Opioids Buprenorphine / Suboxone

[rplate81]

In the past, for a hand Surgury, to be sure that the pain meds they'd planned on giving me would be effective, they told me to stay off the subs for a couple of days beforehand. I think I dialed it back a bit, but I definitely didn't stop it completely for 2 days! No way! Back then I had been taking a good amount of it & there was no way I was going to go into a withdrawal- not even for 2 days! The oxy they gave me worked fine, but probably not as fine as they would have if I'd stopped the subs beforehand.

I posted this in January, so I don't fully remember what I said or if I had mentioned that I had a surgery scheduled.

It was over 2 years ago. Everything was all set up, I got the physical exam and updated X-rays. The surgeon had even written me a script for Percocet. I ended up not being able to get the surgery because, at the last minute, the anesthesiologist said that I had to stop my buprenorphine for 5 days up until the surgery. Anyone that takes subs daily knows how hard it would be to do that.


I had to call the surgeon and cancel. I only had 1 more business day to do so without being billed a ton of $. The surgeons and receptionists are all very mean and aggressive. Not surprisingly, when I called, she got all pissed and even told me that I'd have to pay for the surgery, but I just stayed calm and agreed with everything that she said. I never got a bill for it, but it completely fractured my relationship with that surgeon, so now I cannot get the surgery done because, with my insurance, there are no more ortho surgeon options.

What made me really upset is the fact that I had talked to the surgeon in person and I had told him that I take Buprenorphine and his response was "That's fine, no problem with that. I have plenty of patients taking it too, no need to stop taking your Subutex."

I've never had or heard of having to stop subs for that long time before or after a surgery or procedure.

I have had 2 procedures with other surgeons in the last few years when I needed propofol/midazolam and didn't need to stop even on the day of the surgery.


Here it is 2 years later and my knee is still driving me crazy all day every day thanks to the anesthesiologist.

 

[Binky7766]

I used an unorthodox method to kick my subs. Once I learned that 4mg saturates 90+% of the opiate receptors in the brain, I dropped from 16mg to 4 fairly fast and easily. The n worked my way down to 2mg. I happened to have a family member that recently died from cancer at the time. I got my hands on a 30ct script of 30mg roxi and a 60ct script of 60mg mscontin. I gave these scripts to someone I trusted. Then stopped the subs and started with the roxis tapered with those then tapered with the mscontin. I walked away with literally zero physical withdrawal symptoms.

Now this method only worked because I had no control over my doses. I do not endorse this method. However, it worked for me when I failed to taper low enough on my subs. So for those that have a hard time like I did. It might be worth a shot.

Do you mean that you gave your pain meds to someone to give them to you in limited doses, a.k.a. prescribed doses? I've, in the past, taper from oxy successfully a couple of times, but this last time things didn't go so well because I had hip surgery in immense amount of pain, of course they don't give you enough pain, med and so you wind up taking a little more each day than what is prescribed and before you know it you're hooked. It can creep up on you! So the Suboxone has literally saved my life. I'm down below 1 mg now of the sub and all is well. I really hope and pray that the rest of the taper will go as well as the rest of it has. That's why I was interested in the SR;. That way I could have something on hand. Should I get terrible withdrawal after being completely off it. Your way of doing it is completely legit IMO. Whatever works! Unfortunately, I don't have anyone who can hold it for me unless I feel like driving to their house every single day, 2-4 times each day. Plus, they travel a lot, but I am going to succeed, whatever it takes. Now that I'm down to a small dose, I can already see a healthier glow in my face. You should see side-by-side pictures of me completely off opiates beside of picture of me when I was on a relatively high dose. For some reason, opiates really affect my eyes.

 

[Binky7766]

I posted this in January, so I don't fully remember what I said or if I had mentioned that I had a surgery scheduled.

It was over 2 years ago. Everything was all set up, I got the physical exam and updated X-rays. The surgeon had even written me a script for Percocet. I ended up not being able to get the surgery because, at the last minute, the anesthesiologist said that I had to stop my buprenorphine for 5 days up until the surgery. Anyone that takes subs daily knows how hard it would be to do that.


I had to call the surgeon and cancel. I only had 1 more business day to do so without being billed a ton of $. The surgeons and receptionists are all very mean and aggressive. Not surprisingly, when I called, she got all pissed and even told me that I'd have to pay for the surgery, but I just stayed calm and agreed with everything that she said. I never got a bill for it, but it completely fractured my relationship with that surgeon, so now I cannot get the surgery done because, with my insurance, there are no more ortho surgeon options.

What made me really upset is the fact that I had talked to the surgeon in person and I had told him that I take Buprenorphine and his response was "That's fine, no problem with that. I have plenty of patients taking it too, no need to stop taking your Subutex."

I've never had or heard of having to stop subs for that long time before or after a surgery or procedure.

I have had 2 procedures with other surgeons in the last few years when I needed propofol/midazolam and didn't need to stop even on the day of the surgery.


Here it is 2 years later and my knee is still driving me crazy all day every day thanks to the anesthesiologist.

Ugh! That's terrible! Yeah, these doctors are not on the same page yet with what to do with Suboxone patients some say just stay on it while others say stay off it for a couple of days so that the morphine will be effective. I will admit that the morphine was not all that effective after my hip replacement, so perhaps there is something to the stopping or at least lessening your dose before the surgery. At least you know you'll be back on a narcotic immediately after the surgery. That's hard though man. WD SUX!

 

[rplate81]

Ugh! That's terrible! Yeah, these doctors are not on the same page yet with what to do with Suboxone patients some say just stay on it while others say stay off it for a couple of days so that the morphine will be effective. I will admit that the morphine was not all that effective after my hip replacement, so perhaps there is something to the stopping or at least lessening your dose before the surgery. At least you know you'll be back on a narcotic immediately after the surgery. That's hard though man. WD SUX!

I wasn't to receive any painkiller while under, I think just Verced/propofol which is even more frustrating.

 

[Xyborg]

Do you mean that you gave your pain meds to someone to give them to you in limited doses, a.k.a. prescribed doses? I've, in the past, taper from oxy successfully a couple of times, but this last time things didn't go so well because I had hip surgery in immense amount of pain, of course they don't give you enough pain, med and so you wind up taking a little more each day than what is prescribed and before you know it you're hooked. It can creep up on you! So the Suboxone has literally saved my life. I'm down below 1 mg now of the sub and all is well. I really hope and pray that the rest of the taper will go as well as the rest of it has. That's why I was interested in the SR;. That way I could have something on hand. Should I get terrible withdrawal after being completely off it. Your way of doing it is completely legit IMO. Whatever works! Unfortunately, I don't have anyone who can hold it for me unless I feel like driving to their house every single day, 2-4 times each day. Plus, they travel a lot, but I am going to succeed, whatever it takes. Now that I'm down to a small dose, I can already see a healthier glow in my face. You should see side-by-side pictures of me completely off opiates beside of picture of me when I was on a relatively high dose. For some reason, opiates really affect my eyes.

Exactly, I was living with my mother at the time. Started at like 5 per day dropping a half every other depending on how I was feeling. Then switched to the mscontin after the roxis were gone. She was receptive to giving me my doses early especially in the beginning as I'd barely get 4hrs of comfort. I did take my daily doses to work. For the most part that went well, minus a few times where I decided to eat all my doses for the daytime lol. It might've been a 60ct of the 30s as well because I was more slow on the taper with those than the mscontin.

Suboxone, well subtex for me. Was a blessing and a curse. It got me off the fent. However, it turned me into emotionless shell of myself, even at low doses. The doctors that push more the 4mg a day need to be held accountable. Maybe in some severe cases start at 8 or 12 but quickly drop it down. These stories I hear of people taking 24mg is absolutely insane. Bupe is so potent that you truly don't need more than 4mg at that dose all your receptors are basically covered and any additional now just causes nasty side effects.

 

[Keif' Richards]

Haha @Binky7766 you seriously brightened my day with that update. Yes, I am very proud of you and everyone else here is too. Life is fucked up for a lot of us right now. Knowing someone is getting their life back, getting the opportunity for happiness back... that´s what it´s all about. Stay strong. Do not let complacency fuck you over near the finish line. Enjoy your life my friend. The whole world is open to you

If anyone wants a window into my personal life... I´ve been struggling with stable medication acquisition/tapering Methadone right now. I can get emotional at the drop of a hat and this shit hat me cryin´. Good job.

 

[Binky7766]

Exactly, I was living with my mother at the time. Started at like 5 per day dropping a half every other depending on how I was feeling. Then switched to the mscontin after the roxis were gone. She was receptive to giving me my doses early especially in the beginning as I'd barely get 4hrs of comfort. I did take my daily doses to work. For the most part that went well, minus a few times where I decided to eat all my doses for the daytime lol. It might've been a 60ct of the 30s as well because I was more slow on the taper with those than the mscontin.

Suboxone, well subtex for me. Was a blessing and a curse. It got me off the fent. However, it turned me into emotionless shell of myself, even at low doses. The doctors that push more the 4mg a day need to be held accountable. Maybe in some severe cases start at 8 or 12 but quickly drop it down. These stories I hear of people taking 24mg is absolutely insane. Bupe is so potent that you truly don't needed d more than 4mg at that dose all your receptors are basically covered and any additional now just causes nasty side effects.

OMG I Used to LOVE being high on percs at work. I had a corporate desk job which can get to you after a while. It was a high cubicle, so you are basically staring at a partition wall all day. I'd take a peak at FB every so often, saw people at the beach or doing some other fun summer things & wondered what I did wrong in life, cuz this ain't living! The percs made everything feel so much better! I'd be interested in what people had to say when they came to my cube & was so happy. I continued to do a great job too, because I liked the work I was doing. What sucked was that as soon as I took a bite of something to eat, the buzz completely left me & then I felt mad! I couldn't bother taking another perc, because once I had food in my belly, forget it. A big waste of the drug!

 

[Binky7766]

Haha @Binky7766 you seriously brightened my day with that update. Yes, I am very proud of you and everyone else here is too. Life is fucked up for a lot of us right now. Knowing someone is getting their life back, getting the opportunity for happiness back... that´s what it´s all about. Stay strong. Do not let complacency fuck you over near the finish line. Enjoy your life my friend. The whole world is open to you

If anyone wants a window into my personal life... I´ve been struggling with stable medication acquisition/tapering Methadone right now. I can get emotional at the drop of a hat and this shit hat me cryin´. Good job.

I would love to hear your story about your methadone experience. A few years back, a friend of mine used to give me some of his dose and wow, did I love it. I just felt normal and happy. One day that sticks out is taking it, & all my physical pain was 100% gone. I went to the market to pick up a few groceries and made an Italian sauce. So I had that simmering on the stove & got into my recliner & had an enjoyable day. He'd give me some every once in a while & since I didn't want to get addicted, I even turned him down for an offer of some. The problem was, a few months later, he died. It was very sad & very upsetting. And, there went my methadone. So I guess maybe I had started becoming addicted again. I had to go on the suboxone after that. Then had a couple of major surgeries which called for quite a bit of opiates. Not good. So, I got back on the su train. I don't even know how muck I was taking. He'd give me an Rx bottle varying between half the bottle to 3/4's of the bottle. I never drank all of it at once, but I suspect I took too much because I keep hearing spirits speaking to me when I was in bed sleeping. Once I felt one tapping my arm! That's when I knew I needed to get away from that stuff. I haven't withdrawn from you of the Suboxone, but I hear that it is the voice withdrawn in existence, a living hell. Thank God for the subs. I had 2 cats & one woman's voice told me, "you better go down and check on your cat! I went downstairs, and both of them were sound asleep. Did you experience anything like that??

Now that I've practically given you my life story, tell me everything!

 

[CfZrx]

I had laproscopic surgery when my appendix burst, I don't remember how painful it was as I almost died!!

You inspired me to write up a new post about the time my appendix went to shit. This needs to be more of a topic.

OT: Buprenorphine they say, is best in small doses. I have found it to have about the same feeling whether I take 8mg or 16, but since I am dependent, 12mg is about right and leaves me some left over to lessen my stress month to month. I tried going as low as I could and made it to 4mg, but I decided not to stress on it, and tonight took 16 over the course of the day.
It ruins my sleep. I noticed dark rings around my eyes when I tried taking a mg or two right before bed.
Like others said, w/ benzos quitting opioids is pretty simple and painless. You numb your CNS after all, lol!

 

[rplate81]

You inspired me to write up a new post about the time my appendix went to shit. This needs to be more of a topic.

OT: Buprenorphine they say, is best in small doses. I have found it to have about the same feeling whether I take 8mg or 16, but since I am dependent, 12mg is about right and leaves me some left over to lessen my stress month to month. I tried going as low as I could and made it to 4mg, but I decided not to stress on it, and tonight took 16 over the course of the day.
It ruins my sleep. I noticed dark rings around my eyes when I tried taking a mg or two right before bed.
Like others said, w/ benzos quitting opioids is pretty simple and painless. You numb your CNS after all, lol!

I may have already said that I take my subutex every other day. Why?? Because I am still an addict, I get a decent boost from it and I am very productive. I've tried taking it daily but I cannot seem to get the same results. Oh, but the reason I am responding is that on the days that I take subutex it is usually pretty hard for me to fall asleep because it acts as an upper for me. The whole reason that I got back on bupe is that I was on it before and fully tapered off but I kept a stash of them. I forgot that I had them when I was doing some cleaning and started using them recreationally. When I was using 1x a week it was an amazing full opiate type experience.

 

[CfZrx]

When I was using 1x a week it was an amazing full opiate type experience.

How long did you last doing it only once per week?

 

[rplate81]

Until I ran out I had stashed a bunch of 8mg orange footballs. It probably lasted me a couple months maybe more. I realized that I was running out and also that I knew that opioids would still be a problem so I decided to go back on them.

How long did you last doing it only once per week?

 

[PureLife]

Just explain your an ex addict. Doctors do surgeries all the time with people on subs. They'll usually say to stop taking it 36 hours before the surgery. They'll keep you comfy

 

[helpingout]

Haha @Binky7766 you seriously brightened my day with that update. Yes, I am very proud of you and everyone else here is too. Life is fucked up for a lot of us right now. Knowing someone is getting their life back, getting the opportunity for happiness back... that´s what it´s all about. Stay strong. Do not let complacency fuck you over near the finish line. Enjoy your life my friend. The whole world is open to you

If anyone wants a window into my personal life... I´ve been struggling with stable medication acquisition/tapering Methadone right now. I can get emotional at the drop of a hat and this shit hat me cryin´. Good job.

i hear you and im sorry youre struggling. know that youre loved by me at least and that im glad you continue the good fight of trying your best and living your best life. youre a hero on here for a lot of people and if you arent well you dsmned well should be. youve posted loads rhat make me thinj toure a treasurr. hole the merhqdine taer is slow dmoith and stead
yoursX

helpjngout

 

[Keif' Richards]

Hey @Binky7766 I don´t want to hijack the thread. If people are interested, I´d be happy to tell you all about my experiences with Methadone. I went to my first program 13 years ago, so when I was 21-22. I have been off and on a few times since. I´ve been on programs in Boston, Vermont, Cambodia and Iraq, though to be fair, the Methadone program in Iraq is more accurately a Heroin program and it was BYOH.