Ashamedof

I normally post over in the substance abuse thread and glad to know this forum exists! I just started suboxone as of yesterday morning. I'm prescribed 16mgs a day for 30 days then we reduce. I was feeling pretty great till about 10pm last night? My vision started getting blurry, everything seemed really bright, I felt like I had to squint? Because I thought I was having some severe reaction, I started to give myself a panic attack! I didn't want to take a klonopin because I know you can die mixing the 2 and this medicine is brand new to my body so I started cleaning..for some reason that helps my anxiety. After about an hour or so, I started to calm down and surprisingly I fell asleep with no issues. I woke up an hour ago and just took half of the 8mg strip. I'm feeling fine but I didn't start to feel "weird" till the evening. Are these side effects normal in the beginning? Do you think a smaller dose will help? I know the anxiety can be contributed to me not having oxycodone or just my mind telling me I'm gonna die cause of the vision issues. Thanks everyone!

cleaninalabama

Ashamed-

congrats for taking the step to subs. I did not have any of those side effects when I first started. I would say to give your doctor's office a call and ask them what they suggest. Having an open relationship wight he doctor is essential and can really help. Talk to them about taking less or more (if you need it) so that they can know what is working and tailor their plan to you. Good luck!

Ashamedof

Thank you for the response! My anxiety was so high earlier when I went to walmart that I took a tiny piece of a klonopin because I thought I was going insane!! It calmed me down and I feel perfectly fine now. I just hope this anxiety calms down, it's driving me nutty. The medicine is great besides that. I did get a message back from my dr but she wasn't much help just told me not to take any benzos. Anything natural that helps with anxiety? I can't even drive without going into full blown panic. I'm stuck at my house because it's the only place I feel safe...

cleaninLI

Ashamedof I had lots of anxiety when I switched to sub. I assumed it was just from being off my usual DOC and my dopamine levels were lower. Mindfulness was a life saver. It's the only thing that worked for me. Now if I feel a panic attack coming on I take my mind someplace else....a very, beautiful serene place.....a place where there is nothing but calm and tranquility. It takes time to learn this technique....but I'm so happy I did!

Ashamedof

Cleanin, I'm looking Into that now. I wonder if YouTube has videos I can follow? I was wondering if it's the subs or just my chemicals all wacky! I guess it's a combination of everything. When did yours subside?

cleaninalabama

I agree with cleaninli, look for some guided meditations online or on youtube and use those to calm down. Archive.org has lots of them
https://archive.org/search.php?query...ensource_audio

Ashamedof

Thank you so much cleanin, I'm looking it up now!

bluehour

Hi ashamedof - I wrote before that I have a few experiences with subs. I am going to tell you what I think, but obviously it is not medical advice.

16 mgs., for a whole month especially, sounds kind of high to me. Suboxone docs are notorious for starting/ keeping patients on too high a dose. They only have to take a weekend seminar and that is basically their training on this medication. I am not saying they are bad docs, they just know what they are told. They want you on subs for realsies, no messing around. Prescribing to the addict population is tricky, and they want to make sure you are not able to use your DOC. Thus the high doses. Even though from my experience even a low dose of subs will do just that as well, just doesn't block for as long.

I played with my dose up and down, my script was pretty lax, and I started at 12 and was on 4mgs. by my third week, iirc. I am not recommending this. Definitely tell your doc what is up, and maybe ask about trying different doses. My doc was an opiate user and he used suboxone himself. He knew more about it than anyone I have ever met, and basically encouraged me to find my own dose. Most docs are not like that, so I don't want you upsetting yours.

Also, keep it under your tongue. In the beginning I had tablets and would suck on them, flip them around. That is not correct! Lol. Films are easier to keep in place.

Spitting out the saliva helped too. I don't know if it is just a myth, but supposedly the nax can upset your body from being in the stomach.

So I am not totally not saying your dose is too high, but it is a possibility. Just talk to your doc. Let us know!

Ashamedof

Thank you blue! I did lower my dose, I seem to do well with just 8-12mg but I'm worried my dr will check my levels and it won't be high enough and I'll get kicked off the program. Do you know if exact levels are checked? My anxiety has also calmed down a ton! I'm thinking my body is adjusting and so far, I'm pretty happy with it. I do notice that I am quite angry lately but again that could be my body and brain craving my oxycodone. I'm still having cravings which I know is all mental...I'm going to try and find a AA meeting today because I heard most people enjoy them better than NA which I didn't really care for? This is costing me money we don't have but it's much less than what my addiction was costing me!! I'm at day 6 right now and feel good. I'm having slight issues with he bathroom which I see is common side effect. My pupils also get small like I'm on oxy, I'm assuming that's normal too?

I did spit out the saliva yesterday and I didn't get a headache! Thank you for the tip! It actually helped.

Oh the first strip I took got stuck to my teeth and was a waste lol! I've since learned how to do it. Haha. Trial and error.

IEpiphany

thanks for the information

youngconfused

I always try to take the smallest dose possible of a sub just because it's so strong... Usually I feel relief and don't need to take anymore just a thought and I haven't experienced anything like that while taking them but I do get very mad and agitated on subs way more than I usually would be anyone have any tips for controlling it? I know when I'm doing it but I can't stop myself I'm very sensitive easily upset does any one else have this?

jojo555

I started taking subs 10 days ago. I had a similar reaction the first day, I thought it was counteraction to my methadone because I was too terrified to wait to go into withdrawals to take them. I took 16 mg subs and about 20 minutes later I started sweating, panicked, and knew I was going to go into a full withdrawal.

Well, about 20 minutes later the entire thing passed. The next day I had no problems at all with the 16 mg. The following day I took only 8 and it has been pretty simple since them. I took 4 the next day, etc. etc. I was down to about 2 in 8 days, but for some reason today I'm feeling extremely anxious.

I think a lot of what we experience is psychological. I really work hard to stay in touch with my feelings, both the physical and emotional side. I can think hard enough about going into withdrawals and immediately start getting sick to my stomach. The power of positive thinking is unbelieveable.

So yes, I think that there is a physical side to what you are experiencing, but also an emotional reaction to the panic we all feel as addicts thinking about withdrawal. I know I do.

jojo555

Young,

I get really agitated and mad on subs too. I have a theory about that one. LOL.

Actually, I think that our bodies and our minds are so used to dealing with things in a state of euphoria that when we finally come down and back to reality, it sets off a whole bunch of feelings. Either I'm mad as heck or crying at a movie. It seems to be one or the other lately.

I believe that we have dealt with life for so long being high that once we come down, all the emotions that the drugs were masking have an outlet finally and it comes out in a whole bunch of different ways. Just a thought.

nodl5

be careful not to take anything that might mess up a urine test. feeling a bit light headed is better than what you'd feel like without subs. lots of good advise here. i'm no sub doc, but it should not hurt to try lower doses.

heyzeus

i take 16 mg of bup per day and it is very very strong for me. i had HUGE reactions when i started sub - turns out I was physically allergic to the narcan. hives/blackouts/confusion, the whole bit.
i actually think that even though i am an opiate addict in recovery, that i have been mildly allergic to opiates all along.
anyway, on bup i still feel very strongly affected by the drug and it is simply the high dose i think. 16mg is too much. for me anyway...