How does Suboxone help?

[Altered Perception]

I've been on a daily dose of Oxycodone for 4 years for my chronic pain. I want to take a break but I am addicted and I have been having withdrawals trying to cut down. I heard about Suboxone or Methadone and I thought maybe it could help me but reading further on it I am confused now because apparently its just a replacement rather then a fix.

I don't understand how Suboxone can help me or anyone else if it means that I can get addicted to Suboxone and will still have withdrawals if I stop the Suboxone. That sounds like it defeats the whole purpose of switching to Suboxone. I can just stay addicted to Oxycodone or I can switch to Suboxone and stay addicted to that instead, but what will I gain in doing so? isn't that right? or is there something I am missing about this? Suboxone sounds like cigarettes minus the nicotine rush but with still with all the carcinogenic and addictive effects present of smoking, so why would anyone bother? I am just trying to understand so if there is good reason for me to use it, I will.

 

[nAON]

I think one of the main reasons is due to its long half life, so it's a lot easier to taper without redosing, whereas with oxy it only lasts like 3 hours so if you're a heavy user you're gonna be dosing all day, a lot harder to control.

 

[Altered Perception]

Yea that is a good point. That's a +1 Suboxone. Any other reasons?

 

[poppy_king]

Suboxone is bupronorphine a semi opioid agonist,as is subutex but suboxone contains a different substance that acts as a blocking agent of the effects of opioids as well as "hold" you and reduce cravings,methadone is a full opioid agonist and will reduce cravings and give u a chilled out feeling when i say semi opioid agonist its like its opening the door halfway to your opioid receptors in your brain where as methadone opens the door all the way.If you really want to get off oxy then it is worth a try to get on a program as i am currently on a methadone program and it definitely works and stops you craving opiates.I look at being on methadone as the less of two evils,but they do call methadone the liquid handcuffs and very hard to come off,as is suboxone and subutex so keep that in mind-as i said an opioid replacement therapy can be a lesser of two evils for some people if you want to look at it that way,i hope i helped,good luck.

 

[Altered Perception]

Looks like I may have got it all wrong. I just spoke to my local pharmacist about it and she said Suboxone is meant for heroin users and it would not benefit me because I am already on a steady prescription of opiates for pain management from my doctor, whereas heroin users are faced with more risks and various problems like using street drugs that have the potential to cause them overdose, harm and financial problems and Suboxone is desgined to put them under doctors care. Is this correct? Suboxone and Methadone are more for recreational users of heroin and not so much to get off prescriptian pain meds?

 

[Pjkt2501]

That's the classical role; doesn't mean the same benefits can't go to you as well, however.

 

[paper planes]

it depends on if you think that you will be better off with the suboxone or the methadone a lot depends on what kind of lifestyle your living like is it manageable to keep doing the things you are doing...and i noticed you said that you actually have chronic pain, so from experience suboxone aint gonna cut it in that department...also you might want to really ask yourself are you ready to cut back and or quit, because if you actually want to stop it will make the whole process easier...ive been on suboxone for two yrs now and im really startin to think about trying to switch because its too inconsistent, it helps somedays but im startin to notice that most of the negatives out weigh the positives but ive made alot of positive moves and decisions while on suboxone that i hadnt been making in the past but you yourself have to be willing to put in work to change

 

[laCster]

bup does not release as much endorphins into the bloodstream resulting in a less intense euphoria due to only partial agonism . however, it has extremely high mu-affinity (partial) , as well as the ability to antagonize KOR, and to agonize DOR (full or partial). it's wide range of ability to bind to opiate-receptors effectively stablizes patient in w/d.

in other words, it completely stops the onset of w/d symptoms without causing much euphoria. abuse potential is low for tolerant full-agonist users.

 

[effie]

Was going to say more but actually a lot of good points have been made - the idea of maintenance (methadone/subutex) is to stabilise the user so they don't have the various risks (to health, financial, social etc) associated with having to take heroin every day. nAON made a good point about the half life though, and laC also made a good point about it not creating as much euphoria as oxycodone, therefore it feeling more like a medication than a recreational drug and possibly altering the way you think about it. This might help with cravings etc..

There is a lot of useful info here: Suboxone Megathread

 

[Africanus]

I've been on a daily dose of Oxycodone for 4 years for my chronic pain. I want to take a break but I am addicted and I have been having withdrawals trying to cut down. I heard about Suboxone or Methadone and I thought maybe it could help me but reading further on it I am confused now because apparently its just a replacement rather then a fix.

I don't understand how Suboxone can help me or anyone else if it means that I can get addicted to Suboxone and will still have withdrawals if I stop the Suboxone. That sounds like it defeats the whole purpose of switching to Suboxone. I can just stay addicted to Oxycodone or I can switch to Suboxone and stay addicted to that instead, but what will I gain in doing so? isn't that right? or is there something I am missing about this? Suboxone sounds like cigarettes minus the nicotine rush but with still with all the carcinogenic and addictive effects present of smoking, so why would anyone bother? I am just trying to understand so if there is good reason for me to use it, I will.

What bad effects are you talking about, what exactly is it about oxy that you don't want or like, what problems does oxy cause you?
Then we can tell you if suboxone has those same problems or not.

Usually though if you have a steady supply of cheap clean and powerful opiates, then the only problem would be the frustration of tolerance.

Do you take oxy as directed, orally?

Perhaps you might need to consider injecting your oxy, this will get you high again without having to increase your dose.
Ultimately though tolerance will return, and you will need a dose increase, then another, and another, another, with the intervals between increases in dose shortening steeply.


The word for today on sesame street is tolerance.
Drug tolerance.
It spoils people's fun.


Btw I'm on sub and it's good.
You get high without constant dose increases, despite tolerance, don't know how, but it does.

 

[gaktattack]

I would not suggest IVing when you have a consistent supply of oxy,

Bupe. Decent longevity with a blocking mechanism which will negate any other opiate you take within reason.

Methadone Incredibly long lasitng opiate, it got me High as hell and held on through the night and well into the next day... ITS HARD TO KICK and the kicking is much worse than shorter lived opiates. It is however used for chronic pain and will make dosing less of a hassle. It however is supposed to negate other opiates taken, which means if you need a little more pain killing the Oxy wont help.

If you want to quit, either could be an option. If you want pain management Id go with the methadone. However the cure can be worse than the disease. There are non opiate neuropathic pain medications such as pregabilin and gabapentin, you should consult your doctor if you want to quit to perhaps go on subs for awhile and transition onto pregab or Gab.

Just my .02$ Good luck

 

[burn2shine]

Depending on your habbit you can do a quick taper with suboxone and drastically reduce the withdrawals you feel. A medically supervised taper generally lasts about a month, it could last 2-3 months if you've been using heavily for a several years non stop. You could also taper on your own, even if you only have enough for a week you could still taper and it'll reduce your withdrawal symptoms significantly.

I've done both several times, either way you're going to have to deal with some withdrawals. If you do go through a medically supervised taper take as dirrected. If you want to taper yourself wait to kick and take as little as you can to make you well, wait as long as you can before you take your next dose and take as little as you can. Tapering won't completely take away withdrawal symptoms, but they're a lot more managable.