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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

Help! Doc injtd me w/nelbufrine, causing instant WD from hell, why did he do that?

Serena697

Greenlighter
Joined
Apr 11, 2015
Messages
9
My doc prescribes me methadone, forty mg pills, for chronic, severe spine pain. He knows I take from two to four pills a day, depending on pain level. A few times a year, I get flare ups so horrible I need to go to the er for something stronger. Now that I live in Mexico, an ER isn't an option. I don't take anything else.

At his office yesterday, I'm crying from the agonizing pain due to a two week bad flare up, and ask, " is there anything I can take to help with break through pain because I'm losing my damn mind, and the methadone isn't enough."

He suggests injectable nelbufrine. Never heard of it. He explains it's both an antagonist and agonist, and the antagonist part means it may somewhat reduces the effect of the methadone in my system. I figured, no prob, I'm desperate, and if that happens I'll at worst be in more pain. Worth a try.

He injects ten mgs. And within two minutes one of the worst physical and mental experiences of my life commences. I was convinced he poisoned me, or the nelbufrine was contaminated. My body felt like every inch under my skin was set on fire. Same with my throat, sensation that it was on fire and vomitus taste of heavy metals. I was in absolute agony, I've experienced WD before, when I couldn't get a script filled on time, but it paled in comparison to this. For five hours I was rolling and flopping on is bathroom floor. Screaming at max lung capacity. Punching the tile floor and walls and banging my head against the wall desperate to get rid of the fire, pain, tremors. I hallucinated terrible things. I was absolutely convinced I was dying.

I begged for an ambulance but he refused. (he claims because the hospital couldn't do anything for me, which is probably true, but maybe he was also scared shitless because I kept screaming, "why did you inject me with that, what did you do to me?!")


What makes me even angrier, is he blamed me. He insisted, "I simply gave you what you asked for." NO, fucker, I had asked if he knew of anything to help with breakthrough pain, and never even heard of nelbufrine. Then he claimed it was my fault because I don't wait twelve hours in between each methadone pill. Huh? Why then did he inject me knowing the last pill I took was only four hours prior? (He specifically asked me.). And he if knows I take up to four pills a day, obviously I can't wait twelve hours in between pills. I have always been honest with him With what i take (only methadone) and that I've been taking it for seven years.


He insisted that while nelbufrine is both an agonist and antagonist, the agonist part should've still given me pain relief. I did some quick research later and discovered the antagonist in nelbufrine stopped my opiate receptors from receiving any benefit from the methadone in my system....and wouldn't the antagonist portion of the nelbufrine prevent any benefit from its agonist portion?

There is no way I can convey how horrible, humiliating and traumatizing the experience was. I truly felt I was dying, the pain was pure torture, I'm covered in bruises from banging up my body, and I am so ashamed for what he saw. It lasted six hours. I blacked out numerous times.

I thnk he truly didn't have any clue about the effect of nelbufrine on someone like me. He now changes his story (first story was it was my fault because I overlap methadone and dont wait twelve hours in between doses, and, that I simply "asked" for nelbufrine, which is preposterous. I asked for a pain reliever, and I pay him for his knowledge and expertise. I should be taken heed of that internal red flag that went off when I saw him using Wikipedia to search for drug interactions and correct dosing.

Now, he claims my reaction (which was an instantaneous, severe withdrawal packed into a five hour period) on his belief that my reaction was not foreseeable and very very rare.

So, question: why on earth would he inject me with an antagonist knowing I have a heap of methadone in my system, causing instant withdrawal from the ninth circle of Dante's hell? He had offered to let me inject myself at home. Glad I didn't. I likely would've attempted suicide. It was that bad.



Your take? I appreciate any response. I take my meds as prescribed and suffer from horrendous spinal pain, and for him to accuse of of taking my meds wrong, or, at one point during that five hour period, demanding to know "what else had I taken that I had not disclosed" (nothing) feels as if he is treating me like a junkie.
 
Nalbuphine is indeed an agonist/antagonist. If you ever here that term again with an opioid tolerance, turn around and run. If this story went exactly the way you described. Your doctor's actions could amount to malpractice. It definitely amounts to him being severely misinformed.

All of this goes doubly so when dealing with an opioid as saturating to your receptors as methadone.
 
Sounds like your doc was just not thinking at all and sent you into precipitated withdrawal. If you are in a position to obtain a new physician, that could be a great course of action. with the chronic pain you describe, a pain management specialist may be more knowledgeable and reliable at getting those flare ups under control.
 
Thank you so much for your feedback. I spoke to him later, he said, "well, when I told you it might lessen the effect of methadone, I figured you would put two and two together and know the risk." Fucker. No, I do not conflate methadone not being as effective on pain as the same thing as instant, full blown withdrawal. I'm getting a new doc, and I swear I want to punch this smug bastard. Learned my lesson to never take anything without researching it myself first, and not to simply rely on some hack.
 
That Dr. is an ass! I was on Suboxone for 2 years after getting clean from a 4 year heroin addiction. I relapsed multiple times the first year, but the first time I didn't know how long to wait until the sub's were completely out of my system. So I skipped my morning dose, and waited until I felt WD symptoms at around 3 pm to shoot up. Big mistake, I was violently ill all night! Legs kicking, throwing up(you know the drill). Terrible experience. Your doctor really need to get his facts straight before he puts another patient in a situation like that.

Sorry about your ordeal, it makes my experience seem like the common cold...
 
Smitty, I appreciate your compassion. Yes, this guy is a bastard ass bitch. He smugly keeps coming up with excuses on how my reaction was an anomaly. Im covered in bruises from punching tile floor and I was begging him for a blanket, which he couldn't be bothered to get. This guy is walking malpractice and is playing with fire. It's a horrible sense of betrayal because we trust our docs. I would have infinitely more respect for him if he manned up, admitted he made a mistake and apologized. I'm sorry you suffered the similar way. Is that kind of withdrawal nightmare I experienced similar to what heroin users go through? I have never experienced such hell and truly thought someone had lit me on fire and that I was going to die. I kept telling him to take care of my dog as I knew I was gonna have a heart attack and die within five minutes.
 
Heroin withdrawal is awful. Especially when set off by Suboxone, because the WD's start immediate and last so long. There's no way to stop it cuz u cant use dope or it will get worse and u can't take more subs either. Your basically fucked! Sleep? Yea right! Work the next day? Ha! Not happening... The toilette is your best friend for the next day or so...
 
I had left my methadone pills at home during that doc visit and ensuing withdrawal. Does that mean that if I did bring the pills with me, and popped a few once that hell started, it wouldn't have helped at all and only made it worse?
 
I see. Increasing methadone with nubain still in my system would simply cause more withdrawal, not lessen the withdrawal. I wouldve eaten molten lava had I felt it would've helped. I still can't believe I was uncontrollably screaming at the top of my lungs for ten seconds at a time, again and again and again. I feel so utterly humiliated.
 
You must've gotten something bad that time smitty704. Precipated WDs can only happen from taking an antagonist or partial antagonist while you still have a full agonist on your receptors. Such as having a heroin or oxycodone habit & taking suboxone/subutex before you are in full WD. The worst thing that can happen the other way around (full agonist after partial/full antagonist) is that your full agonist won't take effect because of the receptor blockade. It will by cause precipated WDs.
 
Serena697, sorry to hear about your experience. That is terrible that your doctor did that to you, he should've known it was a bad idea to give a partial antagonist. I don't know of any partial agonist/antagonist opiod that doesn't cause precipated WD in an opiod dependant person & would think percipated WD would be common knowledge for someone who can prescribe opiates/opioids. I would suggest getting a new doctor ASAP & possibly looking into a malpractice lawsuit.
 
Rob, thank you for the kind words. Right now I'm in Mexico (doc is American, but also licensed here) so a lawsuit would be useless. What breaks my heart is how, during the first hour of the WD while I was screaming and begging for an ambulance, he not only locked the office doors and refused to allow anyone to see me or call an ambulance, but also tried to dump me in a taxi and get rid of me. Yes, I was screaming uncontrollably, sobbing, hallucinating, couldn't sit, stand or walk, and he kept trying to push me into a Mexican cab. had this happened in the US he would no doubt be investigated and maybe get his opiate prescribing privs yanked. This doc even runs the local chapter of the Red Cross here. He still insists my reaction was highly unusual, and that I should've known a withdrawal was a possibility. I know I just have to get over it and I'm lucky I didn't inject myself at home, as I'm sure I wouldn't attempted suicide, but I'm just so hurt at his shamelessness and heartlessness. He simply left the room I was in and hung out in his office, surfing the web. Offered me no comfort at all. Told me, "I knew you were still breathing since you were screaming and banging your head against the wall." He kept whining, "can you drive yet? I'd like to leave."
 
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If you take ANY opiate with Suboxone in your system you will go into withdrawl. This is something I learned the hardway. I have seen my friends do it as well, very shitty experience. What do you mean by "something bad"?
 
How does that even make sense? You can't take subs with opiates in your system, but you CAN take opiates with subs in ur system??? I was on subs for 2 years and experienced precipitated withdrawls from taking opiates with subs still in my system. If you don't wait long enough for the Suboxone to leave your system and go into full withdrawl before taking ur dope, withdrawl occurs. Fact.
 
Nope u are wrong, if u take sub while still having whatever opioids on ur receptors is when it will send u into precipitated withdrawal. If u just have sub in ur system no matter how much it will only block the effects of the drug which ur trying to get high on, it will not send u into withdrawal tho
 
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