Bupe Suboxone/Buprenorphine FAQ and Megathread v.1; 2007 - 2010

[memphishottie27]

I used to be addicted to opiates 3 years ago and went on suboxone and it did wonders for me. The office visit was high but my insurance paid for the medication. It got me off the opiates fast and when I was ready, my Dr gradually decreased my dosage.
Before that I tryed methadone and if you didn't have the money to get your Methadone, they wouldn't give it to you and OMG the withdrawls were sooooooooo bad. I felt like I was going to die.
Suboxone done wonders for me and I would recomend it to anyone on pain killers.

 

[memphishottie27]

Here's a question. Does taking suboxone lower your opiate tolerance? The reason why I ask is I snorted 8 mg yesterday (I have a pretty high tolerance I guess, because all it did was kind of relax me) and today, about 20 hours after I snorted it, I took my usual dose of tramadol to keep me from going into withdrawals (I try to keep it at a daily maintenance dose, but every few days I slip and just fucking get high on em) and the regular maintenance dose almost gave me a buzz.

I haven't taken any tramadol since the day before yesterday, I decided to just snort the sub yesterday to keep wd's at bay and maybe catch a buzz, and today I noticed wd's creeping up and took the low dose of tramadol that usually won't do shit except keep me straight. And now I swear I'm feeling just a touch of a buzz. It usually takes about 5 times more tramadol than my maintanence dose to catch a buzz.

So, my question is: will taking suboxone once in a while lower my tolerance for other opiates, making it easier to taper more quickly?

\
Do you know snorting or shooting up suboxone can kill you? If you have a high tolerance it might not have caused serious effects but it could later. I wouldn't recomend that. it works better if you take it under your tongue.

 

[chrisinabox]

^um what are you talking about? how can snorting or shooting suboxone kill? i know shooting pills can lead to abcsesses and such but snorting suboxone, how will that kill you?

 

[formanchristopher]

I'd say most posts get answered here. There's some that slip through the cracks, and we apologize if that happens. I like to answer most questions in this thread.

And as leftwing said, not everyone's informed with every drug...and with that being said, not everyone who thinks they're informed with whatever drug actually is.

This is due to drug companies lying to the FDA, who lies to your doctor, who lies to you...

and then the truth is exposed because reality is not based upon lies but the truth.



...


What's funny is that I think the guy got offline, didn't even get to see his answer...

I feel bad for him though. He's going to probably feel somewhat-crappy for the next few days, and by that time the oxycodone's going to probably be around just as effective as it was before.

Why someone would begin that cycle again, I do not know. It took me a while to get from a state of being on heroin to wanting to quit heroin, but once I got there I knew there wouldn't be a "turning back" to it. I'm past the 6 month point of sobriety, and I'm looking forward to the summer.

Hey,
Been sitting here "catching up" on this thread, and reading you Moderator's
frustrations I too am at the 8 mos. sobriety of illegal opiate(heroin is my doc) use, and looking very forward to the summer also. Capt. Heroin, Chrisinabox, and Bow-Viper (oh! and MrBlonde!) have answered or at least gave me comments if not real direction on every single question/post I've placed. And I thank you all.
At times I've wondered, are people posting while they're drunk, high, loaded,
whatever(uhhh yeah! Duh!), and it's probably the majority of those posts/people who mess it up for others. To see LeftWing fly in from out of nowhere was quite a surprise, at least for me.
In closing, I want to say that I truly love Bluelight & this/these threads. I swear there is no other place that comes close to comparison, and if there is then I'm just ignorant, and happy to stay that way.:D Cap't Heroin does a terrific job of answering people's questions here, and while doing so, he even admits to being loaded or feeling buzzed. (Lucky fucker!) However, he never loses sight of the goal or ideal..."harm reduction", and that says alot, once again, TO ME. I've discovered that for myself, finally, that with Subs there just isn't really any way that I'm gonna get high or even slightly. I even take 4, .5 clonipins a day(prescribed) and have doubled the doses, hell, everything. I'm wasting time with this post already, so won't detail it. Suffice it to say that now more than ever I'm just very grateful to not have to be chasing the bag, or sitting in a jail cell going thru w/d's from heroin, m-done, Subs, alcohol, and/or benzos...believe me, it ain't fun.
Every single day, just by visiting this site, I learn something new. Knowledge is power...and I just wanna keep on learning.
You are appreciated, and I don't think it gets said enough. But then, I gurss I could've "UTFSE", and maybe found more....
"Be" Peace~

 

[formanchristopher]

Suboxone w/ benzos...

Okay so I went to my sub doctor today for my monthly check up/ prescription whatever... and he popped a 10 panel drug test on me out of nowhere... Now I haven't been doing ANY opiates at all while i've been on suboxone but I have been taking Alprazolam....

***In your opinion(anyone)** Do you think he's gonna be pissed about that? and will it cause me any problems?? He seems pretty damn cool but I just don't know how doctors usually feel about this... anyone happen to go through this with their doc???

Any opinions would be appreciated cause I'm kinda sweating it...

In my city (in Oregon, west coast USA) the methadone/suboxone doctors & clinics are at almost a ZERO TOLERANCE for anybody using benzos. The media, and of course the actual real life overdoses(usually also involving alcohol as well) have made these doctors here very leery of allowing any benzo use while on these programs. Every single day it seems another friend/acqaintence
of mine has been put on what's called a "medical detox", which in short means,
they're going from (example):100mgs methadone daily, down to 0mgs in a fucking week!!! That's not every case, but most of them. Signing paperwork at your intake stating "no benzo use", allows these unbelieveable inhumane detoxes.
Just thought I'd throw that out there for some additional info, from this area. However, I myself am on a Suboxone program (of sorts) and even my doctor said these words to me: "don't forget that I believe mixing benzos with Suboxone is very dangerous, and I really think you should try to get off of them", knowing that my psych dr. has me on .5 clonipins, 4 X a day.
Hope this helps someone....

 

[Captain.Heroin]

^um what are you talking about? how can snorting or shooting suboxone kill? i know shooting pills can lead to abcsesses and such but snorting suboxone, how will that kill you?

It's not going to.

Someone just felt like going on a pointless, fact-less rant again.

Cap't Heroin does a terrific job of answering people's questions here, and while doing so, he even admits to being loaded or feeling buzzed. (Lucky fucker!) However, he never loses sight of the goal or ideal..."harm reduction", and that says alot, once again, TO ME.

The only things I do now are psychedelics and bud. %)

I've reduced to 1mg of buprenorphine a day now as well; 0.5mg, twice a day.

It's kind of easy to taper down from this point on...but it's going to take a while before I'll want to quit buprenorphine completely.

 

[bow-viper1]

Thanks formanchris, I appreciate you mentioning that I've been of some help to you.

I have a question on that same subject. I really get the sense from the contracts I've had to sign for my Suboxone doctor that testing positive for benzodiazepines are really one of the most unacceptable things to them. One day before my monthly appointment (two-months ago), a friend offered me some sublingual Lorazepam. Lorazepam was a benzo I had never tried, so I was psyched to try it. I had completely forgotted that I had an appointment and drug test the next day. I really started to panic, but since Lorazepam makes it out of your body so quickly, I knew there was a chance I could pass.

Anyway, at my appointment after that, my doctor didn't even mention it. I've always been clean, so there has never been a reason to mention them in the past. But, has anyone's doctor ever NOT mentioned the fact that you failed when you were pretty sure you did? I'd like to think I passed, but I find that unlikely. I just wonder why he wouldn't bring it up if I had.

 

[chrisinabox]

^maybe he thought it wasn't a big deal since you have passed all the drug tests before? luckily, my sub doctor doesn't and never has drug tested people. honestly, all they care about is the money. i'm in and out in 10min, and do this every couple of months. if i tried, i could probably get them to prescribe me benzos. i go to a normal doctor for my benzos now since i don't consider my sub doc a real doc. they don't care about my health, they don't do tests, they barely even ask any questions.

 

[icwfrock]

So, Captain.Heroin....I tried some Kessler ( 40% alcohol ) and I thought mouthwash was bad! Holy shit, I think I'm still reeling from mixing suboxone with whiskey, I only used about a cap full but I couldn't stand it. I don't think I could do that every day, I'm getting so tired of snorting this stuff though, I want to smell again lol.

 

[yo_bot]

ok say you IV or IM/shoot a subutex pill, now when i do his i use a huge wad of cottot so that when i filter the solution it is clear as the water i used to mix the solution. is the half life/blocking effect the same as if the subutex was taken sublingual as directed or is it shorter when taken iv or a missed iv which would be im or under the skin

 

[Captain.Heroin]

^maybe he thought it wasn't a big deal since you have passed all the drug tests before? luckily, my sub doctor doesn't and never has drug tested people. honestly, all they care about is the money. i'm in and out in 10min, and do this every couple of months. if i tried, i could probably get them to prescribe me benzos. i go to a normal doctor for my benzos now since i don't consider my sub doc a real doc. they don't care about my health, they don't do tests, they barely even ask any questions.

Same. My doctor doesn't drug test. It makes him a better doctor IMO - able to address the real problem, not some active metabolite in someone's piss (which isn't treating anyone's problem, it's just analyzing urine...).

So, Captain.Heroin....I tried some Kessler ( 40% alcohol ) and I thought mouthwash was bad! Holy shit, I think I'm still reeling from mixing suboxone with whiskey, I only used about a cap full but I couldn't stand it. I don't think I could do that every day, I'm getting so tired of snorting this stuff though, I want to smell again lol.

Well, as I said before, it depends on how much suboxone you take.

You only need 1 ML per 8mg, which is not a lot of liquor at all. You only need to pour a tiny little bit in the cap, maybe 1/10th of the height of the cap, tops. If you take a whole 8mg at once, maybe you'd want to use 1/4th the height of the cap in liquor at best, but that's still more than enough.

The amount of hard liquor you need is surprisingly very small.

The easiest thing to do is to go buy a pack of 1 CC insulin syringes, and draw back 25 units for every 2mg of suboxone you're going to be using sublingually. That's all the alcohol you need.

I understand how bad it can be though - the first time I tried this, I tried it w/ 2mg and a 'splash' of gin, and it burned like holy hell. If you use less liquor, it'll be less intense.

ok say you IV or IM/shoot a subutex pill, now when i do his i use a huge wad of cottot so that when i filter the solution it is clear as the water i used to mix the solution. is the half life/blocking effect the same as if the subutex was taken sublingual as directed or is it shorter when taken iv or a missed iv which would be im or under the skin

It is very unwise to IM subutex. Please DO NOT IM subutex.

The duration of IV buprenorphine is shorter than that of sublingual; however you get 100% of the drug versus 30%.

The half life is technically still the same because it's the same drug; the drug's duration is what changes.

The blocking effect of buprenorphine doesn't vary by ROA, it's based upon the drug itself.

Subcutaneous injection of subutex IS ALSO NOT ADVISED!

If you're going to shoot subutex, ONLY IV. You will NOT LIKE how a SI or IM of subutex feels!

_________________________________________

Since this topic has been brought up, I'll basically go through IV subutex, only because if it is done improperly I wouldn't want anyone to hurt themselves. You all deserve your hands feet fingers and toes.

If you're filtering with cotton and the liquid is clear, you should be able to IV this solution (as far as everything is still sterile), but please, be careful so as to not miss the shot. Do not inject it in your muscle, or in the subcutaneous area underneath your skin.

I would only advise to IV 0.5mg, 1mg, or 2mg at a time MAX. These are going to be satisfactory doses. It is not going to kick in within 7 seconds like IV heroin or IV ketamine will, so be patient and don't re-administer. It will probably be felt within the first few minutes, but it is normal to have to wait to feel IV'd buprenorphine.

0.5mg -> good for opiate naive or low opiate tolerance individuals
1mg -> good for moderate opiate tolerance
2mg -> good for heavy opiate tolerance

 

[Irishwrx]

Have Been Taking 16mg of Suboxone and re injured my back.

I want to thank everyone for there help so far with my problem. I was redirected to this post and was hoping for some more insite. I have been reading this forum for several months and wanted to complement all the great information I have recieved. I am a 30 year old male that is in pretty good shape. I injured my back on the job 6 months ago and was being prescribed fairly large doses of pain meds. I herniated l4 l5 discs and they were impacting the nerve root. I stopped taking 40mg oxycotin twice a day and 10mg percocet every 4-6 hours last Friday. The pain was some what bearable but the withdrawl was not. On Wendesday my pain managment doctor put me on 16mg of Suboxone a day. 8mg in the morning and 8mg before bed. This morning I twisted my back the wrong way and am in pretty intence pain. I have pain medicine left but my Doctor told me to try taking a 8mg suboxone at 10 am this morning. It didn't help at all with the pain. So getting to my question I know taking an oxy or percocet will not work at all. How many hours do I have to wait until I can take somthing for the pain again. The last Suboxone was taken at 10am this morning 8mg. Also can I start drinking more liquids to try and flush the Suboxone from my system or is that just a stupid question and a waste of my time. Plus I am not looking forward to getting up every 15 minutes to pee with the pain the way it is. If anyone has any other suggestions to speed this process up I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you all in advance. I really wanted to know if increasing my fluid intake alot and taking a diuretic would help the process along or is just a stupid question and a waste of my time.

 

[bow-viper1]

I want to thank everyone for there help so far with my problem. I was redirected to this post and was hoping for some more insite. I have been reading this forum for several months and wanted to complement all the great information I have recieved. I am a 30 year old male that is in pretty good shape. I injured my back on the job 6 months ago and was being prescribed fairly large doses of pain meds. I herniated l4 l5 discs and they were impacting the nerve root. I stopped taking 40mg oxycotin twice a day and 10mg percocet every 4-6 hours last Friday. The pain was some what bearable but the withdrawl was not. On Wendesday my pain managment doctor put me on 16mg of Suboxone a day. 8mg in the morning and 8mg before bed. This morning I twisted my back the wrong way and am in pretty intence pain. I have pain medicine left but my Doctor told me to try taking a 8mg suboxone at 10 am this morning. It didn't help at all with the pain. So getting to my question I know taking an oxy or percocet will not work at all. How many hours do I have to wait until I can take somthing for the pain again. The last Suboxone was taken at 10am this morning 8mg. Also can I start drinking more liquids to try and flush the Suboxone from my system or is that just a stupid question and a waste of my time. Plus I am not looking forward to getting up every 15 minutes to pee with the pain the way it is. If anyone has any other suggestions to speed this process up I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you all in advance. I really wanted to know if increasing my fluid intake alot and taking a diuretic would help the process along or is just a stupid question and a waste of my time.

Sorry to hear you are in such pain. Buprenorphine has been used as an analgesic for chronic pain for quite some time now. However, many people who used it in that manner report little relief from it - probably because they are used to full mu-agonists, like oxycodone in your case.

My suggestion to you would be to stick it out for atleast a few days. It will build up in your body, and at that point you'll be able to figure out whether or not it is satisfactory. A lot of people who take sublingual medication for the first time don't do it right. So make sure you are keeping it under your tongue for as long as possible. The literature on Suboxone and Subutex suggest 15 minutes, but I always keep mine in 30-45 minutes. If you are bed ridden for most of the day, this certainly shouldn't be very hard.

If you do decide to jump ship right now, you'll have to wait anywhere between 36 and 72 hours before continuing your oxycodone regimen. It is different for everybody, but certainly don't start until you are experiencing moderate withdrawals.

When it comes time to take your oxycodone, and you find that it isn't working for you DON'T take more. It means that the buprenorphine is still blocking it from working, and taking more won't do much good, and it could lead to overdose from respiratory depression or cardiac arrest. All you can do is wait longer, and take your next dose at the prescribed intervals.

 

[Irishwrx]

Sorry to hear you are in such pain. Buprenorphine has been used as an analgesic for chronic pain for quite some time now. However, many people who used it in that manner report little relief from it - probably because they are used to full mu-agonists, like oxycodone in your case.

My suggestion to you would be to stick it out for atleast a few days. It will build up in your body, and at that point you'll be able to figure out whether or not it is satisfactory. A lot of people who take sublingual medication for the first time don't do it right. So make sure you are keeping it under your tongue for as long as possible. The literature on Suboxone and Subutex suggest 15 minutes, but I always keep mine in 30-45 minutes. If you are bed ridden for most of the day, this certainly shouldn't be very hard.

If you do decide to jump ship right now, you'll have to wait anywhere between 36 and 72 hours before continuing your oxycodone regimen. It is different for everybody, but certainly don't start until you are experiencing moderate withdrawals.

When it comes time to take your oxycodone, and you find that it isn't working for you DON'T take more. It means that the buprenorphine is still blocking it from working, and taking more won't do much good, and it could lead to overdose from respiratory depression or cardiac arrest. All you can do is wait longer, and take your next dose at the prescribed intervals.

Thanks for the help and all the suggestions. My doctor said to take alittle extra of the subs but like you said I guess I am used to the oxys for pain. I was trying to keep the subs under my tongue for about 20 minutes. I know they were working because they gave me a pretty good opiod buzz for most of the day. I can see why they are in your body for so long and the withdrawl from them sucks so bad. Thanks again.

 

[Z Y G G Y]

It took me almost 2 weeks to feel normal, pain free when going from full agonist to sub.

Now I'm at the quitting stage. Don't feel like giving my money to my sub doc and pharm companies.

Sub becomes generic in October of this year. I'll reconsider it then.

 

[JahRed24x]

Does suboxone make you feel good as in a nice 'glow' sota like o full opioids do?

They seem to geek me up like adderall kinda, without the jitterness and all other side effects just the 'cant sleep' side effect. i mean im totally relaxed and content but i just lay there in bed and cant sleep and end up watching TV (while laying in bed) until 6am - 7am (and on several occasions i've pulled an all nighter where i didnt sleep it all, sometimes going on 36-48hrs with no sleep. I am not in w/d's, i feel completely comfortable so i knwo my dose is good but i swear for the first week or two suboxone causes the worst insomnia for me anyways..anyone else get insomnia from subs? (no i dont always take em at night)
and i know my dose ain't too high either. right now its (0.5-1.5mgs average a day)

the only thing that can get me to sleep is when i have some green. WHICH IS A LIFESAVER FOR INSOMNIA, i also love it in the morning and afternoons, but favorite at night. and also get a few Xanax's every once in a blue moon, and those work ight for sleep. but bud gives me deepest most content sleep, of course besides strong opiates/opioids : }

 

[hazmat]

^^^

Nope never once had a problem sleeping on Suboxone other than some twitches in my arms and legs and I've gotten sleep paralysis much more often ever since I've been on Bupe treatment.

 

[icwfrock]

Well Captain.Heroin, I tried the smaller amount and it's tolerable for sure! I must say I am very surprised, as I was a bit apprehensive about it actually out gunning the nasal route. It does take longer to activate subling/alcohol vs. nasal, but IT IS stronger. And I am still buzzed as of 2am and I dosed at around 4pm ( And yes I still get a heavy buzz everyday by going on my schedule, which ceases to amaze me. ) this way I should actually be able to cut my dosage amount down by probably 20%. As of now I have been dosing in a very irregular fashion, but due to dwindling supplies have gone back to once a day about a half hour after I wake. I get a very strong buzz as long as I keep it up, but it's far weaker than the buzz I would get say.. from coming off of heroin. I still can't figure why I have this unique characteristic as opposed to the other readers on this thread, has anyone tried once a day dosages? do you get a buzz?

 

[geomantric]

Hey guys been looking around for equiv does for Norspan (Bupe) 7 day patches to morphine, anyone know what a 10mg patch is equal to in morphine per day (or some other opiate)? and how long will a patch take to work?

Any help would be great, cheers geo.

 

[icwfrock]

Does suboxone make you feel good as in a nice 'glow' sota like o full opioids do?

They seem to geek me up like adderall kinda, without the jitterness and all other side effects just the 'cant sleep' side effect. i mean im totally relaxed and content but i just lay there in bed and cant sleep and end up watching TV (while laying in bed) until 6am - 7am (and on several occasions i've pulled an all nighter where i didnt sleep it all, sometimes going on 36-48hrs with no sleep. I am not in w/d's, i feel completely comfortable so i knwo my dose is good but i swear for the first week or two suboxone causes the worst insomnia for me anyways..anyone else get insomnia from subs? (no i dont always take em at night)
and i know my dose ain't too high either. right now its (0.5-1.5mgs average a day)

the only thing that can get me to sleep is when i have some green. WHICH IS A LIFESAVER FOR INSOMNIA, i also love it in the morning and afternoons, but favorite at night. and also get a few Xanax's every once in a blue moon, and those work ight for sleep. but bud gives me deepest most content sleep, of course besides strong opiates/opioids : }

Ohhhhh man, do I get sleep depravation from suboxone! The first 3-4 days I'm lucky to sleep 4 hours, oh it's horrible. But being on it for months I sleep like a baby, it's just when I haven't dosed in a while, and/or comming off of opiates.