taper, the better it will be for you physically. There is not a rush to get off of them. Do not read into all of the hype about how awful it is to stop using them. It is this erroneous information that keeps people from starting them in the first place. Your doctor should work with you to establish a tapering schedule. If you were to start feeling some wd, then you add a little bit back and then slow down a little more. I've read posts from people who were literally slicing those 8mg pills into 16 pieces--that's how slowly they went. The point is, there is no rush. Whether you take the subs for 1 week or 1 year should not matter. What does matter is do you have a recovery plan in place for when you are not on the subs--will you be able to handle cravings shoudl they arise. You need to have all the neccessary things at your disposal to help in your recovery for when you do stop using the subs. Please, don't be in a rush to get off of them--take it a day at a time and let them work with you. You will know when it is the right time to stop taking them and at that point you will have the knowledge, hopefully from what I've said here and from what others will say, to taper properly and not go into any type of wd. Lastly, when you do decide that it's time to stop, keep posting on here and we can guide you through it and of course offer support.

are these suboxone the same as our subutex? buprenorphine?

if they are, 3 days. i know it feels like the end of the ******* world, 3 days. but serious, 3 days it is, then you'll be well over the worst.

stick at it, they're the best thing since sliced bread (well, they are for me anyway) (oh, apart from my kid of course, she's better than any medication..oops)

suboxone is the same as subutex, only it has narcan added to it to keep you from abusing it.

sorry it took so long to get back to this post! yeah, the wd's have me a little freaked out. and i should elaborate on the "only taking them when i need them" comment. my doc meant only when i am suffering from withdrawls.

i have a personal therapist, but i have not seen him for a few weeks. he isn't even aware of my addiction. i could maybe find an AA meeting somewhere close, but it would have to be when i'm off of work.