Methadone, Bupe and gasp Codeine!

[Stiffeno]

Which is why im seeing both my case worker and my Bupe Doctor 1 hour from now

Well i seen my case worker and my bupe doctor and he is forcing me to take suboxone for another month AND i must seek out a pain management specialist with this month and find a way to fix my back a bit.

Even though my pain is chronic and its a huge part of my life my doctor flat out says "We arent here to cure your back, nor stop the pain"....i explained to him that i realize that but i cant just say its for the cravings only (which it is too) without mentioning my back pain. Weather he wants to help my back pain or not i dont give a crap, but as my doctor he MUST understand what i go threw.

Now im having a full spinal xray tomorrow and then im going to see if i can see another pain doctor (which is gunna cost me a bloodt fortune, not that my bupe doctor gives a rats ass about). My bupe doctor wants me to try physio and lots of other things before he reviews my case and decides weather to put me on Methadone (a small dose we both agree).

I am extremely unhappy with my doctors choice as i know the pain doctor is not gunna beable to do anything long term about the pain, and in the end all these stupid visists are just gunna keep me both in pain for an extra month AND cost me a bloody fortune.

And then at the end he goes "Well i have been known to prescribe Methadone in cases like yours in the past, and i actually like prescribing to drug" (yes he said he LIKES doing it)...HAHAHAH you sure coulda fooled me mr doctor, it seems like his doin everything in his power to keep me on sub longer...even with constant cravings and chronic back pain which from 1-10 is a full on 10 every single morning.

Oh well after this month which is gunna be hell to get through (in all honesty im sure im going to relapse, its a near certanty)...hopefully he wakes up and puts me on the Methadone as i wish too!

I mean i though it was up to the patient what treatment they take? im now stuck for another month on this garbage....it does NOTHING for my back pain anymore, not even 30mins of relief....its fucked -_-.

If i relapse in the next 2 weeks (which i think WILL happen, even now im finding myself buying packs of pills and holding them in my hands reasy to pop them 10 at a time)..if he STILL wont be willing to put me on a med that will stop my cravings im going to find another doctor.

VERY VERY unhappy with todays result, i left with my head down, back in pain and feeling like a piece of shit having suggested Methadone...

EDIT: And just to add the doctor kept on mentioning the "Stigma" attached to being on Methadone...umm im pretty sure i dont care wtf ppl think of me as long as i get relief? I mean he goes on talking about how id need to visit clinics (before being transfered back to my chemist which also offers Meth) in which there aere junkies and all bad types of ppl...umm i AM one of them, ive been to clinics i know the kinds of ppl that hang out at them, i honestly dont care...he seems to care more about the stigma ill get then the fact my back makes me want to chuck myself in front of a train most days....

I mean im already on 32mg of bupe for a god damn codeine addiction, being labled "on methadone" isnt that much worse anyways, most ppl think Bupe basically IS methadone...so who cares what ppl think! Im in it for the relief not to win a popularity contest!

EDIT2: Oh and one more thing i asked if i could atleast be put back onto the Bupe pill form rasther then the shitty films and he said "ill talk it over with the case worker.." err he is my doctor why didnt he just agree?

The films suck, they are near impossible to open most times due to the child safety crap which causes you to need a pair of scissors to get it open more often then not, they take LONGER to dissovle for me, and worst of all most times the films are cracked and crumbled into little pieces due to being so dry and so thin...i mean he put me on Sub for another month for review, the least he coulda done was bloody at least give me the pill form again -_-.

Im starting to think this doctor cares for all the wrong reasons!

 

[Christ!]

Well im now at 32mg and the cravings are here on a daily basis, my backache which was nearly cured at the start of Bupe is now back in full force (i suffer from lower; and soon to be proven, upper spine Scoliosis - which is where the bone actually begins to curse putting pressure and causing massive backaches).

Sorry to hear about your troubles mate, opiate addiction is no fun and you're doing the right thing by getting support and trying to get it sorted.

Main thing - your dose of bupe is way too high! Doctors are trained to prescribe huge doses for massive heroin addicts, because it blocks the effects if they try and get high, and the fact that it raises your tolerance hugely also helps to make your opiate of choice not worth it. They are trained for situations where the heroin user is at risk of overdosing or other dangers from IV use - so the high dose is justified.

Minimum of 400mg of codeine a day? I'd say you would need 6mg at the absolute maximum. (and you wouldn't have trouble getting to 2mg in less than a month )

This will sound VERY strange and go against everything you've learned in your drug using times - less bupe actually makes you feel a hell of a lot better (within reason) I started on 12mg, felt like crap and was craving my codeine or oxycontin...I read about less bupe being more satisfying on a forum, so decided to try reducing.

My doctor added 'may reduce by x mg as requested' so I could reduce and make sure I felt comfortable. It actually wasn't nearly as hard as I guessed, I reduced by a milligram or two a week until I was down to 2mg per day - AND I FELT AWESOME! How crazy is that? I can see how people fall into this trap with doctors pushing for larger doses, but this is in the mindset of treating a serious herion addict, which normally has a much larger tolerance than 400mg codeine.

Just to note - The 12mg to 2mg reduction is easy, but once you get past that point it starts getting harder (although not all THAT hard) the most difficult bit is the last 0.5mg IME.

My advice - try and reduce your bupe dose ASAP! The longer you are on such a ridiculous dose the harder it's going to be, and the higher your tolerance is going to be. Going from a 400mg codeine habit to 32mg of bupe is like....shit it's like going from a doctor certified pain management dose to THE MOST HARDCORE HEROIN ADDICT STYLE TOLERANCE.

Do you get take aways? If you don't believe me take 8mg for a day and see how you do, it won't be like night and day because you'll still have lots in your system built up. How long have you been on those high doses of bupe? If you haven't been on them for long then try reducing asap, you'll be surprised how easy it is. Even try missing a day or two and then dosing 4-6mg - the bupe in your system will still be high enough where you won't be anywhere near withdrawal.

Please try reducing your bupe BEFORE getting on methadone or something else. Do some google searches about 'bupe less is more' or 'lower dose bupe/suboxone' maybe try searching the http://forum.opiophile.org forums also. You will find hundreds of bupe users who have found the same thing.

Sorry for any strong tone in my message mate, I can just feel the position you are in because I was in a similar one.

(i suffer from lower; and soon to be proven, upper spine Scoliosis - which is where the bone actually begins to curse putting pressure and causing massive backaches).

Gah, should really read though posts properly before replying.

Pain throws a whole different spanner in the works. How were you coping with the pain before you started using the larger doses of codeine? Were you doing 'better' at that point? Sorry I'm not familiar with scoliosis.

You'd still want to get your dose to something more manageable I would guess?...hopefully some more people with pain management experience will chime in. Having a tolerance like 32mg of bupe would mean a whole world of frustration trying to find a medication to treat your pain at doses that doctors would touch, I guess the other option is methadone like you said, better for pain than bupe, prescribed at high doses...but then there's the whole stigma, lifestyle that comes with it, and I don't know any methadone users who have been on it for a decent amount of time who are happy with their situation. Maybe research it up more? Try and find some people who've had similar issues and gone with the methadone?

Just got the feeling that if you go with methadone at a high dose, you'll be on it for a very long time (maybe forever) and possbily regret it.

I'm not an expert so don't take any of this as straight medical advice, I do have personal experience with opiates and opiate maintenance and have friends/family who have been on methadone/bupe/whatever and have pain issues...but that's it.

Sorry about the long post I guess if I were you I'd want to find the best doctor available who knows exactly what he's doing and has my short term AND long term well-being in mind. Can be easy for doctors to not think of all the ins and outs in situations like this IME

 

[Stiffeno]

Sorry to hear about your troubles mate, opiate addiction is no fun and you're doing the right thing by getting support and trying to get it sorted.

Main thing - your dose of bupe is way too high! Doctors are trained to prescribe huge doses for massive heroin addicts, because it blocks the effects if they try and get high, and the fact that it raises your tolerance hugely also helps to make your opiate of choice not worth it. They are trained for situations where the heroin user is at risk of overdosing or other dangers from IV use - so the high dose is justified.

Minimum of 400mg of codeine a day? I'd say you would need 6mg at the absolute maximum. (and you wouldn't have trouble getting to 2mg in less than a month )

This will sound VERY strange and go against everything you've learned in your drug using times - less bupe actually makes you feel a hell of a lot better (within reason) I started on 12mg, felt like crap and was craving my codeine or oxycontin...I read about less bupe being more satisfying on a forum, so decided to try reducing.

My doctor added 'may reduce by x mg as requested' so I could reduce and make sure I felt comfortable. It actually wasn't nearly as hard as I guessed, I reduced by a milligram or two a week until I was down to 2mg per day - AND I FELT AWESOME! How crazy is that? I can see how people fall into this trap with doctors pushing for larger doses, but this is in the mindset of treating a serious herion addict, which normally has a much larger tolerance than 400mg codeine.

Just to note - The 12mg to 2mg reduction is easy, but once you get past that point it starts getting harder (although not all THAT hard) the most difficult bit is the last 0.5mg IME.

My advice - try and reduce your bupe dose ASAP! The longer you are on such a ridiculous dose the harder it's going to be, and the higher your tolerance is going to be. Going from a 400mg codeine habit to 32mg of bupe is like....shit it's like going from a doctor certified pain management dose to THE MOST HARDCORE HEROIN ADDICT STYLE TOLERANCE.

Do you get take aways? If you don't believe me take 8mg for a day and see how you do, it won't be like night and day because you'll still have lots in your system built up. How long have you been on those high doses of bupe? If you haven't been on them for long then try reducing asap, you'll be surprised how easy it is. Even try missing a day or two and then dosing 4-6mg - the bupe in your system will still be high enough where you won't be anywhere near withdrawal.

Please try reducing your bupe BEFORE getting on methadone or something else. Do some google searches about 'bupe less is more' or 'lower dose bupe/suboxone' maybe try searching the http://forum.opiophile.org forums also. You will find hundreds of bupe users who have found the same thing.

Sorry for any strong tone in my message mate, I can just feel the position you are in because I was in a similar one.

Yeah the doctor was always upping my dose, i literally never actually asked to go up in dose, i just told him how i was feeling (which was like crap) and he put me up and up and up and up.

And i hear everyone saying 32mg is like hardcore heroin user like addiction, but i honestly dont feel it affecting me all that much at all most days. And this is coming from someone whos biggest addiction was CODEINE!!! Ive never used anything stronger then codeine, only MORE codeine like popping 30mg pills like skittles. But if i go by my actual feelings, from bein on codeine > massive bupe dose...it doesnt feel allt hat much different.

Im sure others will dissagree till their blue in the face, buts its legitamatly how i feel...or rather dont feel =/ its strange but very true.

Also to answer ur question ive been on32mg a day for about a week or 2, so im not fully a lost cause yet i think.

Its been 27 hours since i had any bupe so what ill do is ill try just taking say 8 or 16 and see how i go, though i know in the past i just didnt find it enough at all =/

Thanks for all everyones advice , no offence taken by those who were very forward and vocal (or is it textcal? lol) about my situation!

 

[Christ!]

And i hear everyone saying 32mg is like hardcore heroin user like addiction, but i honestly dont feel it affecting me all that much at all most days. And this is coming from someone whos biggest addiction was CODEINE!!! Ive never used anything stronger then codeine, only MORE codeine like popping 30mg pills like skittles. But if i go by my actual feelings, from bein on codeine > massive bupe dose...it doesnt feel allt hat much different.

Im sure others will dissagree till their blue in the face, buts its legitamatly how i feel...or rather dont feel =/ its strange but very true.

Also to answer ur question ive been on32mg a day for about a week or 2, so im not fully a lost cause yet i think.

Its been 27 hours since i had any bupe so what ill do is ill try just taking say 8 or 16 and see how i go, though i know in the past i just didnt find it enough at all =/

Thanks for all everyones advice , no offence taken by those who were very forward and vocal (or is it textcal? lol) about my situation!

I totally believe you I bet you felt 'something' from the bupe the first day or two though? That's normally how long the nice effects last and people who have been on bupe a week + won't even get anything out of double or tripling their dose. Strangely though they start getting something out of it again when their dose is less such a weird drug. I guess once you start maintaining on any opiate the lustre fades and you're just kind of stuck feeling blah.

Sounds like you're on the right track mate, wish you the best and I'd really like for you NOT to be another methadone addict that wishes he could go back to 2011 and do things differently.

 

[Stiffeno]

When i first started on Suboxone i did get euphoric effects but literally only for 2-3 days tops, for 3 months i was on the pill sublingul before being switched to the film version (which i now regret, i HATE the films). Even though my dose didnt change when i was switched to film version i actually got euphoric from the films, wierd ay =/ same dose, just different type and i got good effects; which promptly faded by the next dose =/.

I just took 16mg (2x8mg films under the tongue) and im going to see how i go for a few hours, testing this "less is more" (or rather "Less is the same as more") idea. If it works well then not only will i be able to save up heaps of unused films, ill have them stored away incase i take a bad turn or am gunna relaspe after quitting bupe in the future, i can then use the bupe in that situation rather then having my liver shut down from 20000mg of paracetamol (Tylenol).

Its funny the codeine was the addictive part, yet in terms of bodily harm it was the ibuprofen and paracetamol which were the worries =/.

I dont wanna relapse in the future go from codeine to heroin, its always how it starts. Sure im terrified of needles (though i do have blood tests when need be - i just hate it lol) but remember Kurt Cobain was terrified of needles, didnt even like getting boosters and blood tests, yet by the end he not only didnt care about needles, he was also a full on drug addict shooting up anything he can find with his then gf (or was it wife?) Courtney Love.

P.S: I still think Kurt was murdered, his so called shotgun he suicided with funnily didnt have any fingure prints (what did he wipe it clean after he splattered his bains? yeah right) and also it was proven by handwriting experts that his suicide note - while real - actually had stuff added to it by a 3rd party.

Also his credit card was being actiuvely used for months after his death =/, i think Courtney was involved seeing as how messed her life is, id say its Karma.

Just a little off topic here: Michael Jackson was found NOT guilty for fiddling with all the kids by law, but yet he died young? karma i think , god always keeps tabs on baddies.

 

[SpiritFolk]

Maybe I don't know how to do a decent CWE but 32 mgs of bupe for codeine seems insane. I just don't get that high of codeine.

Like some other people have said I found being on 4-8 mgs of bupe much more rewarding and actually got stoned as it wasn't enough to be completely saturated like 32 mgs of bupe would do to me, and I would notice the difference a lot more when I dosed.

Anyways as ur already on 32 mg bupe u might as well try methadone if u think it might help as your on such a high dose. I personally found methadone a whole lot worse for physical side effects such as constipation, and my skin colour was absolutley terrible.

 

[Mr Blonde]

^ I know a methadone patient who has been on the program for years who swears by Actilax for the constipation. Drinks it everyday and it's cheap too.

 

[Stiffeno]

Maybe I don't know how to do a decent CWE but 32 mgs of bupe for codeine seems insane. I just don't get that high of codeine.

Like some other people have said I found being on 4-8 mgs of bupe much more rewarding and actually got stoned as it wasn't enough to be completely saturated like 32 mgs of bupe would do to me, and I would notice the difference a lot more when I dosed.

Anyways as ur already on 32 mg bupe u might as well try methadone if u think it might help as your on such a high dose. I personally found methadone a whole lot worse for physical side effects such as constipation, and my skin colour was absolutley terrible.

While i still do get constipated a lot due to the bupe, its actually not as bad as when i was on Panafen Plus, i never did CWE as i didnt know about it...but basically i was taking 400+mg codeine and a further 7000mg of ibuprofen or paracetamol PER DAY, the bupe (and maybe in the near future methadone) was more a safety messure then getting clean, i mean at 7000mg ibuprofen a day (or paracetamol) how long do you think it woulda been till my liver shut down?

As for the constipation when i was on 7k ibu, there were times when i didnt take a single shit in 7 days....i was virtually impacted! Though it did in the end come out so i didnt need to go for a colon scraping =/, thank god!

But as for the methadone i agree, being on 32mg bupe and it not working well and doin shit for my pain (and taking forever to dissolve dosing), i may aswell try and get stable on a small amount of methadone. Better to be on a small amount of a stronger drug, then be on a maxed out Bupe dose...which doesnt even help anymore!

 

[Christ!]

While i still do get constipated a lot due to the bupe, its actually not as bad as when i was on Panafen Plus, i never did CWE as i didnt know about it...but basically i was taking 400+mg codeine and a further 7000mg of ibuprofen or paracetamol PER DAY, the bupe (and maybe in the near future methadone) was more a safety messure then getting clean, i mean at 7000mg ibuprofen a day (or paracetamol) how long do you think it woulda been till my liver shut down?

As for the constipation when i was on 7k ibu, there were times when i didnt take a single shit in 7 days....i was virtually impacted! Though it did in the end come out so i didnt need to go for a colon scraping =/, thank god!

Thank god is right! All those pills every day plus the opiate effect would have been hell for your bowels. Very lucky you didn't have more problems there, and also lucky that your liver checked out ok If we're talking harm reduction no doubt the paracetamol/ibuprofen and all those pill binders would be almost all of the potential physical harm.

But as for the methadone i agree, being on 32mg bupe and it not working well and doin shit for my pain (and taking forever to dissolve dosing), i may aswell try and get stable on a small amount of methadone. Better to be on a small amount of a stronger drug, then be on a maxed out Bupe dose...which doesnt even help anymore!

Just my opinion but if you switch from such a high dose of bupe onto the methadone, you'll need a pretty hefty dose. You might have the same exact thing happen with the methadone where it works for a few days/weeks/months and then stops doing the trick, where to from there? Keep increasing the dose ? Because you won't be able to switch back to bupe easily once you're on a decent amount of methadone, it's easy to go one way but not back.

If only you had gotten into see a doctor who's keen on treating pain with opiates. For that 32mg tolerance you have with the bupe you could have had months and months (years?) of good treatment with another opiate, with plenty of room to increase the dose and not get near where you are now. Just seems unfair how you now have the tolerance without the pain relief and perhaps slight fun times you could have had otherwise. You've kind of backed yourself into a corner not really your fault though, we place our care into doctors hands who mean well but sometimes don't get it right. edit - mind you they DID get you off popping the para/ibu codeine tablets which could have saved your life

Don't despair though, I could keep typing stuff but I don't think it's going to be of much help. Can you try and find a second (and even a third) opinion from various doctors? Maybe try a pain management clinic? Try to see heads of departments or doctors with great track records, they can be tricky to find if you don't have contacts but I think your case warrants it. Some experts who are familiar with addiction and pain management would be the best advice ever.

In the end you're going to do what you're going to do. Keep us updated if you can, if you do switch to the methadone it'd be very interesting and useful for others to see how your experience goes. Reading subjective experiences can be really helpful when looking at doing something that hasn't been studied to death.

 

[drug_mentor]

Hey OP, I got no experience with opiate addiction and absolutely none with opiate replacement therapy. However, I am a fan of opioids and seek out a lot of information on the drugs, I have read numerous examples similar to Christ!s case where a lower dose of bupe was actually better. You have certainly, in my opinion, been a victim of overzealous prescribing of strong opioid medication from doctors who have little understanding of addiction automatically thinking your relapses warrant a great deal more daily opioid to be avoided.

You may well need pain management but I dont think that ORT is not the way to get it, no matter how easy an avenue it seems to get a daily opioid dose at the moment. The thing is, there IS a maximum dose that they will prescribe you and how much this is will really reflect your cravings to opioids rather than how well you are managing your pain. No matter your access or desire to use other opioids rest assured that when you reach a saturation dose of methadone it is not going to be a feasible option for you. If you continue down this avenue expect to be caught between a rock and a hard place, one only needs to look at people on methadone for heroin addiction that end up on daily doses that GREATLY exceed the maximum daily opioid they were getting in the midst of their illicit addiction.

I have a friend who opted to "solve" his pain management issues in a similar manner, and believe me he is paying for it now. When you end up on a stupid dose of opiates that renders everything else useless, the doctors flat out wont up your dose and you are getting nothing out of it you are going to regret not doing the hard yards to either taper your codeine addiction or get onto pain management through the proper channels now.

 

[footscrazy]

Which is why i would rather be on a small SMALL SMALL as i can stand dose of methadone, then be on a maximum dose Suboxone. It will both work better for my pain and cravings

How do you know it'll work better for your pain and cravings? Maintenance isn't about stopping cravings anyway, that's something you need to deal with another way. I can see you have a complex situation but I think you're putting too much weight on maintenance opies to cure your problems.

 

[Mr Blonde]

^ I agree. Although the pain issue complicates things, at the end of the day the cravings are something that can't just be dealt with by the maintenance drugs and should be managed by a psychologist specializing in addiction problems. I think that the way things are set up now, they should be providing more service along those lines to people who are on the methadone and buprenorphine programs. Well, at least that's how it is in QLD.

 

[Christ!]

How do you know it'll work better for your pain and cravings? Maintenance isn't about stopping cravings anyway, that's something you need to deal with another way. I can see you have a complex situation but I think you're putting too much weight on maintenance opies to cure your problems.

^ I agree. Although the pain issue complicates things, at the end of the day the cravings are something that can't just be dealt with by the maintenance drugs and should be managed by a psychologist specializing in addiction problems. I think that the way things are set up now, they should be providing more service along those lines to people who are on the methadone and buprenorphine programs. Well, at least that's how it is in QLD.

Yeah +1

I said in my first post that a lower dose of bupe might take care of the cravings...although that worked in my case, it was because I was feeling like shit at the higher doses, and wanted to 'fix' that feeling.

I'd definitely agree with foots and MrB that in general, you can't expect opiate maintenance to stop all those cravings. Sorry for any confusion

 

[Stiffeno]

After i get those spine Xrays either later today or tomorrow i will be looking into seeing a pain management clinic. I actually done this back before i started on Bupe, i went to my new family GP and he got my original back xray done and linked me with an appointment with a pain clinic. Problem is when i went to the clinic due to a total screw up with both my GP and the clinic, the doctor i was to see was on holidays for MONTHS, and when ni showed for the appointment they literally said "Im sorry but due to a doctor mixup we cannot see you, and the queue is about 3-6months wait time"...

Now i suffer not only from pain and the addiction but ive also got professionaly disagnosed severe depression and anxiety, i actually rarely leave the house...so when i could muster up the guts and willpower to see a GP and then setup the pain clinic referral, only to be screwed around and get zero help...it was like a kick in the teeth, and i felt like there was nothing i could do, and my willpower plummeted!

I am however going to try and find another pain clinic and see what they can do. And about seeing another ORT based doctor is a good idea, my current bupe doctor is just to say the least...doesnt give a shit about my back problems, so he sees it as a non-issue....you can see the flaw in his argument!

 

[Stiffeno]

One more thing to add to my sad story of a life is about 2 years ago i went with my mother to see 3 different GPs about me geting put on an Anti-depressent. Well they all knocked me back even though id basically not left the house in 3 years and not working in 10. The insisted in not putting someone so young on pills for the rest of my life, even though i have an uncle who is completely socialphobic and never leaves the house in 25 years, and my mum has been on anti-depressents for 12 years...so it runs in my family.

Anyways guess what happened after i tried my dear life to try and get mental help? well 6 months later i was a drug addict....

EDIT: Since starting on Bupe they have put me on meds for the mental issues thankfully, i was tested on Zoloft but it didnt work at all for me, so they put me on Avanza...which ive been on for 4.5 months or so, it seems to be working much better then the Zoloft coz now i actually go to bed before 11am the next day, and can actually leave the house willingly...hell i even go to shops like GAME and ebgames by myself and just hop on a train, no need for me to get a direct lift there and back with a family member with a car!

If they had of just put me on Avanza years ago i would never have gotten hooked on codeine, which i was taking for both pain AND the relaxing effect!

EDIT2: Oh and i will keep this post updated with how things go for me while i remember too lol. Who knows my story may just help someone in the future!

 

[Christ!]

EDIT2: Oh and i will keep this post updated with how things go for me while i remember too lol. Who knows my story may just help someone in the future!

Legend

That is a sad story for sure Stiffeno. You're not alone though, we've all gone through our own trials and tribulations and I'd be surprised if there weren't others like you that are active in AusDD. Things like that DO run in families, overcoming it is a challenge that will probably never go away...but it does get easier bit by bit.

I've always been of the thought that doctors prescribe anti-d's like candy, thanks for posting about your experience. I'll try and stop generalizing so much in the future

..hell i even go to shops like GAME and ebgames by myself and just hop on a train, no need for me to get a direct lift there and back with a family member with a car!

That's an achievement dude :D seriously. Even though others will have no problems at all doing things like that, in your situation I bet it took a great deal of courage. Give yourself a pat on the back whenever you overcome or try and do something that's difficult to you, try not to compare to others if you can help it - they likely have their own difficulties that you may not have a problem with.

I remember when I was on a high dose of bupe I didn't want to leave the house, stopped visiting my friends, lost interests in things I had always loved (music, technology) and just generally wasn't in a good way. Now that you're getting treatment with an anti-depressant you might do better than you think on a lower dose, I know you said you feel 'normal' on the dose of bupe and that you felt 'normal' maintaining on 300mg of codeine - is that 'normal' that you're talking about relative? You might have forgotten what real normal feels like, because I remember maintaining on codeine and high dose bupe was pretty sucky, I did get used to after a time, but when I got on a lower dose of bupe my 'normal' was almost like being high - wanting to talk to people more, heaps of energy, mood improvement BUT I didn't have the pain issues that you had, so I can't really say anything more than I think it's worth trying.

Things can get significantly better... it's not impossible to get off the bupe and go with non-opiate treatment of your pain. People like you and me who aren't decade long heroin addicts are the ones that DO get off opiates eventually.

If you need someone to talk to or bounce anything off, don't hesitate to give me a pm. I enjoy my video games as well and I'm a nirvana fan.

 

[opi8]

Just get on xanax for your anxiety and methadone for you codeine addiction. May as well get a dodgy dentist to prescribe you coke for fun as well. Too easy.

 

[Mr Blonde]

^ Wow that's great advice. 8)

After the last few months I regret ever starting on alprazolam.

 

[Stiffeno]

Just get on xanax for your anxiety and methadone for you codeine addiction. May as well get a dodgy dentist to prescribe you coke for fun as well. Too easy.

If i was on Xanax and methadone it would make me stoned heaps, on top of that i would just become addicted to the benzo's =/.

I wont even address the coke + dentist part lol

 

[opi8]

Obviously my sarcasm doesn't translate to message boards well, even with the dentist remark. Had a cunt of a day and a few too many drinks last yesterday, guess that's no excuse though...

I've already added my 2 cents above, you're looking for a quick fix to a complicated problem on an internet forum and I think you've made a mistake going on opiate maintenance for your codeine addiction. Even if you were to "relapse" on codeine, you would find that because your tolerance to opiates is now so high, it would be a complete waste of time, money and codeine.

I think you need to get into a pain management program, but because you've admitted to using drugs recreationally it will be difficult for you to get strong opiates in the future to control your pain. Maybe you could try Lyrica (Pregablin) for your pain, although I'm not sure if it work with your condition or not. I sympathize with you and hope you can get this worked out, good luck.