Bupe Do any Suboxone doctors let you smoke weed?

[EarthBounded]

Hi all-

I see an addiction specialist/pain management doctor. I was using low amounts of opiods (approx 200mg / hydrocodone per month ) Up until an ACL reconstruction 3.5 months ago. For the first 2 1/2 months I used about 50mg Hydrocodone daily then I was put on 8mg suboxone they said I was an addict and all pain is in my head. However its been nearly 4 months and my pain is 9/10 I had an MRI last month and they said everything was normal, however the bupe only takes away my fever and doesn't help with pain, I feel like I'm getting addicted and smoking really helps but now I get UA's I am wondering if there is any way in hell to convince the doc to let me smoke or do I just taper off I have about 80mg left I could use to taper.

Many thanks
EB

 

[f33lg00d]

Mine doesn't I've heard they exist tho

 

[mabzie55]

Yes.

Most don't, mine does. But I don't smoke weed anymore so it doesn't really matter.

 

[EarthBounded]

I just feel super messed up heres why. When I take 8mg subs I have no fever and feel good ( basically saying the meds are doing what they are supposed to and dosage is good ) I feel like I would need 15mgs to make my leg pain go away, but I don't need that for my sickness... and my doc may or may not go up that high. However when I take 8mg and smoke its much more tolerable. I kind of feel like my problems are not being addressed I am nearly four months out of an ACL reconstruction and can't walk a quarter of a mile and they are saying its because of opiod induced hyper algesia. Any ideas what can I bring up to the doc, she is awesome I am going to counseling for hard drug abuse and seeing a psychiatrist every week tapering off benzos off opiods ( besides subs ) doing everything but my pain level is 8/10 or 9/10 constantly and I end up smoking weed because I have no other options. I have smoked the last two nights and if she finds out I'm scared she will take me off subs unless I go to inpatient but i feel I'm not getting treated correctly in the first place.

 

[purplehaze147]

I'm pretty sure most do. Both of my suboxone docs & also my methadone doc didn't have a problem with me smoking. Failing once for weed definitely won't get u kicked off, smoke & see what the doctor says about it.

Suboxone sucks for pain, doesn't help at all. Methadone would probably be better for your pain but it's a pain in the ass because you have to show up at a clinic every morning to get dosed. If ur pain is that bad & you can't get prescribed pain killers maybe buying dried poppy pods (they contain natural morphine & codeine... Opium) or kratom online is worth looking into. Whatever u do don't get into heroin or street oxycodone, shits bad & will ruin ur life trust me, u couldn't even handle the withdrawal from 50mg of hydrocodone imagine withdrawal from a 30-50 bag a day heroin habit... addiction progresses fast.

 

[EarthBounded]

I'm pretty sure most do. Both of my suboxone docs & also my methadone doc didn't have a problem with me smoking. Failing once for weed definitely won't get u kicked off, smoke & see what the doctor says about it.

Suboxone sucks for pain, doesn't help at all. Methadone would probably be better for your pain but it's a pain in the ass because you have to show up at a clinic every morning to get dosed. If ur pain is that bad & you can't get prescribed pain killers maybe buying dried poppy pods (they contain natural morphine & codeine... Opium) or kratom online is worth looking into. Whatever u do don't get into heroin or street oxycodone, shits bad & will ruin ur life trust me, u couldn't even handle the withdrawal from 50mg of hydrocodone imagine withdrawal from a 30-50 bag a day heroin habit... addiction progresses fast.

I hope your right. I really don't want any more pain killers or poppy pods/ kratom I have had a problem with those in the past I used to brew up poppy tea and make this bomb ass lemonade every day for work. It gets costly same with Kratom. For me its subs / Methadone or nothing but I guess you should say I need to smoke weed right now and thats after a lot of consideration I don't even smoke because I want to get high its because my leg is in such bad shape. Im gonna call her tomorrow I gotta be honest cause she UAs me constantly

 

[Lanni]

In MA I know that most Suboxone doctors won't let you smoke even if you have your medical card. However I go to Dr. in a harm reduction program and I've popped for Marijuana here and there and all that happens is when I see my counselor I tell him that I smoked because I was craving opiates and it helped. He signs me up for an extra appointment for 2 weeks to keep an eye on me and then nothing comes of it. I believe this is unique to harm reduction programs though.

 

[Soulgasm]

In Colorado they all do in my experience but I've never seen a sub doc in any other state or place. And I know whatcha mean... A little bit of weed seems to make buprenorphine work sooo much better, even for pain management. Idk much about acl injuries but maybe lyrica or gabapentin combined with ibuprofen could help somewhat.

 

[EarthBounded]

In Colorado they all do in my experience but I've never seen a sub doc in any other state or place. And I know whatcha mean... A little bit of weed seems to make buprenorphine work sooo much better, even for pain management. Idk much about acl injuries but maybe lyrica or gabapentin combined with ibuprofen could help somewhat.

I take celebrex, I did get off the gabapentin it helped a little but I'm on a lot of medication and neurontin is kind of overkill. I guess I just need to let her know how bad the pain is.

Even with 8mg subs, Celebrex, Magnesium, Lidocaine patches and Klonopin it is still an 8/10 pain. I don't know what else she can do? Methadone maybe. The kicker here is before I went in to get treated I tried Ketamine ( tested ) not from the doc... This was the only time post op I did not have any pain. Any relevance here with Hyperalgesia and NMDA-R Antagonist action?

I just want to get well. Even weed doesn't make it 100% tolerable right now its just a substitute Im realizing things might be more serious

 

[purplehaze147]

You say you're experiencing hyperalgesia. When you take an opioid do you actually experience more sensitivity to pain? That's what I always thought hyperalgesia was. If I'm right & your doctors telling the truth about you having it & not just using it as an excuse to take you off hydrocodone (I think he's using it as an excuse) then you should probably taper off suboxone too since it is an opioid.

Ketamine & other NDMA antagonists are great for taking away pain. Ketamine is used to operate on animals. It's usefulness has nothing to do with hyperalgesia, hyperalgesia is thought to be caused mainly by over stimulation of the nociceptin receptor, opioid receptor-like 1, found along the pain signaling pathways.

 

[rhun]

If you have a doctor that performs UAs probably not. Your best bet would be if you find a doctor who doesn't test, which was the case for my last doc. Not sure if there's leeway here in CA with a medical marijuana card. He didn't give you any information on his policies when you started seeing him?

I've heard dosing buprenorphine in smaller, more frequent doses is more effective for pain. So dose 1-2mg every few hours instead of a daily dose. Have you asked your doctor about non-narcotic options for pain since he's opposed to opioids?

You say you're experiencing hyperalgesia. When you take an opioid do you actually experience more sensitivity to pain? That's what I always thought hyperalgesia was. If I'm right & your doctors telling the truth about you having it & not just using it as an excuse to take you off hydrocodone (I think he's using it as an excuse) then you should probably taper off suboxone too since it is an opioid.

Many people get hypersensitivity to pain while taking a certain opioid, like oxycodone, but can take another opioid without any problems.

 

[The Doc.]

Hypersensitivity usually occurs from tolerance to the drug and when blood levels get below a certain point. Some patients experience pain from simple things like pulling their bed sheets over them etc. things you wouldn't think as painful.
With Suboxone tolerance doesn't increase the same way as with other opioids(oxycodone, heroin, morphine, hydromorphone etc.).

With Suboxone patients can stay on the same dose for decades without having to up the dose. The only reason someones tolerance would increase while on Suboxone is if they used another opiate on top or if they took more Suboxone than usual.

my doctor drug tests me but doesn't say anything about the weed and I've smoked daily since being on bupe. Its all up to the doctors discretion some have zero tolerance for any drug that gets you a buzz whereas some are more lenient.

Also I find bupe works best for me to be dosed 4-6 times a day since bupe is only effective on pain the first 4 hours after its taken. I take 0.5 mgs 4 times a day and it works great for pain with some Tylenol here and there to help. The cannabis helps immensely too and helps me sleep when the pain is bad. Bupe won't do shit taken once a day for pain its only good when taken at least every 6 hours but preferably every 4 hours if you are needing it for pain relief. Bupe will take care of an addict's dope sickness for 24-36 hours yet the pain relief only lasts for 4 hours which is why small doses are best it gives the bupe a chance to almost wear off before the next dose you take.

 

[m060mm]

My friend's (literally) does but conveniently he's out-of-pocket only. And he's a former addict but that shouldn't be held against his medical degree. It just speaks to the culture and wisdom.

 

[jdp12]

Mine dont care but he smokes weed and only drug tests me once a year. Got lucky last doc i had tested every month.

 

[EarthBounded]

Ok this information helped a lot, she only lets me dose every 12 hours, which from what I am reading means she is only treating me for dope sickness not pain. I just called and told the clinic I am going to taper off. Subs really don't do anything for me, I am not too worried about getting off Bupe I took 4mg today will take 3,2,1,.5,.25 and then jump.

I am still happy she helped me clean up a little bit.

EDIT: The clinic just called and they are having me go in today in about 5 hours. I don't know what to do, Im scared she is going to up my dose and I don't like the side effects, I think I just have to tell her no weed then no bupe. When it comes to pain Marijuana is literally helping more than the daily bupe also I constantly have a fever and sweat on subs.

I have come to the conclusion my leg is just not going to get better, and I would rather smoke for the rest of my life than take subs.

 

[EarthBounded]

Update:

My doctor saw me today, by the time I got to her both my legs were shaking and felt bruised. I was dizzy and had a hard time talking, she did a full inspection of my vitals legs and spine and concluded my symptoms are all from Benzo withdrawal and she said its the hardest thing I will ever have to go through.

She said she will never cut me off the program for weed but she said we will talk about it in the future for now I got the OK to smoke and it sounds like It will carry on, currently I'm on 10 meds total and I just smoked a heavy indica and it totally helped with my leg pains and side effects of other pharmas

She truly is amazing and I am lucky! She has saved me from Heavy opiod abuse, Cocaine, and benzo abuse, not to mention MDMA and a heavy LSD habit.

I feel so right and have treatment tomorrow and afterwords I am getting stoned. and not worrying

 

[boo-radley]

Hi all-

I see an addiction specialist/pain management doctor. I was using low amounts of opiods (approx 200mg / hydrocodone per month ) Up until an ACL reconstruction 3.5 months ago. For the first 2 1/2 months I used about 50mg Hydrocodone daily then I was put on 8mg suboxone they said I was an addict and all pain is in my head. However its been nearly 4 months and my pain is 9/10 I had an MRI last month and they said everything was normal, however the bupe only takes away my fever and doesn't help with pain, I feel like I'm getting addicted and smoking really helps but now I get UA's I am wondering if there is any way in hell to convince the doc to let me smoke or do I just taper off I have about 80mg left I could use to taper.

Many thanks
EB

it is very possible the pain could be in your head. a lot of times when drs cant find anything wrong from mris and such it could actually have to do with imbalanced chemicals in your brain like serotonin. i dont know why your dr would put you on subby if he thinks it's all in your head. putting you on subby is just going to give you a physical addiction as well. then you cant even use other opiates without getting sick. i know they give cymbalta a lot for these kinds of issues but i know a lot of people that felt sick from it and could not keep taking it. i would see a psychiatrist and see what they think. a lot of these pain management doctors just want to write you a script and take your money. i seen many friends go downhill from taking that path.

some doctors dont mind weed other are against it and will take you off all abuse potential meds if you piss dirty. a lot of doctors are cool with it if you are using legally and medically according to state law if your state allows it. you have to be honest with them. if your dr dont like it you can always find another dr. i was trying different prescription meds years ago and and the time we had no medical laws for pot. i told my doctor i smoked and he actually told me dont smoke any more or less than usual because you have to try and keep all variables the same. from personal experience i think weed is great for treating drug addiction. replacing one drug with another may not be the best option, but it is much safer than other routes. i have friends that use to treat alcoholism and it works very well. one of my good friends has had no alcohol for over a year now.

good luck!

 

[boo-radley]

Update:


My doctor saw me today, by the time I got to her both my legs were shaking and felt bruised. I was dizzy and had a hard time talking, she did a full inspection of my vitals legs and spine and concluded my symptoms are all from Benzo withdrawal and she said its the hardest thing I will ever have to go through.


She said she will never cut me off the program for weed but she said we will talk about it in the future for now I got the OK to smoke and it sounds like It will carry on, currently I'm on 10 meds total and I just smoked a heavy indica and it totally helped with my leg pains and side effects of other pharmas


She truly is amazing and I am lucky! She has saved me from Heavy opiod abuse, Cocaine, and benzo abuse, not to mention MDMA and a heavy LSD habit.


I feel so right and have treatment tomorrow and afterwords I am getting stoned. and not worrying

benzo withdrawals fucking suck hard core. you really need to ween yourself off slowly. some long acting ones like klonopin(pesonally i think they suck) you may not even get withdrawals for a few days. there was a time i was eating shorter acting benzos like candy. my friends and i would get our scripts and play board games with them. we would get so fucked up we could hardly finish a game and had no memory at the end. i would usually wake up sitting on the chair with no memory of what happen. luckily never had anything bad happen. they only thing i would remember during heavy use for phasing in and out of consciousness. it was not an unpleasant feeling, in fact it felt great. i decided to quit for a while one time and the next day i could not sleep at all. the next several days the same thing. i felt like i was going insane from lack of sleep. i felt sort of manic the whole time. sorta tired but could never sleep. my muscles would twitch too. my anxiety was way worse than normal. no food tasted good and it was hard to swallow. i felt like i was dying. i knew the stuff was very addictive, but i never thought i would get hooked so fast. i took a smaller dose after a few days and felt much better after it kicked in. i probably slept an entire day. every day after that i took a small dose and slowly lowered it. luckily i was able to ween myself off without going to the dr or detox. now i just take them as needed or if i have trouble sleeping. i like the feeling they give me especially at higher doses, but i'll never take them like i did before unless i need to under a doctors supervision.


if your dr think you have a benzo withdrawal then they should probably give you a longer acting one to ween yourself off. withdrawals after taking high doses for a long period of time can cause seizures and death. they are reported to be worse than heroin withdrawals. i never touched heroin so i couldnt say for sure from personal experience. the thing is though you should never take opiates with benzos. you can have respiratory failure and die. maybe small doses of both but i dont want to say for sure. your dr would know better than i would. just be honest so they can properly treat you. good luck!

 

[somnilicious]

My doctor prescribes me 90 10mg methadone and 60 klonopin and he lets me smoke weed. He also prescribes bupe.

 

[Crashing]

I just feel super messed up heres why. When I take 8mg subs I have no fever and feel good ( basically saying the meds are doing what they are supposed to and dosage is good ) I feel like I would need 15mgs to make my leg pain go away, but I don't need that for my sickness... and my doc may or may not go up that high. However when I take 8mg and smoke its much more tolerable. I kind of feel like my problems are not being addressed I am nearly four months out of an ACL reconstruction and can't walk a quarter of a mile and they are saying its because of opiod induced hyper algesia. Any ideas what can I bring up to the doc, she is awesome I am going to counseling for hard drug abuse and seeing a psychiatrist every week tapering off benzos off opiods ( besides subs ) doing everything but my pain level is 8/10 or 9/10 constantly and I end up smoking weed because I have no other options. I have smoked the last two nights and if she finds out I'm scared she will take me off subs unless I go to inpatient but i feel I'm not getting treated correctly in the first place.

It very well could be. When i was using opiates heavily, as the Doc previously mentioned simple normal things would be painful. My girlfriend would try to comfort me and caress my cheek and it would piss me the fuck off and it was literally a sensation of pain. Don't know how this could be possible, but opioids are bad news. It was very sad...

Anyway, i highly support your decision to smoke weed. It's unfortunate that the medical industry is so ass-backwards. I hope you can work this out in a way that doesn't require much hassle. Typically practitioners will show no 'mercy' to 'hard drug' addicts and I just hope that in the near future these issues will be more well understood/received by medical professionals. A lot of it wil probably depend on location as well. I wish you the best.

I love your location too, btw.