First, a little background on the situation: My husband was put on subutex about a year ago (Dec. 2018, I believe) to manage his out-of-control heroin addiction. Through the course of this year, he had administered the medication through IV instead of SL as it is prescribed. He did this because the bupe would obviously hit him faster, and he would receive more of the medication and not have to "do as much". He shoots about a quarter of an 8mg pill at a time, perhaps 4-6 times a day. In the beginning, all was well as we were not aware of nor had we yet experienced the destructiveness that this medication has on the circulatory system.
Over the last few months my husband's veins have begun to disappear, making it increasingly difficult for him to get his shots. As a result, he has begun shooting it in his legs. Though these shots are not administered directly into the bloodstream, the medication still absorbs into his body fast enough and potent enough to keep him from getiing sick. This bring us to our problem. The past couple weeks, an infection has started in his legs. I think I had seen it referred to as a Maltese cross? A red, circular area with a blackish purple center. He needs medical attention to take care of this but is terrified of losing his script. Is it possible that someone, somewhere has experienced this kind of scenario before? I know that there are others who, as some would say, "abuse" their prescriptions. Has anyone ever had to seek medical treatment for complications attributed to their "abuse" but kept that information from their prescribing doctor? Say I take him to a hospital in a different county or something...somewhere no one will recognize him. If you don't mention the fact that you are actually prescribed this medication and instead say you just buy it off the street and don't give the hospital any information that you are being treated for dependency and omit the fact that you see a doctor at all, is there any way for your prescribing doctor to find out? That is what we want to know. He knows that he means of administering his medication needs to change or else, even if he gets treatment for his condition now, it will just recur again in the future. But please, does anyone know a way that we can seek treatment for him without his prescribing doctor finding out that he has been shooting his meds?
And just as a side note, I think (in this situation at least), that the term "abuse" is a little much. He is not "abusing" his medication by shooting it instead of putting it under his tongue. For one, it's f**king nasty! Worse than BC powder IMO. Secondly, it works just the same as if he were to take it SL, just faster and more potent. We had read that you only get about 13% of the medication taking it under the tongue, as opposed to either 99% or 98% when administered through IV. As long as the medication is being taken for it's intended purpose and not exceeding the prescribed dosages (at least not drastically), I don't feel that is abuse. We are also advocates of recreational drug use, as long as it is done responsibly. We believe people have a right to do what they want as long as it doesn't negatively effect others (and hopefully themselves as well). So please, only helpful advice in the responses, yes? We are not looking for criticism, just help. We were ignorant to the long-term effects that this would bring. We don't need others shoving that in our faces. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Over the last few months my husband's veins have begun to disappear, making it increasingly difficult for him to get his shots. As a result, he has begun shooting it in his legs. Though these shots are not administered directly into the bloodstream, the medication still absorbs into his body fast enough and potent enough to keep him from getiing sick. This bring us to our problem. The past couple weeks, an infection has started in his legs. I think I had seen it referred to as a Maltese cross? A red, circular area with a blackish purple center. He needs medical attention to take care of this but is terrified of losing his script. Is it possible that someone, somewhere has experienced this kind of scenario before? I know that there are others who, as some would say, "abuse" their prescriptions. Has anyone ever had to seek medical treatment for complications attributed to their "abuse" but kept that information from their prescribing doctor? Say I take him to a hospital in a different county or something...somewhere no one will recognize him. If you don't mention the fact that you are actually prescribed this medication and instead say you just buy it off the street and don't give the hospital any information that you are being treated for dependency and omit the fact that you see a doctor at all, is there any way for your prescribing doctor to find out? That is what we want to know. He knows that he means of administering his medication needs to change or else, even if he gets treatment for his condition now, it will just recur again in the future. But please, does anyone know a way that we can seek treatment for him without his prescribing doctor finding out that he has been shooting his meds?
And just as a side note, I think (in this situation at least), that the term "abuse" is a little much. He is not "abusing" his medication by shooting it instead of putting it under his tongue. For one, it's f**king nasty! Worse than BC powder IMO. Secondly, it works just the same as if he were to take it SL, just faster and more potent. We had read that you only get about 13% of the medication taking it under the tongue, as opposed to either 99% or 98% when administered through IV. As long as the medication is being taken for it's intended purpose and not exceeding the prescribed dosages (at least not drastically), I don't feel that is abuse. We are also advocates of recreational drug use, as long as it is done responsibly. We believe people have a right to do what they want as long as it doesn't negatively effect others (and hopefully themselves as well). So please, only helpful advice in the responses, yes? We are not looking for criticism, just help. We were ignorant to the long-term effects that this would bring. We don't need others shoving that in our faces. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
