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

[Ripamaru]

It can last a month or more. Long acting opiates can be hell to get off of.

Be glad that you didn't get addicted to methadone. It could be much worse.

Good luck bro

 

[grizz88]

preciate it bro, dunno what the fucks in this bullshit

 

[BrokedownPalace]

I'm experiencing some strange effects from my Suboxone – they seem downright contradictory to what one would expect.

So prior to the past month or so I had been using Suboxone and heroin essentially at the same time. What I would do is take Suboxone to deal with the w/d symptoms while using. What would often happen is that I'd take my Suboxone in the morning (2-4mgs) and then shoot dope later in the day. I would still get high and I attributed it to the low dose of Suboxone. This went on for around 6-months, and at one point I was taking 8mgs of Suboxone and "topping-off" with heroin.

Well, now I'm pretty much back on the Suboxone. My dose is now 24mgs and I've been on that for 5-days, and before that 16mgs. I've felt like crap for the entire time I've been back on Suboxone: depression, anxiety, aches, and intense cravings. It's almost like mild withdrawal. Also, even on 24mgs of Suboxone for 5-days (only 16mgs today), I messed up and used dope today and I can still get high. I can pretty much feel the full effects with the exception of the rush. I don't get it, on the pharmacological level this shouldn't even be possible, should it? It's almost like I have more opioid receptors than Suboxone can fill. To clarify, on any dose I've been on, even for an extended period of time (extended meaning the stabilization period of 7.5-days) – I still feel like crap and I can still get high using heroin. Frustrating and confusing. . .

Yeah that is pretty odd you can still get high on top of that much suboxone. It is still possible, I suppose, but not the normal reaction that's for sure. Feeling like crap during the transition period is normal, and it should go away after a week or two at most. Stick with it. Another thing is, you are on a rather high dose. With bupe, the 'less is more' philosophy really does hold true. Around 4-6mg of bupe should be enough to hold most people from getting sick. 24mg is pretty overkill for 90 percent of dope habits. how much were you doing before you started sub? I know a lot of people who started on high doses who felt like shit still, but then cut their dose down to 8mg or less. They did the drop with minimal discomfort, and reported that at the lower dosage most of the undesired negative effects seemed to disappear, while still be able to avoid withdrawal.

 

[ThePharmicist]

Yeah that is pretty odd you can still get high on top of that much suboxone. It is still possible, I suppose, but not the normal reaction that's for sure. Feeling like crap during the transition period is normal, and it should go away after a week or two at most. Stick with it. Another thing is, you are on a rather high dose. With bupe, the 'less is more' philosophy really does hold true. Around 4-6mg of bupe should be enough to hold most people from getting sick. 24mg is pretty overkill for 90 percent of dope habits. how much were you doing before you started sub? I know a lot of people who started on high doses who felt like shit still, but then cut their dose down to 8mg or less. They did the drop with minimal discomfort, and reported that at the lower dosage most of the undesired negative effects seemed to disappear, while still be able to avoid withdrawal.

That's the thing - even after 10 days on Suboxone I still feel like shit and shooting dope still works, and worse yet the dope makes me feel more normal. Before getting back on Suboxone I was shooting at *least* .25g of dope a day, on my heavier days I was shooting .5g and on really good nights I could go through .8g without a problem.

I understand the less is more philosophy and it does hold true with regards to withdrawal symptoms. A small amount will get rid of most withdrawal, but my real problem is the *intense* cravings. My doc and I have a real good relationship and after telling him about relapsing on 16mg he pushed it up. One of the goals of opioid replacement therapy is to keep cravings controlled. I'm just afraid that I've fucked my tolerance up so much because of my concurrent use of both at the same time. Hopefully I can start to feel normal soon, but the suboxone just doesn't work like it used to sadly. I'm almost out of options and am afraid methadone might be the only thing that will control my cravings and completely block the dope. But methadone scares me a lot. If I could use it for around 90-days with a taper that may help I feel. Argh I just want the sub to work!

 

[BrokedownPalace]

^Yeah man I see what you are saying. Unfortunately I don't have any miracle answers for ya, but your use of dope + subs simultaneously may have indeed fucked your tolerance up, and make properly adjusting to bupe nearly impossible. Methadone may be a better option for you, and while it should be taken seriously I don't think it is as scary as some people make it out to be. I personally have been on MMT for a year and a half about, and am doing pretty good, considering. When I was shooting dope and shit suboxone never worked. But methadone worked very well, basically eliminating cravings once I got my dose up a bit.

 

[Pegasus]

That's the thing - even after 10 days on Suboxone I still feel like shit and shooting dope still works, and worse yet the dope makes me feel more normal. Before getting back on Suboxone I was shooting at *least* .25g of dope a day, on my heavier days I was shooting .5g and on really good nights I could go through .8g without a problem.

I understand the less is more philosophy and it does hold true with regards to withdrawal symptoms. A small amount will get rid of most withdrawal, but my real problem is the *intense* cravings. My doc and I have a real good relationship and after telling him about relapsing on 16mg he pushed it up. One of the goals of opioid replacement therapy is to keep cravings controlled. I'm just afraid that I've fucked my tolerance up so much because of my concurrent use of both at the same time. Hopefully I can start to feel normal soon, but the suboxone just doesn't work like it used to sadly. I'm almost out of options and am afraid methadone might be the only thing that will control my cravings and completely block the dope. But methadone scares me a lot. If I could use it for around 90-days with a taper that may help I feel. Argh I just want the sub to work!

IMO "less is more" works with people that can be satisfied with a bit of a mood enhancement, like a super-coffee or something. You're not going to be able to satisfy your cravings anywhere near what heroin does, and knowing that you can just dose over your bupe really makes bupe only good for keeping you from getting sick from withdrawal. This is not a positive use of bupe, IMO, since it is really only inflating your tolerance and making you dose over the bupe. I think you'd be better off if you switched to an ORT that gave strong effects (methadone), or to switch off of bupe and just try to quit as you feel you can. Using bupe in the way you are describing is completely defeating the purpose and safety of ORT... I say either do it right or don't do it; this in between stage just isn't going to do much good , IMO.

 

[muvolution]

less is more also works with people who usually have the "more is more" attitude, doing over 100mgs of oxymorphone a day... was never enough and it's even better than H.

Really, less is more. The least you can get away with is good.

 

[SubDude]

^Yeah man I see what you are saying. Unfortunately I don't have any miracle answers for ya, but your use of dope + subs simultaneously may have indeed fucked your tolerance up, and make properly adjusting to bupe nearly impossible. Methadone may be a better option for you, and while it should be taken seriously I don't think it is as scary as some people make it out to be. I personally have been on MMT for a year and a half about, and am doing pretty good, considering. When I was shooting dope and shit suboxone never worked. But methadone worked very well, basically eliminating cravings once I got my dose up a bit.

I agree MMT can definitely work better for some of us. If subs isn't working give MMT a try... it won't be easy, but you can always switch back to subs or taper off if... methadone doesn't work

 

[lmc422]

ive been on 8mg subs for almost a month now, im seein my doc in a few days and have enough money to get me about another 3 weeks or so worth. i was planning on asking him to cut the dose in half to 4mg, take that for a week, and then break the 4's into 2's to finish tapering and then jump off from there?

does this seem like a good idea to anyone or does someone have any suggestions to make the jump off easier for. remember that money is an issue so i have to deal with what i can afford. ive heard the w/d isnt nearly as bad as dope w/d but i have class 5 days a week and cant really afford to miss it.

also i was taking the strips but this <discount> card i had expired causing me to switch over to generic subtex, is there any difference with the subtex as opposed to oxone?

also any suggestions to ask my doc for wen im withdrawling, i.e trazadone etc...

Thanks

Dont jump off at 2mg cut that down to 1mg and then .5 and then .25. If you get the 2mg pills its easier to do. another way is crushing the pill and making into even lines. if its an 8mg pill you make 4 lines of 2mg each. You get the idea right? Just make sure to go down to a really small mg. My sigestion is .25mg. I jumped off at .5mg and that wasnt very fun. But when I did that I was taking it for 2 years. So just get down as low as possible. Thats my sugestion for tapering down. And plan the taper out when you get your next refill. and ask for the 2mg pills. that way its easier to break the pills up making it smaller mgs.
As far as w/d meds I would suggest clonidine and valuim. Thats what most docs use for w/d symptoms. Im sure trazedone would help with sleep. It doesnt for me so I used seroquil. And make sure they give you a good 3 weeks worth of w/d meds because the w/d from suboxone can be really drawn out.
Good luck to you!

 

[Ripamaru]

you think id b alright if i tapered down 1mg every week. like 3mg i week then 2mg the next and so on. or maybe i cud take a dose like every other day

If you move that fast it will not be fun. You may not have a choice but nobody can tell you how to make that ok since it is just too fast to be painless.

 

[SubDude]

you think id b alright if i tapered down 1mg every week. like 3mg i week then 2mg the next and so on. or maybe i cud take a dose like every other day

It's different for everyone. I switched from methadone to 12mg subs about 2 yrs ago and had little trouble tapering but I had more time. I dropped from 12 -8mg right away and was fine from there

Day 1-3 6mg

Day 4-7 5mg

Day 8-14 4mg

Day 15-21 3mg

Day 22-30 2mg

I probably could have from 4-2mg but was in no hurry. i felt no WD's at all.

Getting to 2mg is the easiest part and you can adjust your dose by the way you feel. Might need to split dose depending on sleep, appetite, energy...etc. From my own experience and those I know, most BMT clients can get from 8mg to 2mg within 30

From 2mg

Day 1-14 1.5mg

Day 15-30 1mg

Day 30-60 .75mg

day 61+ .50mg

Again I felf no wd's at all except a little seezing and tears. So adjust your schedule to how you feel. BTW I'm still on .50mg and feel no different than when I was on 12mg.

Good luck.

 

[cire113]

i cant believe how many people in the world actually label Bupe has their DOC...

sometimes ppl forget how powerful this shit is..

alot of people i know perfer sub over any other opiates! sometimes paying xx$ for an n8..

insane...

 

[Psyastic]

Haha so I just opened a film package today and found two strips in there. Last week I got one that had nothing in it and that was after the pharmacy gave me an extra film package. Suboxone film is fun! Ya never know what you're gonna get!

 

[grizz88]

I RECENTLY STOPPED USING SUBOXONE (cant get any) day SIX.. Really was surprised it had taken this long. I havent abused other opiates besides a few vicodins over the last month and a codeine syrup from the doc. BUT had 15 suboxones Ive taken over the last 30-35 days


FORMER FAT H SNOOTS on and off FOR ABOUT 2 YEARS. MIXED IN WAS OTHER SHIT ALONG THE WAY. NO METH or CRACK, REALLY INTO OPIATES

I TAPERED FOR 7-8 days before i was on about shortly under a full N8 suboxone. Even with this taper at the end (was making pill last about 8 days )

suboxone seemed like a natural fit considering it lasted a while, you could get by on just a small piece of a pill every other day... the ONLY drug I could have ever let last this long with the quantity had.

Anyway, this past christmas holiday season I spent probably a good <snip> on OC-OPs. No regular ocs just the ops. <snip> bucks an 80 with some other shit thrown in free isnt a bad deal.

I like eating xans, i feel i do have some level of anxiety, but right now i know its the subs eating at my shit in my head, even six days later

Days 1+2+3

Didnt really tell shit until day three when a huge pronounced headache hit me at about 12:30am
THIS HEADACHE, HOLY SHIT, I REALLY THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE
NOT A JOKE
was about to go to the hospital

anyway, had a tiny bit of xanax saved and some codeine syrup from the doc I had had since the week before, downed the shit out of it drank some rumple minz schnapps and took the xanax and passed the fuck out, not until about 1:30 of suffering, which i really dont remember if it hurt before I was actually knocked out.

Days 4+5+6

remind you this is all after the 8 day taper i was getting down on, every other day a tiny ass piece

but smaller pronounced headache, has gotten progressively better, still sleeplessness, although i find i can usually get a couple hours of good sleep, but occaisionally wake up not necessarily with the sweats, but some jive bullshit

smoke a ton of weed during all of this to ease the symptoms, helps an unreal amount especially if your smoking quality. as i said, transporting weed and selling it (trafficking and distribution) was a strong hobby of a lot of people i know... %)

will most likely post again when i cant sleep at 5 int he morning with a test at one o clock but fucking no way im studying for that bitch

Its day 8? maybe 9? but damn, these headaches are fucking killing me right now. ive gone a solid week of feeling OK.. aside from the third day when i had a mind melting quake which I referenced earlier on in the last post. Right now its about 4pm on a friday and my head is killing me. again. I could feel a resonating reverberation from the last one at least at some point every day, but would go away... not today really weak.

there is hope, but its pretty discouraging when youve felt like youve reached the end of the tunnel, and yet theres another one right behind it... no chance for relapse, as i have no access to anything nor any money to find something with. small town under 30k

just took two motrin ibs and headache is better

will probably start drinking in a little bit, my retarded yet chill roommate isnt an opiate user (adderall, xans) and is prescribed 2 mg xrs, just found out he has an xtra refill on his script that hes just holding out on filling, which is ridiculous. if i had that i would down a full 2mger and be real straight for over a day, and hopefully well past the duration of these headaches, and can completely wipe it out for the 2nd time in a row, and this time, it will go away for good. I think this is the final wave, if so, thank my fucking god, this has been thee most retarded experience of my life

FUCK SUBOXONE THANK YOU EVERYONE

ANYONE TAPERING TO .5 MG IS NOT EXPERIENCING JACK SHIT.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Haha I am well aware of bupe's extremely strong affinity and, if I remember correctly, how Captain.Heroin likes shooting it everyday. I did think the naloxone would compete with the bupe enough to prevent a good rush and that would make the inherent complications with iving not worth it. I could very well be mistaken about that though as it is merely the experience of a few friends who tried it speaking and not any scientific data.

Some drugs take longer to kick in when administered IV. Other ones act rather quickly. It depends on how well the drug permeates the BBB. I believe this fully accounts for buprenorphine not immediately causing a "rush" that is anything like shooting heroin.

I have compared IVing Subutex and Suboxone, I got identical effects at an equal dosage of both.

 

[rolls_]

Just thought I'd chime in, been off bupe for about a two months now after tapering down to 0.2mg and I feel amazing, the buzz I get from exercise and just being social now is better than opiates ever were.

Absolute god send it was getting me of opiates, wish you all the best and remember once you finally get off life is so much better! How good you feel mentally is all about what you are doing and not what pills you take, it is a very refreshing feeling not having to control your moods with a stupid pill buzz.

 

[Acidtek]

How many consecutive days can you take subutex and avoid withdrawls and still get a buzz? Also roughly how long will it stay in your system? I assume the latter depends on dosage, thanks

 

[HdoubleODeezy]

^ i am actually testing that out now.. but so far results are inconclusive.. i would like to know also.
Because i was on for 4yrs and want to just take 1mg a couple days a week w/o w/d's but every time i use i get minor w/d's again.. so i am trying to figure out if use on 1(say Monday) day skip3 days and use again (on Friday) than repeat the next week after skipping 4 days, so it would switch to Wednesday and 3 days later (Sunday), than skip 3 (Wednesday/Thursday) so every other week alternate Monday and Friday and Tuesday and Friday or Sunday and Wednesday.. it's honestly a difficult equation, but honestly.. i don't think there is a schedule you can just follow to get your cake and eat it too or have the best of both worlds. But if you use consecutive days it fucks the whole schedule up and raises chances for dependence.
I think you need to either be a dope addict or be clean, no in between.

 

[Pegasus]

It is very hard to use bupe throughout the week and not get addicted. The first time I became addicted, I was taking 2 - 3 day breaks between doses and they didn't work.

 

[SubDude]

FUCK SUBOXONE THANK YOU EVERYONE

ANYONE TAPERING TO .5 MG IS NOT EXPERIENCING JACK SHIT.

Not sure what you mean.... but there are many people using 1mg BMT [or less]and do get "jack shit"... mainly avoidance of WD's and [if you want] can occasionally use other opiates and feel them nicely and go back to subs before wd's kick in. There are also people [on bmt] who post in this thread who IV less than 1mg subs and say they like it very much.