Bupe Bizzare side effects from Suboxone; anyone have any idea what's going on?

I just started on Suboxone 4 days ago because I have an addiction to IV dilaudid and wasn't able to stop. It seems to be working as far as making my cravings manageable; this is the longest I've gone in 4 months without using, but some of the side effects I'm having are really difficult to cope with, the strangest one by far being that I'm having an extremely hard time swallowing. It's definitely the suboxone doing it, since this happens about an hour or so after taking it and begins to improve after 6 hours and within 12 hours I'm usually capable of eating again. I've had this issue with other opioids a fair bit but only after large doses and never so extreme that I can't swallow any food. I've choked on everything I've attempted to eat and can't get anything down without a massive amount of liquid. I called the pharmacist and my doctor and they're both baffled by this, said they've never heard of opioids causing this and insisted that it's a coincidence. On top of that I'm really absent-minded, I have a lot of brain fog and I'm extremely forgetful when I'm on it. I feel like I've literally lost half my IQ points. I'm also passing out all the time and can't focus my eyes. No other opioid has ever made me feel this way, I actually felt more aware, alert and stimulated from them which is a big reason they were so appealing to me. I can't stop taking the suboxone because it's making my cravings manageable, but I'm hoping these symptoms will improve after a while. They refuse to decrease my dose until I see my doctor next week, and I'm having a hard time functioning. I'm thinking of swallowing the pill next time so I get considerably less of the drug but I'm afraid I'll get bad cravings again if I do. Has anyone else had similar problems, and how did you deal with them?

jhow much dilaudid roughly and how much suboxone holds roughly ur feelings? HONESTLY, i HATE!! to suggest..but intanasal it, find a range, walgreens has smallest generics 2 yrs ago.. and u just need to know you will tolerate quick and find what u usualy need. if it sucks holdin mouth use like me when i used to etc.. just wait long time cuz it dont absorb till not bitter ish . lame too. sorry to say snort for literal benefits . id not reallly suggest ANYTHING really but for subs, just let a small pills ez dosage be adjusted via you. da bawse. good luck man

Don't follow that advice. It seems its working well for you to keep from using dilaudid. Think of it as trading one thing for another, as in, this is just a side effect(along with the inability to focus eyes, etc.) in exchange for the expensive/debilitating pill use. Don't switch to snorting , it will just ramp up your tolerance up, will make it feel more like your drug of choice (in all the bad ways) and it will do nothing to minimize these side effects. What is a possibility right now is, perhaps ask your prescribing doctor about lowering your dosage, this will minomize the side effects but also you must heal your body, exercise, healthy food(not just healthy but things that will give you the proper nutrition), perhaps get involved with more extra activities that aren't based around drug use. I dunno. Eventually though if you stick to it the side effects become manageable, at least compared to the runaway train of full agonist opioids(prescription or otherwise).

I get this from my psych meds. Have you tried chewing gum or taking one or two not more of benadyrl. Or you could take h2 blocker like pepcid Or a nondrowsy antihistamine like certizine or visteril.

I think opioids and other amines that closely mimic chemicals in your brain activate mast cells and trigger histamine which causes your throat to feel like its closing up and bind to chemical sensors in your stomach making release more stuff. But im no doctor im guessing lol

I'm not gonna follow that advice. I have tried snorting a quarter of one out of curiosity (I got in a debate with my doctor over whether the naloxone in it could actually bind to receptors and cause withdrawal if someone snorted it; it doesn't) and it doesn't make much of a difference aside from the amount needed for the same effect. It seems to hit faster too, but that's it. I'm hoping that once I get used to it I'll stop feeling so spaced out but right now it feels like it's making me slow and some of my depersonalization/derealization symptoms are coming back. Right now I don't have the energy or desire to do very much at all, I'm just totally zapped.

Hmm, you say this happens with other opiates as well. Do you think it's a type of muscle spasm, or do you get muscle spasms elsewhere? I know dystonic reactions aren't often reported with suboxone, but reading this made me question whether it could be that.

No I don't get muscle spasms anywhere else, I usually have a hard time swallowing food when I take opiates, but only after taking a lot.

Hey! Are you taking any other sort of drugs or medication (e.g. Antidepressants... Anything)? I have and have had odd side-effects from Buprenorphine (8mg per day) like myoclonic jerks in the whole body, as well as tremor, and often I feel like it's very hard to breathe - kinda like I just can't get a full and satisfying breath. I hate that the most actually. Saying that though, I also suffer from general anxiety a lot, so it's hard to tell whether these symptoms are caused by the anxiety, or the Buprenorphine. I'm quite sure though, that I haven't had these kind of symptoms before starting to take Buprenorphine... I'd like to add that recently I've come across a piece of information (here on Bluelight actually: http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/658561-Suboxone-Patients-at-High-Risk-for-Serotonin-Syndrome) that says Suboxone can cause Serotonin syndrome (read up about it on Wikipedia). This can potentially be life-threatening. I don't want to scare you, and I'm definitely no doctor, but I just wanted to make sure that you're aware of that. I have absolutely no idea if your problems swallowing can have anything to do with that, but perhaps it's worth mentioning to your doctor? Also, if you're only taking Buprenorphine (especially at that low dose - people here get upto 32mg, it's insane, and can't be good) and your symptoms are due to Serotonin symptom, then it most certainly is only very mild. According to Wikipedia they use some Serotonin Antagonist medication to treat this. But I guess they only do that in severe cases. Hope I could help. Take care! P.S.: I can't seem to edit the formatting of my post. I'm really sorry! I hope it doesn't suck too much to read. Or maybe it's just my PC. No idea. Sorry anyways. I'll make sure to add more paragraphs by hitting "Enter" more often next time haha.

Suboxone works best sublingual. Snorting it is a waste, IVing it is completely a waste as it is designed so.

I had a few weeks that didn't feel right when I started Subs coming off Heroin. You may be on a higher dose than you need? Consult your doc about perhaps taking less if that is the case.
My hands were extremely shaky the first week on subs, everyone reacts differently... for you, its effecting your throat.
I also can barely remember the first week, when I started tapering reality got a bit clearer.

Sounds like your mind and body are just making the transfer. Give it more time. It IS really a better option than IVing dilaudid. IVing dilaudid is so dangerous.

Best to you!

Could it be the naloxene? Haven't read all the other replies yet. I don't get the same symptoms as you but I get very sick and migraines if I spit out what's left after I dose.

I doubt it's due to the Naloxone:

AFAIK, Buprenorphine has a higher binding affinity to the mu-opioid receptor than Naloxone... This has been discussed on BL a few times. Maye use the search, or Google. I'm sure you'll find some information. Maybe your dosages are just too high? http://www.bluelight.org/i/s/confused.gif