Bupe Suboxone/Buprenorphine FAQ & Megathread v3; 2010 - 2022

[BlueHues]

I doubt you would have gone into full-blown precipitated withdrawal...If there's one thing in this life I have experience with, it's fucking around with going bazck and forth on Sub and heroin!

As long as you just make it a day or so of using dope, you'll be able to jump right back on without any problems...when you initially take it after using dope for a day, you will feel a little weird as the sub kicks the heroin off and reasserts it's dominance over your receptors but you won't actually get sick. that's all you were experiencing I'm sure. If you did dope heavy for 3 days shooting up heroin 10+ times and then dosed suboxone, it would be a different story!

you can pretty much get away with it for a full 24 hours off the bupe...that could include getting high at night and even doing some the following morning, and then dosing the suboxone late the following night. If you keep going all day the next day into the night and wait until the following morning, that's where it gets iffy, but even then, if you wait until you're in true WDs, you should still be able to hop back on with just feeling a little weird for a few hours...

what eventually happens though...it gets to where whenever you decide to get off heroin and get back on Suboxone, you're in a state of cold clammy shittiness for 2-3 days no matter how long you wait or how you take the suboxone! It really sucks, at times you can feel the suboxone start to work and you're not in hardcore heroin WDs, but it's anxiety city for a good few days! It's almost like having to half kick dope just to get on the Suboxone...and then, you have to get off the suboxone itself! Once you get to that point it really ruins sub as a detox drug, and personally I think methadone is better for a short taper anyway...

I've had a few friends that were playing around with the back and forth shit on Sub for awhile who had no problem going back and forth until one day, Bam! It's like something in your brain chemistry changes and you can't do it anymore!

 

[runescape]

Anyone know if it is likely that suboxone films are traced back to you if it is somehow diverted to other people? I know there is a QR and serial number on the back which supposedly can trace back to the pharmacy and whos prescription it is.

Also, if you are covered by insurance is getting 90 films a month the same cost if you were getting 30 or 60?

 

[Tommyboy]

dang lol, I haven't talked to my doctor about it but hopefully he will be open to the idea. I don't understand why naloxone is even in there like you said, even if you IV suboxone I heard it doesn't put the user in precipitated w/ds anyways. I just want to see if subutex feels any different.

And if I were you I would stick with the suboxone and not the dope lol, I heard tramadol has some synergistic effects with suboxone but I haven't tried tramadol before.

you're going to drop cash for your suboxone script?

A lot of people that want subutex want it because it is cheaper than suboxone, especially for those that pay out-of-pocket (no insurance) for their prescriptions.

Thank you so much for your time to answer my question! I used H for about 2 months at 1-2 packs a day, then the sub was only one single 8 mg film that I split up in 5 days, I do still feel like shit but it comes in waves. I had to drink alcohol then take xanax to knock me out for a few of the nights, and last night I slept for 8 hours with the help of nothing. It's just seems like it's been so long, and these damn woods are dark, it's hard to see and I feel these demons are hunting down my well being I wanna get out and back into the light! I am hoping tomorrow morning I'm better, but I can only hope. I do have 2 more 2mg bars of Xanax left but I don't wanna risk withdrawal from the benzo's since I used them for a few days already...

Sounds like you are just about over the acute withdrawals. I would lay off the alcohol, at least for a little while otherwise you might pick up a drinking habit to replace your dope habit. I know tons of people that have turned to heavy drinking when opiates weren't around, myself and bluehues being a few of them, although I haven't turned back to alcohol since quitting opiates this time.

There's this Steven Seagal movie from the '80s called "Hard to Kill"...basically he ends up getting put in a coma for seven years by some bad-ass criminals and wakes up 7 years later....He wants to get revenge, but after being in a coma for 7 years, he's all weak and fucked up...

There's this scene that shows Steven Seagal trying to build himself back up so that he can go get revenge on the people that put him in the coma...It shows him doing all kinds of different excercises and martial arts training...I always think of that scene when I'm kicking opiates and I feel like I can't stand it for another second! It's a fucking battle that takes a lot of mental toughness to get through!

Sounds like a classic 80's montage was in there (I liked the South Park spoof on them).

Anyone know if it is likely that suboxone films are traced back to you if it is somehow diverted to other people? I know there is a QR and serial number on the back which supposedly can trace back to the pharmacy and whos prescription it is.

Also, if you are covered by insurance is getting 90 films a month the same cost if you were getting 30 or 60?

Co-pays are usually the same for different quantities of the same drug. The difference in co-pay is usually only brand name vs generic. Like all brand name drugs might be $15 with insurance and all generics $5. If you don't have insurance though, that's a way different story.

Oh, and no idea about the tracing.

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

Anyone know if it is likely that suboxone films are traced back to you if it is somehow diverted to other people? I know there is a QR and serial number on the back which supposedly can trace back to the pharmacy and whos prescription it is.

Also, if you are covered by insurance is getting 90 films a month the same cost if you were getting 30 or 60?

Yes they can trace the script back to you. That's why when people sell their strips, they cut off all the barcodes and shit.

 

[Slum Survivor]

I doubt you would have gone into full-blown precipitated withdrawal...If there's one thing in this life I have experience with, it's fucking around with going bazck and forth on Sub and heroin!

As long as you just make it a day or so of using dope, you'll be able to jump right back on without any problems...when you initially take it after using dope for a day, you will feel a little weird as the sub kicks the heroin off and reasserts it's dominance over your receptors but you won't actually get sick. that's all you were experiencing I'm sure. If you did dope heavy for 3 days shooting up heroin 10+ times and then dosed suboxone, it would be a different story!

you can pretty much get away with it for a full 24 hours off the bupe...that could include getting high at night and even doing some the following morning, and then dosing the suboxone late the following night. If you keep going all day the next day into the night and wait until the following morning, that's where it gets iffy, but even then, if you wait until you're in true WDs, you should still be able to hop back on with just feeling a little weird for a few hours...

what eventually happens though...it gets to where whenever you decide to get off heroin and get back on Suboxone, you're in a state of cold clammy shittiness for 2-3 days no matter how long you wait or how you take the suboxone! It really sucks, at times you can feel the suboxone start to work and you're not in hardcore heroin WDs, but it's anxiety city for a good few days! It's almost like having to half kick dope just to get on the Suboxone...and then, you have to get off the suboxone itself! Once you get to that point it really ruins sub as a detox drug, and personally I think methadone is better for a short taper anyway...

I've had a few friends that were playing around with the back and forth shit on Sub for awhile who had no problem going back and forth until one day, Bam! It's like something in your brain chemistry changes and you can't do it anymore!

No sir, i certainly was experiencing PW... instant pupil dilation, super fast hot/freeze sweats, instant extreme anxiety yeah PW all the way.

it had been 18 hours since my dope shot, and i had been off sub for 30 hours before i took my shot of dope. so when i went to re-dose the sub it had been 48 hours since i had took any sub. only took ONE day off to get high, and only got high once.
EDIT: i just remembered that i took 100mg of tramadol around 3 am that night after i got high and was coming down, cuz my back was hurting. i wonder if the tramadol could have something to do with why i got the PW's when i went to take my sub the next day? probably has nothing to do with it(took tram about 12 hours before trying sub again, heroin was 18 hours before sub), but i figured id add it in since its true.
this morning im still afraid to take my normal sub dose... i sure hope it doesnt give me PW's seems like i should be able to take it tho. this sucks bad.

 

[Ian937]

IMO slum survivor you experienced the PWDs because you had been off the sub for what you said 48 hrs. So it makes sense bupes half life is like 37 hrs i believe so if you did a shot 30 hrs after your laat sub dose im sure that H had pleanty of receptors to cling onto.. Im guessing your a slow metabolizer if u caught the pwds 18 hrs later though or just had some bomb ass D either way best bet is get back onto sub..
I m on day 4 transitioning back to subs for the 100th time..shits really gettin old, i rarely have any success on bupe ovet a couple weeks .. If my city had a done clinic i rly think id give it a shot and ive heard pleanty of MD Horror stories.. Gona try for Subutex maybe itll make a difference but am doubtful.

 

[Slum Survivor]

i know right?? why did i have to be the freak... its not like i stay high longer than others. the dope was just okay too. did 3 bags. and yeah i did get really high so i knew alot of the heroin got to my receptors.

but some people get high, meaning enough that they had plenty of dope on their receptors, and can still go right back to taking sub w/o having to wait for w/d's at all.

and how the heck can my body metabolize bupe quicker than normal, but heroin/morphine slower than normal?? i mean look at the time amounts i gave... its surprising that i even GOT high, i actually got really high.

perhaps since i spit out the remaining saliva after letting my sub dissolve(usually let it dissolve for at least 45 mins) im actually making the half-life shorter than those who swallow it instead. since some bupe is making it thru orally, tho not much at all.

btw i recommend spitting out, it eliminated any side effects from subs/bupe such as constipation, headache, etc... i got the idea from my first sub dr

also wouldnt 48 hours be the normal gap between sub doses when someone takes one day/night off to get high? example: monday 4 mg sub in morning. -> tuesday no sub/get high later in day -> Wednesday 4mg sub in morning. that would be 48 hours between sub doses that way.

 

[BlueHues]

^Are you still experiencing precipitated withdrawals. What I meant to say before; you usually have about 48 hours from the time you last took the Sub to take it again without getting sick. I usually took 4mgs or less, so I could pretty much get high on heroin 10-12 hours after my last dose, even immediately after if I did a little more. Also, you will experience Precipitated withdrawal, but only for an hour or so until the suboxone starts working. And yeah, if it's been a short enough time, you can take it without even having to wait to get sick. this might be one of those times where you should actually double up on the Suboxone dose.

I suppose it's possible that you're "different", but I still think what you were experiencing was just the Suboxone starting to work again. which has the same symptoms you just described.

 

[Slum Survivor]

i edited my post u may need to re-read it. funny how we are mentioning similar details... 4 mg sub dose. etc.

well i just tried taking 1.5 mg of sub over the last 45 minutes or so, and its not giving me PW's now. its like i said in my post... somehow i metabolize subs faster than i should, and metabolize heroin/morphine alot slower than i should, even tho i dont stay high any longer than the next person becaquse of it. its like it just sits in my system to say f-you.

btw i hope someone is watching... we about to hit a new megathread. (1000 posts)

also! BlueHues... u could still be right about my body just slowly getting used to the sub again. i mean i may have absorbed "X" amount out of the 4 mg i had in my mouth before i was able to spit it out and wash out/scrub out all of the sub from my tongue and mouth yesterday. that X amount may have been small enough not to give me a really hard bout of PW's but just enough so that today when i took my sub i already had a little bit left on my receptors from yesterday(and less dope on them) making it so i dont have issues with PW's

just thinking that may also be a possibility... i hope no one ever goes thru this like me!

EDIT: i highly doubt that the gap between sub doses has much to do with avoiding the PW's exmaple: i dont think i would have been better off taking my sub only a few hours after i shot the dope. which would have made it less than 48 hours since my last sub dose. if anything i bet i would have gotten PW's even worse. so i dont think the time your off the sub has much to do with it unless the dope is blocked by the sub in the first place(which in this case would mean u could take the sub again real soon, but if u waited long enough for enough of the sub to come off your receptors and be filled with the dope, then u would need to wait till u w/d to avoid PW's). hope i made sense there. i know what i mean to say, ha

 

[Not Again]

Ok since I'm getting ready to quit I've been binging a bit...

This week I'm going to switch to sub and quickly taper off. I only have 9 (8mg) strips.

Do I have to wait till I'm in w/d or is 24 hours long enough? I've been doing like 240-280 and each dose of 90 mg gets me high. So it only takes like 180 mg to keep me in good shape.

It seems to take me 30+ hours to feel like shit. I don't want to wait to that point. Will 24 hours be long enough so I do not eff my self up? And is 9 strips a fast enough taper? Will this work? Or will my w/d's at the end of the sub be worse?

I've only got 4 months using every day. Before that I was clean for a good 3-4 months.

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

Ok since I'm getting ready to quit I've been binging a bit...

This week I'm going to switch to sub and quickly taper off. I only have 9 (8mg) strips.

Do I have to wait till I'm in w/d or is 24 hours long enough? I've been doing like 240-280 and each dose of 90 mg gets me high. So it only takes like 180 mg to keep me in good shape.

It seems to take me 30+ hours to feel like shit. I don't want to wait to that point. Will 24 hours be long enough so I do not eff my self up? And is 9 strips a fast enough taper? Will this work? Or will my w/d's at the end of the sub be worse?

I've only got 4 months using every day. Before that I was clean for a good 3-4 months.

It's always about your level of withdrawal when inducting onto suboxone. The time doesn't mean anything.. 24 hours is just the average amount of time it takes for most people to be in the level of withdrawal needed to take suboxone. For some people it happens sooner, for some later.

If you just wait 24 hours and think you're good and aren't in full withdrawal, you're in for a real hellish experience.

 

[runescape]

Co-pays are usually the same for different quantities of the same drug. The difference in co-pay is usually only brand name vs generic. Like all brand name drugs might be $15 with insurance and all generics $5. If you don't have insurance though, that's a way different story.

Oh, and no idea about the tracing.

Sorry, can you explain what Co-pay is? I don't know how that works. I have good insurance but I am not the one going to the pharmacy to get my script.

So you are saying that the total cost would be the same for thirty 8mg strips, sixty 8mg strips, or ninety 8mg strips? If so that is pretty awesome. Should I just tell my doctor I am taking more than what I really am so I can have some stockpiled for emergencies?

I may look into generic too, may ask my doctor about trying subutex.

EDIT: After a brief phone call w/ the doc he says suboxone is better than subutex and that he doesn't know if subutex will be covered by insurance or something... I'm going to address this more when I see him next.

 

[cj]

Sorry, can you explain what Co-pay is? I don't know how that works. I have good insurance but I am not the one going to the pharmacy to get my script.

So you are saying that the total cost would be the same for thirty 8mg strips, sixty 8mg strips, or ninety 8mg strips? If so that is pretty awesome. Should I just tell my doctor I am taking more than what I really am so I can have some stockpiled for emergencies?

I may look into generic too, may ask my doctor about trying subutex.

EDIT: After a brief phone call w/ the doc he says suboxone is better than subutex and that he doesn't know if subutex will be covered by insurance or something... I'm going to address this more when I see him next.

copay is the money your insurance may or may not require you to pay at the time of service. Like mine is usually <NO PRICE DISCUSSION> to get a script filled but suboxone and amitiza are both <NO PRICE DISCUSSION>. It just depends on your insurance plan. Personally I always tried to get the most pills possible. But I am gonna be on maintenance over the long haul so you need to consider your goals.

 

[Not Again]

It's always about your level of withdrawal when inducting onto suboxone. The time doesn't mean anything.. 24 hours is just the average amount of time it takes for most people to be in the level of withdrawal needed to take suboxone. For some people it happens sooner, for some later.

If you just wait 24 hours and think you're good and aren't in full withdrawal, you're in for a real hellish experience.

So wait a little longer is what you're saying...

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

So wait a little longer is what you're saying...

I'm saying wait until you are in moderate to severe withdrawal. Use the COWS scale for a guide. You know your own body, when you're really sick. That's when to take the suboxone, however long it takes.

 

[tricomb]

So wait a little longer is what you're saying...

As a general rule, I wouldn't ingest buprenorphine until the RLS is so bad and your having insane cravings.

 

[tricomb]

Sorry, can you explain what Co-pay is? I don't know how that works. I have good insurance but I am not the one going to the pharmacy to get my script.

So you are saying that the total cost would be the same for thirty 8mg strips, sixty 8mg strips, or ninety 8mg strips? If so that is pretty awesome. Should I just tell my doctor I am taking more than what I really am so I can have some stockpiled for emergencies?

I may look into generic too, may ask my doctor about trying subutex.

EDIT: After a brief phone call w/ the doc he says suboxone is better than subutex and that he doesn't know if subutex will be covered by insurance or something... I'm going to address this more when I see him next.

copay is the $ you have to pay that is not covered by your insurance. We do not allow price discussion here on BL, please review the OD guidelines, found in my signature.

Also, generic buprenorphine (NOT SUBOXONE) has been on the market since the 1980's and it should definitely be covered by insurance... Doctors have been brainwashed by R&B to try and push suboxone. There is no advantage to suboxone over generic buprenorphine tablets, which are indicated for chronic pain, but are often prescribed off-label for opioid replacement therapy.

 

[runescape]

copay is the $ you have to pay that is not covered by your insurance. We do not allow price discussion here on BL, please review the OD guidelines, found in my signature.

Also, generic buprenorphine (NOT SUBOXONE) has been on the market since the 1980's and it should definitely be covered by insurance... Doctors have been brainwashed by R&B to try and push suboxone. There is no advantage to suboxone over generic buprenorphine tablets, which are indicated for chronic pain, but are often prescribed off-label for opioid replacement therapy.

Wow that is super low if it is R&Bs goal to just get more money and convince doctors that there stuff is best. I am seeing my doctor this weekend and I really want to try subutex. Im not an IVer and naloxone makes me nauseous and gives me headaches when I swallow the strips going to see what he says.. If he says no theres probably no hope to argue with arrogance even though I know it it's safe to try it..

 

[.:dopeAmeanFean:.]

This is my first time posting so I apologies in advance if I am posting in the wrong place but I need some advice and have been searching all around for the answers and havent found anything solid...so here it goes. After about 2 months of consitant use intranasaly medium grade H. Consumption about .5g to 1g per day I have one 8mg strip of suboxone and about 9 50mg tramadols. Im trying to figure out a proper taper to experience as minimal w/d's as possible. Please help as soon as possible as I am just about out of H and have no time for w/d's....thanks guys!

 

[BlueHues]

Fold the Suboxone strip evenly into 8 squares, this is easily done by folding it in half three times. Reinforce the folds by folding hard along the lines you made after folding it the first time, this will make it easier to rip them off as you need them. always tear them vertically towards you, don't try pulling them sideways or they'll stretch without ripping. also, when you dose it, since you have such a small amount, make absolute sure that you are putting it under your tongue. If you mess up placing the strips, they will stick to wherever they hit in your mouth that's wet. Using a mirror is the best way. I can't tell you how many I've lost through improper placement!

You should have 8 squares that are 1mg each.

Wait until you are completely in full WD and take 2 squares, or you could take one and then another one an hour later just to make sure you're in enough WD for it to work.

I would dose once a day

2mg
1.5 mg
1 mg
1mg
1 mg
.5 mg
.5 mg
.25 mg, 50 mgs of tramadol 12 hours after dosing the Suboxone
.25 mg, 50 mgs of tramadol 12 hours after dosing the suboxone
0mgs suboxone and 50mgs of tramadol twice daily until you run out of tramadol

^that's how I would do it, feel free to throw in some benzos or whatever other supplements at the end too, just don't mess with any other opioids