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

[bwanajzj]

Oxyfugazi - you make some valid points that I will take into consideration. Thankyou for the reply.

bwanajzj - i'd find a new doc if the current one is too high maintenance. you should not have to enroll in a program or anything that distracts you from school just to be put on sub. find a doc who will just give it to you and take it from there. i think concentrating on getting your degree, having something real and useful to work toward will serve you much better in your goal of staying clean. Once you start sub you'll probably know if you need further meetings or programs etc. some do, no harm there, but many find they can just go on with their lives and don't have too much of an itch to use. guess what i'm saying is start sub first, see how it works for you, then make further commitments if you have to. either way, good luck.

ps: what are you studying?

You really understood exactly what I need. Stop heroin. Start on subs. Go to work. Attend school. Go with the flow. Avoid relapse. Start spending the money that I would use on heroin on productive things as hobbies, travel, women etc... Find out if I need to stay on subs or if I am ready to taper off and come clean. And then take it from there. Basically it is a real big step for me to go into treatment rather than just try do it on my own, and I don't want to feel overcrowded and suffocated by the program. If I start to feel like the program is taking up too much time and preventing me from doing the things I enjoy, then I will just end up quitting it. So the doctors and counsellors need to realize that there is a fine line between actually helping me or making things worse. The problem here is that the clinics are specific to the area in which I live, and I can't just go to a clinic in another province, so I'm sort of stuck with this one. I might have to ask if I can meet the different counsellors and chose one that I like the best. I study geology.

 

[caseface99]

Two things-- 1) Most kratom does not mix well with water, and 2) Most kratom tastes absolutely horrible. I don't understand how pod tea could be worse tasting to you, honestly!

Honestly, i don't think kratom tastes bad, its more of a texture thing where as spooning it into your mouth leaves powder stuck in clumps all over and its gross, and the parachutes get stuck in my throat. As far as the taste goes, i enjoyed drinking tea with a little bit of sugar like i would add to any type of tea. I would honestly drink kratom tea just for the hell of it if the level of relief it gave me wasn't what i cared about, i thought it tasted quite nice this way. But i also love white grape fruit juice, which many people think tastes too bitter as well. It just doesn't compare to swallowing the powdered leaf in gel caps when it comes to staving off withdrawals in my experience. Plus it's impractical to do in my current living arrangements.

Case... I really hope you don't feel the need to take subs after 5 days off... especially if you are planning on future independence from opiates. I believe it would be a step backwards... I'm sure CH advice is good and true but think he's in a different situation than you... in that you're on a taper off.

Anyone checking your BP while on the clonodine? When I switched from methadone to subs... i was in patient and on clonodine. I was in bed for about 2 1/2 days and the nurse came every 4 hrs and made me stand up for BP check. Don't remember the numbers, but it was really LOW. I think the top number was like in the 80's??

Your doing great but once again I'm concerned if you can continue on and finish up [your goal] after the kratom is gone. Please keep us updated on the details.

Thanks, i appreciate comments like this. Unfortunately i did end up needing to dose .1ish mgs of sub this morning, the person picking me up to go climbing came early and i didn't have time do dose it the disgusting spoonfed way. .1 still left me feeling pretty sub par during the car ride there/back but while climbing the endorphins and whatnot took care of the rest completely. I hope this isn't too big of a set back. I didn't take it because i 'needed' opiates in my system mentally, it just didn't work out with the situation, so i know it isn't a set back for my recovery in general just hope it isn't a set back in terms of wasting the last 5 days...

Edit - and no nobody checks my BP on clonidine, been prescribed it for my suboxone taper/sleep for like 4-5 months. Never had an issue. But i never take more than .2-.3 at a time and i usually end up checking my pulse to make sure it isn't too weak/slow. (which it never has been at these doses.)

I've gone on two day binges, then gone back to sub without any problem. of course, those 'binges' were nothing more than an excercise in frustration and humiliation as i did not get much of a high. since you've got all that sub in your system still, the H never had much of a chance to recreate your tolerance. of course, i have to say: everbody difernt

Yeah, I've done this a bunch of times in the past. I only got precip withdrawal 1 time when i binged for a week. up to 5 or 6 days i didn't need to wait for withdrawal before continuing sub, but as you said everyone is different. CH told me about someone who took a couple hydros, then took suboxone too soon and got precip withdrawal when they weren't even opiate dependant, which i didn't even know was possible! So everyone needs to be careful, and dose the suboxone extremely slowly starting extremely low when doing this sort of thing without waiting otherwise may end up regretting it hardcore.


Thanks for the comments everyone, posting updates helps me as much as i hope it helps some of you guys who are going to be doing this soon.

 

[SkagKush]

1mg for weekends..........

however, 1mg during work may start to hold me soon.............

 

[oxyfugazi]

just started sub therapy and now have a rash. anyone ever had a similar experience? I really don't want to give this up as i feel relatively "free" for the first time in a long while!

 

[caseface99]

Tell your doctor, could be a mild allergic reaction to an ingredient used in the pills. Has anything like this ever happened with any other medication? Either way, if it is an allergy your doctor should have no problem prescribing subutex. Of course the rash could also be entirely unrelated, and just a coincidence. Have you considered any other possibilities?

 

[mike_indy_317]

well i fucked up and took 30 mgs of loratab or however you spell it and then 40mgs again the next day so that sucks but im just gonna go back to my subs 2morrow. this is my third slip up in 8 months and the last two times i just took suboxone the next day after slipping up and would feel fine and not get sick from mixing. this is my third opiate slip up but ive slipped up on xanax a lot and i smoked some crack last week which was fun.

 

[oxyfugazi]

nah, never got a rash, not allergic to any meds i have ever taken. i just started sub therapy yesterday (Generic subutex, not suboxone) and the rash popped up last night. I guess i will tell him but i am more than willing to live with it for the sake of what sub is doing for me!! I've already saved at least $xxx based on my daily usage of OC. i have to laugh when ppl tell me sub's expensive at a few dollars a pill. i spend a hundred times that daily. wheeeee!

 

[caseface99]

Maybe try suboxone then, and also have a doctor rule out any other causes.

three slip ups in 8 months isn't too terrible.

 

[SkagKush]

i wouldnt wanna live with an allergic reaction to a medication for a long time.....considering you may be on bupe for years.....

i would talk to your doc, try suboxone, and if that also fails......maybe methadone is your best choice........

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Caseface; I was glad to hear exercise is helping you out. I definitely have found the same, that exercise helps immensely.

 

[mike_indy_317]

Exercise does help out a lot but you cant exercise all day so that sucks. Weed helps me out a lot and thats something my doctor doesnt understand. If i didnt smoke some really good weed everyday then I would want to go and get pills everyday. The reason why I was on painkillers in the first place was because I didnt like myself at all and I still dont. I hate everything about me. The way I look the way I talk I just hate everything about me and I hate my life so painkillers would make me forget about all that and heroin would just put me to sleep but drugs made me forget about all the things i hate about myself and I could just relax. So I took 30 mgs of loratab one day and then took 40 mgs the next day which was yesterday so now im sitting here trying to figure out what to do. I just took half a suboxone and I feel fine not sick or anything so I think im gonna take a whole one and see how it goes.

 

[Pegasus]

^Just for the record, you could probably take a little less heroin and not fall asleep...

If 4mg didn't send you into some degree of precipitated w/d, I wouldn't worry about taking 8mg. You should be able to tell from 4mg or less if it is going to happen (from what I read).

 

[caseface99]

Caseface; I was glad to hear exercise is helping you out. I definitely have found the same, that exercise helps immensely.

Thanks, it helps a ton. I'm happy I'm still able to go climbing whenever i want even during my suboxone detox, I've progressed way to much in the last 3 months to let my hand/forarm muscles start going to shit again.

Exercise does help out a lot but you cant exercise all day so that sucks. Weed helps me out a lot and thats something my doctor doesnt understand. If i didnt smoke some really good weed everyday then I would want to go and get pills everyday. The reason why I was on painkillers in the first place was because I didnt like myself at all and I still dont. I hate everything about me. The way I look the way I talk I just hate everything about me and I hate my life so painkillers would make me forget about all that and heroin would just put me to sleep but drugs made me forget about all the things i hate about myself and I could just relax. So I took 30 mgs of loratab one day and then took 40 mgs the next day which was yesterday so now im sitting here trying to figure out what to do. I just took half a suboxone and I feel fine not sick or anything so I think im gonna take a whole one and see how it goes.

Why do you hate yourself so much? Is it the view of others that were instilled during high school or something? Because people don't give a shit once your out of high school. Assuming you aren't a 400 pound grotesque oger looking dude sweating swimming pools all day, i can almost guarentee that nobody says anything about you behind your back. You aren't THAT important.

I'd recommend getting a therapist on top of your psychiatrist, because your psych won't help you with that sort of self image problem (or any problem that doesn't require medication for that matter) But please just try not to be so down on yourself. I have a friend who you remind me of who's always apoligizing for the way his hair looks or something else with his apearence and everyone knows he hates himself and how he looks, but i can honestly say not me nor anyone of our mutual friends has EVER had a single thought about anything in this kids appearance when he walks into a room, not once in the 4+ years we have been hanging out. I never understood why he hated his appearance so much, because no one cares what he looks like.. Obviously...

Good luck though.

 

[jamesBrown]

^^Ive never found psychiatrists or psychologists to help much in "solving" internal problems. Maybe its just me but I have found that I am the only one who can help myself, especially when its more of an emotional issue. I can see how a psychologist or psychiatrist could help you find your way or "path" to answering your problems, but I think that YOU are the only one capable of actually "fixing" any personal internal issues you may have.
I dunno, I guess I could be different than most people but I find a nice long relaxing "sit" in nature or some other relaxing place to think about myself and what problems I may have and how I should go about fixing them or what goals I have and how I should go about achieving them is MUCH better and MUCH more effective than a few sessions with a psychiatrist.

 

[oxyfugazi]

Exercise does help out a lot but you cant exercise all day so that sucks. Weed helps me out a lot and thats something my doctor doesnt understand. If i didnt smoke some really good weed everyday then I would want to go and get pills everyday. The reason why I was on painkillers in the first place was because I didnt like myself at all and I still dont. I hate everything about me. The way I look the way I talk I just hate everything about me and I hate my life so painkillers would make me forget about all that and heroin would just put me to sleep but drugs made me forget about all the things i hate about myself and I could just relax. So I took 30 mgs of loratab one day and then took 40 mgs the next day which was yesterday so now im sitting here trying to figure out what to do. I just took half a suboxone and I feel fine not sick or anything so I think im gonna take a whole one and see how it goes.

HA. This post reminds me of a thought i had yesterday...i have had problems with depression, low self esteem, etc my whole life. i used to always wish for a magic pill that would make everything better. well...OC really helped my depression tremendously...i'm serious. i was suicidal going into my experience with it. like i fantasized about hooking up a hose to my muffler. i counted my various pills and tried to calculate how many more i would need to end it all. i couldn't walk under a beam without imagining throwing a rope around it. that bad... haven't had a self harm thought in all the time i have been addicted to OC.

unfortunately, the cost was too much (money-wise and in every other way). after starting sub therapy, i seriously thought. "Wow. found the magic pill." just too bad it took all the bullshit to get there.
and yeah, i have had counseling and therapy for most of my life, starting when i was 7 and put myself in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. (i was a precocious little kid and had a bad day at school) i really just think that with some people, there is a chemical imbalance that predisposes them to negative thought patterns. and i'm one of them. perhaps i will go back to school to get my masters or phd and make my thesis on the behavioral applications of boprenorphine in the treatment of of acute depression...anyone wanna sign up for the study?

 

[Been&Done]

^^Ive never found psychiatrists or psychologists to help much in "solving" internal problems. Maybe its just me but I have found that I am the only one who can help myself, especially when its more of an emotional issue. I can see how a psychologist or psychiatrist could help you find your way or "path" to answering your problems, but I think that YOU are the only one capable of actually "fixing" any personal internal issues you may have.
I dunno, I guess I could be different than most people but I find a nice long relaxing "sit" in nature or some other relaxing place to think about myself and what problems I may have and how I should go about fixing them or what goals I have and how I should go about achieving them is MUCH better and MUCH more effective than a few sessions with a psychiatrist.

^^^^I have exactly the same thinking, and a few-days-trip surrounded by nature does it for me. I even minored in Psychology during University, and always believed in the amazing power the human brain has. But, not everyone is like this, some people need others opening doors for them (mental ones) and telling them what's good for them. It's different from one person to the other of course.

Exercise does help out a lot but you cant exercise all day so that sucks. Weed helps me out a lot and thats something my doctor doesnt understand. If i didnt smoke some really good weed everyday then I would want to go and get pills everyday. The reason why I was on painkillers in the first place was because I didnt like myself at all and I still dont. I hate everything about me. The way I look the way I talk I just hate everything about me and I hate my life so painkillers would make me forget about all that and heroin would just put me to sleep but drugs made me forget about all the things i hate about myself and I could just relax. So I took 30 mgs of loratab one day and then took 40 mgs the next day which was yesterday so now im sitting here trying to figure out what to do. I just took half a suboxone and I feel fine not sick or anything so I think im gonna take a whole one and see how it goes.

Try looking at the world from a more positive perspective, and like Case said, no1 in this world wakes in the morning thinking about your "bad" look or walk. Cheer up man, and always know that addiction or opiates in general will never solve the problem (if you do have real ones) but later on, it will make it even worse. Bupes are good for maintenance, but don't use more than a few months. Taper slowly, and go back to your life and try to enjoy it. As for the weed, right on as i'v been smoking daily for 15 years now, and love that green mofo. Peace

 

[caseface99]

Looks like the .1ish suboxone i had to take yesterday morning wasn't a noticable set back if at all. The kratom didn't start providing as much relief as it did the first 2 days and it's not tolerance because i tried higher doses. Still feel slightly off yet all around pretty good like i did the 4th day. Day 5 comin to a close so it's pretty much not going to get any worse and will only be gettin better.

When should i start taking less kratom, when it starts making me feel feel 100% again? Because there's no reason to take the same dose the entire time, and transitioning from kratom to nothing will go a lot smoother if i lower my doses.

 

[PhrostByte]

Hey so I was a bad junkie but got clean a couple months ago.. lately I've been dabbling in heroin and bupe a bit. So the last time I used bupe was probably like 10 days ago I took 8mg... since then I did heroin like 2 or 3 times. Today I took 4mg of bupe at like 12pm... you guys think I'll be able to get high in the afternoon?

 

[Pegasus]

^^Ive never found psychiatrists or psychologists to help much in "solving" internal problems. Maybe its just me but I have found that I am the only one who can help myself, especially when its more of an emotional issue. I can see how a psychologist or psychiatrist could help you find your way or "path" to answering your problems, but I think that YOU are the only one capable of actually "fixing" any personal internal issues you may have.
I dunno, I guess I could be different than most people but I find a nice long relaxing "sit" in nature or some other relaxing place to think about myself and what problems I may have and how I should go about fixing them or what goals I have and how I should go about achieving them is MUCH better and MUCH more effective than a few sessions with a psychiatrist.

A psychologist's/ psychiatrist's help in this field is to help people realize what needs to be done so that they can fix it themselves. You're right, the change has to come from within, but help can certainly be sought to help you down this road. For many people, having a trained professional on their side to help battle the issues and to discuss the treatment plan with is very helpful.

Therapy is a useful tool and has potential benefit to many. I appreciate that you are bringing up alternatives, but please keep in mind that therapy is an established tool for helping people through rough times... one of very few established tools.

 

[caseface99]

^^ no, you'll end up wasting your time/money and just get frustrated. Wait until tomorrow afternoon at least, and start low to see if you notice anything before wasting all of it.

Also Unless you wanna go back to being a junkie I'd recommend doing a suboxone maintenance, you definitely don't sound ready for sobriety. Using once or twice every couple months is one thing but i don't see this working out for you.