Does Bupe Actually Act as a CNS Depressant For Those on Bupe Maintenance

[daddysgone]

Note: I was considering posting this in OD, since it's not as advanced as many of the threads here in ADD, but I decided it might fit better here. I suspect that if this were posted in OD, most replies would be reports from people stating how bupe subjectively "feels" to them, and Im more interested in the actual data and facts in this matter then I am with anecdotal reports. Mods, if you feel this would better fit in OD, feel free to move it. Thanks-DG



Obviously buprenorphine is an opioid, and clearly opioids are CNS depressants, but in practice, for those who are on bupe maintenance, does bupe really act as a CNS depressant, complete with respiratory depression?

The reason I ask is that Im on bupe maintenance, and to me, bupe could not feel LESS like a depressant. When I take a full opioid agonist, there is a very obvious depressant effect, but when I take bupe, nothing about it "feels" like a depressant. If anything, it feels like a mild stimulant that just so happens to keep my opioid cravings at bay. I am well aware that the way something "feels" is highly subjective, and not the best way to determine the action of a substance, but the fact remains that to me, bupe feels like anything but a depressant.

My guess is that for those who are opiate naive, bupe would feel very similar to typical opioids (euphoria, itchiness, sedation) etc, but for those I know who are on bupe maintenance, they all seem to agree that they notice NO CNS depressant effects, and most, like me, actually experience this drug as a mild stimulant. And to illustrate a contrast-for those on methadone maintenance, most experience STRONG depressant effects and heavy sedation.

So, my question is, for someone like me on a low to moderate dose of bupe maintenance, does bupe act as a depressant despite the fact that subjectively there are no depressant effects, to the point that it actually feels stimulatory?

Thanks-DG

 

[Hammilton]

I certainly do, even today, and when I take it near bedtime, my wife notices an increase in the periods when I stop breathing in my sleep.

It's odd, actually, because there's no reason I should have sleep apnea. I'm not nearly overweight enough (about 15 lbs, but here in the midwest, that makes me small ) and I don't have any when I take it during the day.

absolutely no stimulatory effects. Additionally, there is an increase in apnea the longer it's been since I've dosed last (With the increase peaking at about 26 hours, 25-25.5 probably the best)

 

[rnd.id.]

@daddysgone: Random unfounded guess: Kappa antagonism leading do dopamine release? (Mind you, I never tried buprenorphine myself)

 

[daddysgone]

I certainly do, even today, and when I take it near bedtime, my wife notices an increase in the periods when I stop breathing in my sleep.

It's odd, actually, because there's no reason I should have sleep apnea. I'm not nearly overweight enough (about 15 lbs, but here in the midwest, that makes me small ) and I don't have any when I take it during the day.

absolutely no stimulatory effects. Additionally, there is an increase in apnea the longer it's been since I've dosed last (With the increase peaking at about 26 hours, 25-25.5 probably the best)

Hmmm. Thats odd.
What is your daily dose of bupe? I'd imagine the sedative effects become more pronounced at higher doses. I've always been at a low maintenance dose (2-3mg per day), and as I said, I dont notice even a hint of CNS depressant effects, and actually find it quite stimulating.

So you attribute your periods of apnea to the bupe?
When I think of respiratory depression due to opioids, I think of it more as shallow and/or infrequent breathing. I dont really associate it with the the momentary stoppage of breathing that results from apnea. But perhaps Im wrong about this and opioids actually do cause apnea like respiratory depression.

How about everyone else? For those on bupe maintenance, do you notice any CNS depressant effects? Do you actually notice stimulatory effects.-DG

 

[Hammilton]

I've taken 8mg for years. Now I take 7mg (2 x 2mg sublingual, 1.5 x 2mg insufflated) + about 200mg of diphenhydramine. The diphenhydramine just takes away the itching now, it doesn't have any sedative effect, and the apnea is present regardless of whether I take it or not (but the itching isn't).

I don't know if the apnea is caused by it, but there's a definite correlation between the time of day taken and if I have any apnea or not.

It's the reason I had to settle for rozerem for sleep. It's an interesting drug, itself actually. I sleep really well now, but I can see why lots of people wouldn't like it, since it doesn't actually put you to sleep.

the most amazing thing is the dreams, actually. I had this amazing dream the other night where the whole world was breaking down after a huge planet-like structure came crashing through our solar system. It smack into us, but it got close enough to ruin our lives by pulling us out of our gravitational orbit. The most amazing thing was the seeing the moon eclipse the newcomer planet, but it was like sitting a dime over a silver dollar, and the other planet could be seen on all sides- in daytime, even.

The interesting thing was, as humanity started flipping out, we ended up at this shelter where there were a lot of people who were trying to keep humanity stable, and I sat down on this bunk, and realized that Gerald Ford was lying next to me. I looked over at him and said- should I call you Mr. President, Mr. Ford or just Gerald, you are dead after all?- and we started talking about his feelings about Obama's reaction to the crisis.

 

[dread]

Wow... crazy dreams.

Ever since I started taking melatonin as a sleep aid I've also been having the craziest dreams. I also take buprenorphine daily.

 

[drug_FUCKED]

Yep. But bupe is not a fun drug even though some shoot and abuse it. It is a really good pain killer though long lasting and not as abusable as other alternatives. Those patches suck but unless you exact them.

 

[PaulyPointz]

Yeah, at first I'd sometimes catch a full on nod from bupe, but now it just amps me up, like the chemists made a mixture of adderall, prozac, and methadone. Pretty stimulating.

 

[Tommyboy]

Yeah, at first I'd sometimes catch a full on nod from bupe, but now it just amps me up, like the chemists made a mixture of adderall, prozac, and methadone. Pretty stimulating.

I agree. When I was first prescribed suboxone, it was for 2 8mg pills daily. I had been clean for over a month. I took 32mg my first dose, and was higher than ever b4. I took them subligually as directed.