how long to keep buprenorphine under the tongue before swallowing?

[lsd303]

The title says it .. I'm on a high daily dose (24mg), which I receive crushed into powder/small chunks of tablet (it's the way they do it in this part of Australia). As the powder dissolves, I'm left with a mouthful of saliva that's still very bitter, indicating that there's still a lot of bupe left unabsorbed after the dose is 'gone'. How long do others keep this saliva under their tongue before swallowing it? I assume swallowing it while it's still bitter means that an unknown quantity of the drug is going to the stomach, rendering it useless.

At the same time, I can keep the shit in my mouth for an hour and it's still bitter, and it's at that point that I usually give up and swallow it (so I can have a smoke, if nothing else!).

How do others on bupe go about maximising the effectiveness of their dose, and/or how long do you keep the solution under your tongue before swallowing?

 

[krishnaya]

It takes me about 5-8 minutes for the 8 mg tab to fully dissolve. A problem is, what do you do with your saliva? You don't want to swallow it, since you don't want the naltrexone, but it's impossible to avoid. I'd say leave it there 'til you can't see any physical remains. Works for me.

 

[TheTruth]

well, he doesn't necessarily get the kind that has naltrexone. the best way seems to be to allow it to completely dissolve, ensure that there are no solid pieces left, and try to get the saliva near the places of your mouth that have the most nerve endings. After its completely dissolved, I dont think theres any good reason to keep the saliva in your mouth any longer than 5-10 minutes. Dont get too obsessive about it...

 

[lsd303]

Yeah, the stuff I get doesn't have naloxone in it - suboxone (AFAIK) isn't available in Australia yet. I wish they'd hurry up and make it available, because in my state they don't allow 'take away' doses of bupe for fear of it being sold off - including naloxone in the mixture would theoretically get rid of that problem.

I do get pretty obsessive about it - as long as I'm able, I tend to keep the bitter spit under my tongue for anything up to an hour. I only try to maximise the dose so much because bupe has turned out to be the best thing for my depression that I've ever come across, and I don't want to waste any more than I have to! I've google searched every imaginable combination of search terms to try and find 'official' dosing techniques, without much success. Ah well, it's working nicely the way I'm doing it now, so I'll stick with what works I guess!

 

[TheTruth]

You're doing it just the way its supposed to be done, just keeping it in your mouth longer than necessary, but of course your reasoning is understandable: you want the maximum effect and let none of it go to waste!
Have you tried asking your pharmacist about proper dosing?

 

[lsd303]

Yeah, I've spoken to the pharmacist & my prescribing doctor - both were pretty nonchalant about it and just said to 'keep it under the tongue until it's "gone"', I assume referring to the powder itself. That said, it doesn't do a whole lot to address the issue of wasted bupe in saliva, ie what this thread is supposed to be about!

 

[who mE?]

My rule is to keep my suboxone 2mg under my tounge until I can no longer taste the orange flavor. Although I've discovered that very carefully snorting into my sinuses just far enough that it doesnt drip provides the most consistant dosage. It does not kick in any quicker this way, I only do it for consistancy of dosage, and because it gives an extra 25% over sublingual, which is good because I got underprescribed slightly.