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Opioids ORT & Profuse Sweating

Ashley

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Jun 17, 2005
Messages
1,000
Location
NSW, Australia
I am currently prescribed Suboxone 16mg/day, of which I usually take 8mg sublingual. I have been on and off Subutex/Suboxone since 2008. I sweat profusely, and always have when on maintenance, which I understand is not uncommon. I sweat so much that it is a problem. By the time I have a shower, get dressed and put my shoes on, I already have wet arm pits and a cold clammy sweaty forehead. It is embarassing and I don't like being in public places because I am so self conscious of it. People ask me all the time "Is it hot enough for ya?" or "Bit hot there mate?" Well, no shit Sherlock! 8(

I am considering switching to methadone because of this and for a number of other reasons. I have had a brief stint on methadone years ago, but it was only for a few months and I never really felt like I got stabilized on a good dose. I have purchased 'done on the street when hanging out and haven't noticed any sweating.

My question is, if I suffer this excessive sweating from Suboxone, am I likely to experience the same thing with methadone too? I don't have this problem with other opiates (e.g heroin, oxycodone, morphine, PST, etc.). Is this just part and parcel of ORT for some of us? Are there any medications that alleviate sweating? I think I remember reading clonidine is sometimes used for this purpose.

PS. The sweating doesn't improve or worsen the less or more buprenorphine that I take either, it is just as bad at 2mg as it is at 16mg.

A. <3
 
I sure know I get cold/hot easy as hell after a few years of subs off and on.

I've been considering methadone instead for myself too.

I always sweat the worst on heroin I thought tho... in response to your post. But the hot/freeze is worst from bupe imo

Hope u get better...
 
^ This is my thought as well.

It is ridiculously hot here in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles: 100 degree F days most of this week, some over that.

This, along with the fact that 8mg is too much for me, was the reason for me quickly tapering down to 4-6mg, on 4mg now, and have noticed that I still sweat loads, but not as much as when I was on 6-8mg SL, which seems to be the ceiling dose for norbupe to have full agonist activity without being blocked by buprenorphine.

Keep in mind that 1mg buprenorphine SL = 30mg hydrocodone oral = 20mg oxycodone oral, so can you give us some insight as to what you're on bupe for, what your short-acting opioid dose was, and for how long you've been on both SAOpioids and on bupe?

Also, keep in mind that due to the very long half-life of bupe, you need to stay on 2-4mg for at least 4-5 days so the residual buprenorphine has time to be eliminated from your plasma. From what I have read, it seems that methadone has an even bigger problem of inducing profuse sweating when taken daily for ORT, even at doses as low as 15-20mg.
 
Switching to methadone most likely isn't going to help if this is happening to you with bupe. Methadone is known for causing intense sweating in a lot of people as a side effect, way more so than bupe is.
 
^^same here, whe i went on methadone i sweat like crazy...it could be cold outside and id still have drops of sweat forming..i couldnt stand it..i got drysol from the local drug store and it works for under-arm sweat but not well for anywhere else..

whats even worse is off methadone i sweat like mad still!i think opiods mess up our CNS pretty awful..something to do with adrenals, im not sure but this is a common complaint amongst many opiate users..laying off of all types of stimulants(caffeine etc) helps a little..
 
I sweat a lot from methadone. It's only been like 79 degrees out and I walk to the corner store and I'm dripping sweat. It was even happening to me in the winter!! When not on methadone I love the 90 degree summer days, this year I'm not looking forward to them at all
 
My sub doctor was happy to provide me a script for clonidine, this solved my sweating problem 100%
 
I try to avoid doing any things that cause any freeze/hot flases and sweating. That one of my worst annoyances. Period.

Last time I truely cold turkey'd bupe, I had very intense hot/cold flashing as well as extreme rls/muscle cramping. Its annoying because it makes me drink a ton of water and piss every two minutes.

On sub maintenence... I sweat due to early w/d. Other than that fairly normal sweating just as if I was never opiate dependant. I don't remember high doses of bupe making me sweat., and now I'm on a low dose (1.5mg or so) where i get nor bupe and I'm not having an issue from it

Hope ya feel better
 
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