Bupe Started Suboxone today, need some advice

[Screaming_Skull]

So today I saw the suboxone doctor,perhaps the shortest visit I have ever had with a doctor was only there like an hour(that includes filling out the paper work and everything). I always thought people were givin' it in the doctor's office to see how they react but I wasn't. Anyway, I was prescribed 16mg of the film(took all 16mg today cuz I hadn't had anything in two days) Anyway turns out the doctor has to do a pre-authorazation before it is covered by my insurance(didn't tell me that before I got them filled)only got 15 of the films today because I didn't know how long the authouization was going to take. So I looked it up with my insurance and they will cover Suboxone for a total of two years(she told me this and said she likes to taper after about a year because of this,so if a paitient relapses they will have another year of it being covered(liked that she told me that part). Sooo to the point looked it up and it said what she said,about the two year thing is true BUT there's a limit dosage wise to what they will cover, which is the dose I am started out on(16mg). Should I go with the less is more advice and just start with half a strip(4mg), since I know tolerance is unavoidable and my insurance company will not cover a higher dose?

 

[southeast]

In my experience with subs, and if you really want it to work, take what it going to work and no less until you start tapering. That is pretty weird he didn't test you in the office... I took 16 as well and was a very heavy user, so you could try taking less BUT you need to take enough for it to work and if that is 16 mg then just do it. Its about getting clean... maybe giving it a day then doing one strip at a time giving about 30 min between to see when you stop being dope sick and feeling normal (which is the goal). That is what they should have done at the doc. Good luck!

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

Doctors prescribe grossly higher doses then necessary. The majority of people can be held, (after the induction phase) at 4mg's. There is basically no chance in effect from taking a super high dose of 16 or 24mg's to 8 or 4mg's. You start to notice a change in how you feel coming down from 2-4mg's and weening to as close to 0 as you can get, that is the hardest part.

Most of the side effects from bupe can be eliminated at lower doses. Bupe definitely works better at lower doses from what I have seen. Start out with a low dose like 2mg's and see how you feel on that. Take another 2mg's if you need to a couple hours later until you are held and stay on whatever dose that is. It is not necessary to take such a high dose when the chances are, you really do not need it.

 

[ThaDudeAbides]

Too much can make you sick too. I had a heavy habit and the doc wanted me to take 3x8mg tabs a day. I took ONE a day for about a year. Then I took one every other day. I've found swallowing them makes them last longer. I got to the point where I could take 2 days off, pop a 8mg tab and go about my day. I was on them for 3 years, slowly tapering on my own.

The only positive to the fact I feel I was over prescribed was I ended up with a stockpile and was able to get 2 friends clean as well who could not afford the costly medicine.

Good luck. Wish you the best.

 

[RTrain]

Doctors prescribe grossly higher doses then necessary. The majority of people can be held, (after the induction phase) at 4mg's. There is basically no chance in effect from taking a super high dose of 16 or 24mg's to 8 or 4mg's. You start to notice a change in how you feel coming down from 2-4mg's and weening to as close to 0 as you can get, that is the hardest part.

Most of the side effects from bupe can be eliminated at lower doses. Bupe definitely works better at lower doses from what I have seen. Start out with a low dose like 2mg's and see how you feel on that. Take another 2mg's if you need to a couple hours later until you are held and stay on whatever dose that is. It is not necessary to take such a high dose when the chances are, you really do not need it.

^I 2nd that. It'd help to know what the drug and size of you habit was? 16 mg is unnecessary regardless, but its a matter of how overboard it is.

And have patience when taking them at first, because they can take a long time to work(i.e. kick in). When I take them it takes 45 minutes to an hour to feel it and another 30-45 minutes until it reaches peak.

Don't swallow them, they are designed to be taken sublingual for a reason, cause its around 4-5x the bioavailablity of PO. Take them as prescribed, sublingually, and hold the saliva in your mouth(swooshing it around a bit helps, too) for around 10-15 minutes to get the majority of it absorbed. I choose ot spit it out after, from personal experience of it having less side effects and anecdotal info about it limiting absorption of the naloxone in the pill.

 

[blue1995]

Doctors prescribe grossly higher doses then necessary. The majority of people can be held, (after the induction phase) at 4mg's. There is basically no chance in effect from taking a super high dose of 16 or 24mg's to 8 or 4mg's. You start to notice a change in how you feel coming down from 2-4mg's and weening to as close to 0 as you can get, that is the hardest part.

Most of the side effects from bupe can be eliminated at lower doses. Bupe definitely works better at lower doses from what I have seen. Start out with a low dose like 2mg's and see how you feel on that. Take another 2mg's if you need to a couple hours later until you are held and stay on whatever dose that is. It is not necessary to take such a high dose when the chances are, you really do not need it.

I second this. I was prescribed 16mg daily for a bit over a year, but truth be told I ever only needed 4mg. The fact that I never took high doses, on a regular basis, past the first month or two helped greatly with the taper (which still took a full 7 months to be done properly - and I still think I jumped off too soon). You do not want a high tolerance for these because the w/ds are hell and last forever even on a tiny dose. Also, they are pricey at the pharma and even more so on the street.

Suboxone saved my life, but handle with care - it's extremely unfortunate to have a heavy dependence on these.

 

[Screaming_Skull]

Think I'm on too high a dose.. I experienced the worse headache of my life for three hours. It was like a freakin' migraine that finally went away after I threw up,still have a slight headache but probly because I haven't ate anything. Have NEVER experienced anything like that on opiates in my life. My tolerance was I could easily do about 150mg of Hyro/Oxy. Could maintain on way less of course. Only took 4mg today but realized it hadn't fully been twenty four hours..just didn't wanna take the bottle with me to work because my door doesn't lock.