Opioids Methadone/Buprenorphine Equivalency
- Thread starter Azulon
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HeadphonesandLSD
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Clinics consider 30mg of methadone to be equivalent to the ceiling of bupe. Which would be 8-16mg. In my experience clinics are very liberal with subs and have no problems giving a patient with almost no tolerance 16-24mg daily. They also refuse to switch you from methadone over to bupe until you've gotten down to 30-40mg or so and claim bupe can not cover the withdrawals above that.
If I were looking to make the jump I would start with 8mg of bupe after I'd gone into withdrawal from methadone. Since methadone lingers around so long it might take 2 days or more before you're safe to dose the bupe. Although I've managed to jump from long acting opioids to bupe within 24 hours this isn't the way it works for everyone. If you're one of the unlucky ones you can feel really shitty until precipitated withdrawals end.
Once you've switched experiment with lower doses of bupe. With bupe less is always more. Lots of people find they can get by with doses far lower than what clinics prescribe. I can personally get by on 0.5-1mg of bupe daily. I usually take 1mg split into two doses 12 hours apart. One when I get up and another in the afternoon.
If I were looking to make the jump I would start with 8mg of bupe after I'd gone into withdrawal from methadone. Since methadone lingers around so long it might take 2 days or more before you're safe to dose the bupe. Although I've managed to jump from long acting opioids to bupe within 24 hours this isn't the way it works for everyone. If you're one of the unlucky ones you can feel really shitty until precipitated withdrawals end.
Once you've switched experiment with lower doses of bupe. With bupe less is always more. Lots of people find they can get by with doses far lower than what clinics prescribe. I can personally get by on 0.5-1mg of bupe daily. I usually take 1mg split into two doses 12 hours apart. One when I get up and another in the afternoon.
HeadphonesandLSD
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Oh another thing you should be aware of with bupe from the clinic. They can not prescribe you anything less than 8mg daily from what I've seen. Every patient is on 8mg, 16mg, or 24mg. They prescribe you based on the strips and not the milligram dosage. In my experience the best way to deal with them is to take whatever they give you during induction if they want you to dose at the clinic itself. Since you'll get take homes upfront unlike the methadone clinic you can just take whatever you want at home without telling them and stockpile whatever is left over. At the clinic I went to they do not check the amount of bupe in your system when you're drug tested they just look to make sure you're taking bupe and not other drugs like thc, benzos, or whatever else.
Most people I know are given a prescription for 2 weeks worth of whatever dose the clinic gives them. In my case that was 14 8mg strips of bupe. Since I only took 2-4mg daily (I took higher doses back then) this 2 week supply ended up becoming a 4 week supply. This is why bupe is so common on the street now. The majority of people prescribed it are not taking the full dose they're given.
I've gotten my daily dose so low now that one 8mg strip lasts me an entire week. So for every 7 I get from the clinic I get 6 left over.
You'll have to experiment yourself and figure out your own level with bupe. It isn't like methadone. They aren't making you take it in front of them and line up for the tin man. I did not make it with the clinic long. I didn't see the point in spending $400+ a month, pissing in front of people, attending group with junkies, and making the trip into the city every two weeks when I could simply purchase some bupe off the street for cheaper and not have to deal with all the BS they make you go through.
Most people I know are given a prescription for 2 weeks worth of whatever dose the clinic gives them. In my case that was 14 8mg strips of bupe. Since I only took 2-4mg daily (I took higher doses back then) this 2 week supply ended up becoming a 4 week supply. This is why bupe is so common on the street now. The majority of people prescribed it are not taking the full dose they're given.
I've gotten my daily dose so low now that one 8mg strip lasts me an entire week. So for every 7 I get from the clinic I get 6 left over.
You'll have to experiment yourself and figure out your own level with bupe. It isn't like methadone. They aren't making you take it in front of them and line up for the tin man. I did not make it with the clinic long. I didn't see the point in spending $400+ a month, pissing in front of people, attending group with junkies, and making the trip into the city every two weeks when I could simply purchase some bupe off the street for cheaper and not have to deal with all the BS they make you go through.
Thanks for your reply. I appreciate it. I just went to one of those online clinics via telemedicine and got an entire months supply of 8mg strips BID. Crazy to me!
Anyway I get a month of methadone at a time, 30mg qd. 22 and 1/4 brand name Methadose pills. I have ended up double dosing about 7 times out of the month so that's why I got the bupre.
Anyway I get a month of methadone at a time, 30mg qd. 22 and 1/4 brand name Methadose pills. I have ended up double dosing about 7 times out of the month so that's why I got the bupre.
CfZrx
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I have never heard
Online clinics?! Interesting! I wonder if those are helping reduce harm, or amplifying the problems?