my doctor prescribed me 16 mg a day and gave me the choice, i can either take 8mg in the morning and 8mg in the evening or spread 4mg throughout the day. so let me give you a little background about me, starting 3 years ago i got addcited to roxy 30mg pills and would start at 3 a night. i only did them at night to save money. eventually after a month or so i was doing 8-15 a day and now this past year i was extremely addicted to heroin doing over 10 bags a day easily and still wanting more but forcing myself to sleep. so i would appreciate any help of which way to take my suboxone would benefit me most for my doctor gave me the option to do either! thank you so much!
Bupe I need help with a decision of dosing my subxone of 16mg a day!
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mareseatoats
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You should start out only trying one 8mg pill a day. 16mg is too much-and too much sub can actually make you feel like crap. Like a dirty distracted type feeling in your head, with a noticeable affect on normal vision/pinning of eyes which is way too physically noticeable & uncomfortable. The more you take, the less you will actually enjoy how you are feeling. It doesn't work like normal opiates. Take it slow. Start with 8mg's a day, or even a little less. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Save those extras you have on hand for an emergency, or if and when you might not be able to get to the doctor, or the pharmacy- for some unforeseen reason, or a natural disaster that might have places closed for a month, God forbid. But a good reason to save some of what you have.
Save those extras you have on hand for an emergency, or if and when you might not be able to get to the doctor, or the pharmacy- for some unforeseen reason, or a natural disaster that might have places closed for a month, God forbid. But a good reason to save some of what you have.
Non Nobis Solum
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Less is more with suboxone.. Take it in 2mg increments until you feel little to no WD... Trust me, when it's time to come off it you will thank me... Be well, stay safe and stay informed.
The Doc.
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Just because your prescribed such a ridiculous dose doesn't mean you have to take the whole thing. Like has been said when your in full on withdrawals take 2mgs then wait an hour and see how you feel. The reason we do this is so you don't take more than you need and because taking a large dose for the first time being addicted to heroin may cause nasty precipitated withdrawal from the Suboxone ripping the heroin from your opiate receptors.
Once you feel good I'm guessing around 8mgs or so then stop taking it and use that dose as your daily dose until you feel strong enough to drop your dose. You may need more but keep in mind the more you take the less you can feel the Suboxone working. Keep in mind staying at a high dose like 8mgs or more for an extended period will most likely cause bad side effects such as lethargy, headaches and constipation. So even if your staying on Suboxone a long time don't stay on a high dose very long something like 2mgs a day is a more reasonable dose to take daily for a long time. Plus the less you take each day the more opiate like effects will be felt from the Suboxone meaning you will feel higher if you keep your suboxone tolerance low.
Once you feel good I'm guessing around 8mgs or so then stop taking it and use that dose as your daily dose until you feel strong enough to drop your dose. You may need more but keep in mind the more you take the less you can feel the Suboxone working. Keep in mind staying at a high dose like 8mgs or more for an extended period will most likely cause bad side effects such as lethargy, headaches and constipation. So even if your staying on Suboxone a long time don't stay on a high dose very long something like 2mgs a day is a more reasonable dose to take daily for a long time. Plus the less you take each day the more opiate like effects will be felt from the Suboxone meaning you will feel higher if you keep your suboxone tolerance low.
The Doc.
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So you've been on Suboxone for quite a while then I take it?
Cravings are natural you need to find ways to take your mind off cravings somehow. You can take as much as you want but it will make no difference with cravings because the sub is at a ceiling point. It is there to help with physical withdrawal symptoms not eliminate all cravings for heroin .
Cravings are natural you need to find ways to take your mind off cravings somehow. You can take as much as you want but it will make no difference with cravings because the sub is at a ceiling point. It is there to help with physical withdrawal symptoms not eliminate all cravings for heroin .
Almost 2 weeks now. I just need some advice on how I should dose it. I already got put on 16mg a day so I have to stick with that until my follow up in about a week. Should I do 8mg around 9 or 10 in the morning when I wake up and the the other 8mg around 5 pm. Or should I do 4mg around 8 and thenot another 4mg around 12 and then another 4mg at 4 and another 4mg at 8ish? Which way do you think will help the most?
The Doc.
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The way I found helped me the best was to dose 3-4 times a day. It may work well for you too to continue dosing every 4 hours so your not always thinking about using dope.
For instance I found what worked best for me to stay off heroin was to dose every 4 hours. I take 0.3mgs at 8am then 0.3mgs again 4 hours later and so on. But that's my dose I take low doses like 1-2mgs a day max to help my pain better and to get a buzz. For your dose of 16mgs you could do 4mgs every 4 hours and see how that works for you. Although I'm sure 2 times a day would work an addicts mind needs that redose multiple times a day to feel satisfied.
Try that and look into hobbies and AA meetings to keep you clean because if you keep upping your dose of Suboxone it won't get you any higher its quite the opposite really.
For instance I found what worked best for me to stay off heroin was to dose every 4 hours. I take 0.3mgs at 8am then 0.3mgs again 4 hours later and so on. But that's my dose I take low doses like 1-2mgs a day max to help my pain better and to get a buzz. For your dose of 16mgs you could do 4mgs every 4 hours and see how that works for you. Although I'm sure 2 times a day would work an addicts mind needs that redose multiple times a day to feel satisfied.
Try that and look into hobbies and AA meetings to keep you clean because if you keep upping your dose of Suboxone it won't get you any higher its quite the opposite really.
Crashing
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The more times you dose, the more addicted you become. The brain gets used to 'spikes' in drug metabolites and with those feelings come expectations.
The best way to help yourself with sub is to either take a max of 4mg twice daily, or take 8mg once daily and taper from there. Taking 16mg per day will render you helplessly addicted to suboxone.
As mentioned, suboxone is entirely different than normal opioids and I believe it is far more addicting over time than heroin.
The best way to help yourself with sub is to either take a max of 4mg twice daily, or take 8mg once daily and taper from there. Taking 16mg per day will render you helplessly addicted to suboxone.
As mentioned, suboxone is entirely different than normal opioids and I believe it is far more addicting over time than heroin.
The Doc.
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Very true its a known fact the more times you dose the more addicted you become to the drug which is something to keep in mind. The only reason I say to split the doses up that way is because it does work well to stop cravings and can help you avoid being on a massive dose of 24mgs or something. I seen your already taking a dose of 16mgs and were planning to ask for another increase at the doctor so If it helps you stay off dope and on a lower dose with less side effects I say take your doses multiple times a day.
I sometimes regret dosing this way because I know im more addicted to the stuff due to the spikes in serum levels every 4 hours. But I also know it has kept me on a low dose of 1-2mgs sublingual a day with zero to little side effects instead of 8mgs(once daily) which caused me horrible side effects. I also know I relapsed all the time taking it once daily because I felt withdrawal at night and craved all day. Now since taking it multiple times a day I haven't relapsed once or had the urge to and feel no withdrawal symptoms at all even with my fast metabolism. Its all about how you look at it. If you want off the stuff in a month don't split doses like this because it just makes it harder to get off. If you want to take it to maintain and stay off dope using subs for a long time then I say if it works for you to take it this way then do what works.
Also your true 16mgs is going to be hell to come off cold turkey compared to heroin and is an extremely high dose to be taking. But the poster is already addicted to that dose and is actually wanting more added to the dose. Its not a very big deal though because once stable its really easy to taper the Suboxone down to a more reasonable daily dose such as 2-4 mgs a day.
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Thank you all for the advice and help! I am going to try the 4mg every 4 hours tommorow. I did 8mg this morning then 4mg at 3 and just took my last 4mg of the day about 30 minutes ago. I understand everything that has been ssaid in the above posts. My doctor told me the 16mg is the highest dose I'm allowed to get so I am going to have to work with it. Thank you all! So far today I feel the cravings have been way less since being pushed up to the 16mg a day about 3 days ago. I will post tommorow around the end of the day to update with the 4mg dosing every 4 hours to see how much better that works. I am already confident it will work better since I do look for satisfaction throughout the day. I appreciate all the advice, I am new to the bluelight forum and am already loving it. Again thank you for the advice and support, for that it what a recovering addict looks for the most! Thank you so much so far!
The Doc.
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Your welcome let me know how it goes.
I got your friend request so we can keep in touch and any questions you may have feel free to private message me or make a thread in the other drugs forum like you just did.
Hope you eventually beat the evil dope even if you have to take Suboxone for a few years its still way better. I haven't touched dope in a long time just Suboxone. I even turned free dope down a couple times something I never would have thought I'd do. No more angry mood swings and erratic behaviour like when I was on heroin and no more waking up dope sick 2-3 times a night having to get high to go back to sleep.
Good luck we also have a recovery support section for recovering addicts in our forum section so there's plenty of help for you on this wonderful site:D
Your never alone not with the internet and this wonderful community of people just like you and I at your disposal.
I got your friend request so we can keep in touch and any questions you may have feel free to private message me or make a thread in the other drugs forum like you just did.
Hope you eventually beat the evil dope even if you have to take Suboxone for a few years its still way better. I haven't touched dope in a long time just Suboxone. I even turned free dope down a couple times something I never would have thought I'd do. No more angry mood swings and erratic behaviour like when I was on heroin and no more waking up dope sick 2-3 times a night having to get high to go back to sleep.
Good luck we also have a recovery support section for recovering addicts in our forum section so there's plenty of help for you on this wonderful site:D
Your never alone not with the internet and this wonderful community of people just like you and I at your disposal.
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Thank you so much! and good for you! glad to meet somebody in almost the same struggle but more knowledgeable than i am! And yes i am still getting those mood swings and erratic behavior, waiting for them to eventually go away! this website is a blessing in disguise!
Hey everyone! Just a little update here. I have been feeling great doing the 4mg 4 times a day. but last night right before my last dose of the day, I had a seizure, it lasted a good couple minutes and was pretty severe. My parents were hysterical and we are still very confused as to why the seizure happened. Could it be from the suboxone or just from the withdrawals? We are all leaning toward the withdraw theory. I have a neurologist appointment at 1 oclock today, luclily I got in so soon. My mom had a appointment today for the neurologist at 1 so we just switched the appointment to for me. How lucky that she had a appointment scheduled for today! The day after my seizure! What a coincidence. But anyway I will post again with the results from the neurologist around 1 p.m.
The Doc.
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Withdrawal?? From benzos or something?
It may be unrelated to the Suboxone although I can't say for sure its not common to cause seizures. It does say if you have a history of brain tumours etc to tell your doctor before taking Suboxone but I don't find too many reports of this happening to Suboxone patients directly from the Suboxone. Do you take any other medication? Could be a drug interaction between Suboxone and another medicine.
If your talking about opiate withdrawal seizures don't normally occur with that either but your taking 16mgs of Suboxone a day so the withdrawals shouldn't be there or if they are its very minor aches and pains/anxiety.
See your doctor asap and let us know how it goes. We can't tell you for sure over the internet let a professional check you out.
It may be unrelated to the Suboxone although I can't say for sure its not common to cause seizures. It does say if you have a history of brain tumours etc to tell your doctor before taking Suboxone but I don't find too many reports of this happening to Suboxone patients directly from the Suboxone. Do you take any other medication? Could be a drug interaction between Suboxone and another medicine.
If your talking about opiate withdrawal seizures don't normally occur with that either but your taking 16mgs of Suboxone a day so the withdrawals shouldn't be there or if they are its very minor aches and pains/anxiety.
See your doctor asap and let us know how it goes. We can't tell you for sure over the internet let a professional check you out.
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Nuerologist is quite confused as well. He is leaning toward opiate withdrawal in genreal could cause this if you were taking large amounts of opiates which I would consider the amount I was consuming to be rather large.. but he scheduled me for an eeg. But also for more info I did take benzos with my suboxone a week prior to the seizure. According to people present during my seizure it was very violent and my brother had actually thought I died because how severe it got towards the end. Apparently I was foaming, stopped breathing and turning purple. I am just very lucky to still be here typing with you guys today. I am making an appointment THIS week with my subxone doctor to see if he has any answers for he was leaning to opiate withdrawal as well. Maybe my body is finally realizing the opiates are never coming back, I don't know haha my mind is going now. But I will post again after my next appointment
rhun
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There is no reason to dose buprenorphine more than once daily if you're taking it to treat addiction. One dose lasts over 24 hours. The only cases where I think multiple dosing is beneficial is when taking bupe for pain, in which case dosing every 4 hours is effective. Also, I've heard anecdotal evidence that when used off label for depression a dose in the morning followed by a second in the afternoon as a booster can work well.
In the OP's case though I don't see why anything else other than once daily would be used, unless I'm missing something? Redosing is more likely to cause addictive behavior in my opinion, the whole point is to get out of that cycle.
In the OP's case though I don't see why anything else other than once daily would be used, unless I'm missing something? Redosing is more likely to cause addictive behavior in my opinion, the whole point is to get out of that cycle.
The Doc.
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Lol Read all the posts above and you'll understand why I recommended 4×daily dosing we've already been over this.
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rhun
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^ Actually, I did read the posts above. Still see no reason to split doses. And just because it's been discussed doesn't mean it's been addressed.
Buprenorphine is not a magic pill that fixes everything, it's simply one piece in a puzzle with the big picture being recovery. If the OP is still having cravings at 16mg then other issues need to be addressed. The questions that need to be asked are: are you in active recovery? How are you addressing your addiction other than with bupe? What have you tried so far for your recovery and what worked/what didn't work (group counseling, 12 step, inpatient, outpatient, etc).
I can't just advocate increasing the amount of medication and the times given unless the other issues are addressed. Because the reality is bupe isn't just switching one addiction for another, there's a reason a partial agonist is used over a full agonist. There's going to be cravings and other things that come up.
Sorry to hear about your health issues OP, hope all is well. Do keep us updated.
Not sure why this was closed, if the OP requested it be closed then my apologies.
Buprenorphine is not a magic pill that fixes everything, it's simply one piece in a puzzle with the big picture being recovery. If the OP is still having cravings at 16mg then other issues need to be addressed. The questions that need to be asked are: are you in active recovery? How are you addressing your addiction other than with bupe? What have you tried so far for your recovery and what worked/what didn't work (group counseling, 12 step, inpatient, outpatient, etc).
I can't just advocate increasing the amount of medication and the times given unless the other issues are addressed. Because the reality is bupe isn't just switching one addiction for another, there's a reason a partial agonist is used over a full agonist. There's going to be cravings and other things that come up.
Sorry to hear about your health issues OP, hope all is well. Do keep us updated.
Not sure why this was closed, if the OP requested it be closed then my apologies.
The Doc.
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This was closed??? I never knew maybe I did by accident.
The 16mgs wasn't working once a day but it works better when the OP splits it up. I'm not going to judge the OP for that I say do what works its still easier than being on dope in my opinion. I take my doses 4 times a day and although I do have pain daily I'm prescribed it for addiction purposes and I don't let anybody tell me I'm doing it the wrong way i don't even think about heroin anymore so why would I go back to craving like a mother? Sure if taking it once daily works then fine stick to that but I believe the OP was still having some cravings and I did recommend counsling, AA etc. That's also not a cure all though sure finding out your childhood wasn't perfect is nice and all but you go back out into the real world and the cravings hit again. Rhun didn't you say you took 32mgs a day?
I don't want to argue about it further you have your opinion on the matter and I have mine but unless the OP is doing serious harm I don't see a reason to tell her that she shouldn't be dosing in the way that works for her.
To the OP I hope the doctors visit goes okay but I don't think it could be opiate withdrawal because well Suboxone is a strong opioid and you were taking it at the time. It could be anything no sense trying to guess just see the doctor and don't leave out any details on what you've taken and your history. Come back and let us know how it goes.
All the best
The 16mgs wasn't working once a day but it works better when the OP splits it up. I'm not going to judge the OP for that I say do what works its still easier than being on dope in my opinion. I take my doses 4 times a day and although I do have pain daily I'm prescribed it for addiction purposes and I don't let anybody tell me I'm doing it the wrong way i don't even think about heroin anymore so why would I go back to craving like a mother? Sure if taking it once daily works then fine stick to that but I believe the OP was still having some cravings and I did recommend counsling, AA etc. That's also not a cure all though sure finding out your childhood wasn't perfect is nice and all but you go back out into the real world and the cravings hit again. Rhun didn't you say you took 32mgs a day?
I don't want to argue about it further you have your opinion on the matter and I have mine but unless the OP is doing serious harm I don't see a reason to tell her that she shouldn't be dosing in the way that works for her.
To the OP I hope the doctors visit goes okay but I don't think it could be opiate withdrawal because well Suboxone is a strong opioid and you were taking it at the time. It could be anything no sense trying to guess just see the doctor and don't leave out any details on what you've taken and your history. Come back and let us know how it goes.
All the best
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