Bupe Suboxone/Buprenorphine FAQ & Megathread v.4 The Orangeman Cometh

[Helpmeescapethis]

Great question. Since switching either way didn't matter, I found myself stacking BUT if i was only one 1mg oral maybe 2mg I could feel 30mg or more my style ar least 60mg Oxy intranasal but short lived so to speak. Sounds not bad but then of course you re-dose and found my self going through 5 or 6 30s in a 16hr time.

Oddly I found that after a good break from everything but the 1mg bupe, I even felt 40mg hydrocodone exceptionally well, almost potentiate but probably placebo.

I have wasted a lot but yeah after at least 24hrs and feeling shitty without bupe, a real 30 usually could do the trick but as far as legs...back to bupe. Glad to be down to .5 intranasal..been skipping days and can feel the others even better but the block effect still remains.
I really need to say no more to oxy and kick this sub..idk why I feel like it will be intolerable but shit the beginning sure dose!

Quitting subs is cake once you’re down to that low of a dose. My longest period of sobriety resulted from hopping off at 2mg. Which wasn’t great, but so much of it was in my head. I wasn’t afforded the luxury of focusing on it, so I actually made it.

I say go for it, and don’t look back.

 

[the_ketaman]

So im on the monthly buvidal injection and yes I can still get high. Off quite small amount too just not to the extent I was when bupe free.
Im looking at trying hydromorphone soon and am really curious whether I will get the rush or the feeling im so looking forward too. I have no idea how non-intravenous usage would work as id guess part of the reason I still am able to get high is the large amount of dug entering my system rapidly.


This is totally not harm reuction but I also often take a benzo beforehand and that gets me a lot higher. I also find the day after a night on meth or coke I get MUCH higher!

 

[DrPetro]

Hi. I'm an older man with a substantial history of opiate/opioid use. I managed to leave H alone for several months whilst on a 100mg methadone dosage but as I gradually reduced the cravings returned as has the IV heroin+benzo+pregabalin use. So my doc is quickly reducing my methadone over a couple of weeks to get me down to 30mg so as to avoid pwd. Now I'm hoping to move over to subutex as prescribed but my nagging IV fixation has got me thinking about IV Bupe use, ideally using wheel filters. What I can't discover is, when on 16mg Bupe daily, what sort of dose might commonly be injected and would I experience a greater effect from the bupe after IV rush? I'm asking as I understand that Id get a greater bioavailability IV.

 

[to_oblivion]

Hi. I'm an older man with a substantial history of opiate/opioid use. I managed to leave H alone for several months whilst on a 100mg methadone dosage but as I gradually reduced the cravings returned as has the IV heroin+benzo+pregabalin use. So my doc is quickly reducing my methadone over a couple of weeks to get me down to 30mg so as to avoid pwd. Now I'm hoping to move over to subutex as prescribed but my nagging IV fixation has got me thinking about IV Bupe use, ideally using wheel filters. What I can't discover is, when on 16mg Bupe daily, what sort of dose might commonly be injected and would I experience a greater effect from the bupe after IV rush? I'm asking as I understand that Id get a greater bioavailability IV.

Bupe injecting can lead to a viscous cycle. Yes it feels very good imho but one should stay away from it due to its inherent dangers. It destroys vein tissue as well as causes abscesses if injected poorly.

Nowadays I don’t IV. But I take 4mg SL and then use 3mg up the nose to boost the effects and it is quite euphoric NGL. Almost as good as IV or IM but honestly even tho nothing is as good as the needle you should stay away from it. Just a friendly warning

 

[DrPetro]

Bupe injecting can lead to a viscous cycle. Yes it feels very good imho but one should stay away from it due to its inherent dangers. It destroys vein tissue as well as causes abscesses if injected poorly.

Nowadays I don’t IV. But I take 4mg SL and then use 3mg up the nose to boost the effects and it is quite euphoric NGL. Almost as good as IV or IM but honestly even tho nothing is as good as the needle you should stay away from it. Just a friendly warning

Oh yes, I'm well aware of the risks. I used to be prescribed Methadone in a form which was injectable and once you've used that route it becomes very hard to leave it alone. I'd still like the information though

 

[Ds]

So I'm on 28mg Suboxone a day, and it's a pretty insane dose.
I've been on that dose for over a year now, and don't know what to think.
I kind of take all 3 strips at once. Usually in the morning before work, or sometimes I'll sleep in and take the 3 strips after 11am or maybe later.
I don't know what normal is anymore. I deal with hotsweats and hot flashes out of this world and those can be fucking miserable. Especially when I'm like working with customers and BAM hot sweats.
I want to step down but I'm afraid. I'm afraid because theres times where I'll take a 4th strip later in the day, and I just don't know.

I'm just writing this because I feel like I'm at a point where I can't step down because of the dose I take. I hate being on this shit like having to doordash or struggle just to get the $ to cover the pharmacy tab.

Just struggling with this shit. Does anyone have recommendations when dealing with hot flashes? Like is there something i can discuss with my doctor on something else that can help? I'm afraid he might step me down because I'm on a high dose, but I don't want to.. i do but I don't want to be told that I have too.

I'm also interested in Sublacade, I don't want to experience any WDs because that shit scares me. Like to jump from 28+ mg a day is like super frightening, so I'm worried I'm to about if the max dose of Sublacade would even work for me.

Just kind of sharing my experience with Suboxone. It's kept me off opioids which is good.

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

So I'm on 28mg Suboxone a day, and it's a pretty insane dose.
I've been on that dose for over a year now, and don't know what to think.
I kind of take all 3 strips at once. Usually in the morning before work, or sometimes I'll sleep in and take the 3 strips after 11am or maybe later.
I don't know what normal is anymore. I deal with hotsweats and hot flashes out of this world and those can be fucking miserable. Especially when I'm like working with customers and BAM hot sweats.
I want to step down but I'm afraid. I'm afraid because theres times where I'll take a 4th strip later in the day, and I just don't know.

I'm just writing this because I feel like I'm at a point where I can't step down because of the dose I take. I hate being on this shit like having to doordash or struggle just to get the $ to cover the pharmacy tab.

Just struggling with this shit. Does anyone have recommendations when dealing with hot flashes? Like is there something i can discuss with my doctor on something else that can help? I'm afraid he might step me down because I'm on a high dose, but I don't want to.. i do but I don't want to be told that I have too.

I'm also interested in Sublacade, I don't want to experience any WDs because that shit scares me. Like to jump from 28+ mg a day is like super frightening, so I'm worried I'm to about if the max dose of Sublacade would even work for me.

Just kind of sharing my experience with Suboxone. It's kept me off opioids which is good.

Honestly, your biggest problem is you're taking an insanely high dose.
You could probably halve that dose in a day & still feel fine. This is because of how buprenorphine works.

Buprenorphine has a ceiling effect, where once you reach a certain dose in your body, it stops working or doing anything. This can make you feel like you're just constantly in withdrawal & aren't getting any craving relief or anything. And since it takes 30-60hrs for half the dose of buprenorphine you took to leave your body, it builds up to the ceiling effect pretty darn quickly. At the ceiling dose, all of your receptors are completely covered.

There's honestly not much point to keeping people on 16mg+ of buprenorphine a day. The reason doctors put people on these insanely high doses is because A) The higher doses are more effective at blocking full agonist opioids, so if you relapse, you won't feel it. But lower doses of buprenorphine can actually work in tandem with full agonists, as long as you have receptors open for the full agonist to attach to. And B) Doctors don't want their patients to realize that they might actually feel a "high" (however mild it is) on the lower doses, versus the higher doses. This is because on lower doses, you will have receptors still open when you go to dose again & this will cause some effects.

So with that in mind, there's no real need to be on 28mg for over a year. It might be needed in the beginning when some one's coming off of a full agonist, but after a year, there's not much point. You could easily be maintained & feel better on a lower dose. Trust me, you're not going to have some "severe withdrawals" or anything by taking a little less. It'll be almost imperceptible due to bupe's long half.

I don't see why anyone would WANT to be on 28mg a day, especially if it's giving them hot flashes & problems. You'd have less hot flashes on lower doses most likely, so is that not worth trying a lower dose?

I once took 100mg of buprenorphine in desperation once to see if it would help my pain any better or anything. And absolutely nothing happened except that I felt really weird mentally for 3 days & became severely constipated like I had swallowed a handful of loperamide or something.

Personally, I have never gotten any "better" or increased effect by taking more than 8-16mg a day. Thinking you NEED more than that, especially when you're not coming off of full agonists, seems more like a psychological thing rather than truly needing it.

Buprenorphine gets used for pain in people with no tolerance with doses as low as 75 MICROgrams. If 75mcg is enough to cause an effect in a human being, think about how absurdly high of a dose 28mg is.

Buprenorphine dosing works pretty much the opposite of other full agonists. The more buprenorphine you take, after a certain point, will not do anything else & can actually make you feel worse.

 

[CfZrx]

I have found a neat trick: I cut the subs into 1mg squares, and every time I want to dose, I take one mg. It takes care of the psychological drive to re-dose, and you can only fit like 10 or 11 doses into one day lol! It works just as good as taking 4mg 4 times a day, and I could prob be ok w/ only 8mg in a day. Good luck!

 

[deficiT]

So I'm on 28mg Suboxone a day, and it's a pretty insane dose.

Hey man, it's good to hear from you. Hope you're doing well.

I'll probably just echo what deathindustrial said, but you will probably feel better on a lower dose.

Maybe you could drop it down to like 24mg for a couple days, and then drop to 16mg. You might feel some anxiety or have some slight withdrawal for a day or two, but I think all of the accompanying side effects should start to get better with time.

I've only ever been on 16mg a day max. Taking more than that is probably unnecessary. Suboxone is a fairly ideal opioid when it comes to dose management because it has a long half life, the strips are easy to manage, and it doesn't really have a major short term high if you have a tolerance, so you're not really chasing a buzz as much as when you're dependent on a standard opioid.

Tapering your dose methodically is the way to go. If you take 28mg every day now, just started taking 24mg. I don't think your body will tell a huge difference. Do that for a few days, then start taking 20mg, and repeat as necessary until you get to a more manageable dose. You can also alternate days if needed. Taking a lower dose one day, and then a higher the next, back to a lower one, as long as you're ultimately still progressing downward, that can be a helpful strategy too.

That's what I did when I fully tapered off of Suboxone and was off of opioids for a year or so before my injury. Sublocade can also be good because it pretty much tapers the dose down automatically over the month. I think if your goal is to get off opioids entirely sublocade is a good option, but you have a lot more control over the dosage with Suboxone.

I always recommend black seed oil for managing the physical symptoms of opioid dependence, it can definitely be helpful with the inflammation, runny nose, hot flashes, all of those things. I usually always try to have some around.

 

[qazw]

Does anyone here know of the actual source for the claim that bupe has a half-life of more than 24 hours? I've been searching all morning and I cannot find a single graph in a single study showing this. What I find instead is tons of graphs all showing the same thing; after administration of sublingual bupe the dose peaks very fast and then drops off precipitously after 4 hours, with very little being left after 8 hours. Just google image search "sublingual buprenorphine plasma levels". They all show the exact same thing. Where on earth does this claim of a long half life come from? In this study the half life seems to be like 2-3 hours (Look it up on scihub for the graph): "Bioavailability of buprenorphine from crushed and whole buprenorphine (subutex) tablets"

 

[Ds]

Honestly, your biggest problem is you're taking an insanely high dose.
You could probably halve that dose in a day & still feel fine. This is because of how buprenorphine works.

Buprenorphine has a ceiling effect, where once you reach a certain dose in your body, it stops working or doing anything. This can make you feel like you're just constantly in withdrawal & aren't getting any craving relief or anything. And since it takes 30-60hrs for half the dose of buprenorphine you took to leave your body, it builds up to the ceiling effect pretty darn quickly. At the ceiling dose, all of your receptors are completely covered.

There's honestly not much point to keeping people on 16mg+ of buprenorphine a day. The reason doctors put people on these insanely high doses is because A) The higher doses are more effective at blocking full agonist opioids, so if you relapse, you won't feel it. But lower doses of buprenorphine can actually work in tandem with full agonists, as long as you have receptors open for the full agonist to attach to. And B) Doctors don't want their patients to realize that they might actually feel a "high" (however mild it is) on the lower doses, versus the higher doses. This is because on lower doses, you will have receptors still open when you go to dose again & this will cause some effects.

So with that in mind, there's no real need to be on 28mg for over a year. It might be needed in the beginning when some one's coming off of a full agonist, but after a year, there's not much point. You could easily be maintained & feel better on a lower dose. Trust me, you're not going to have some "severe withdrawals" or anything by taking a little less. It'll be almost imperceptible due to bupe's long half.

I don't see why anyone would WANT to be on 28mg a day, especially if it's giving them hot flashes & problems. You'd have less hot flashes on lower doses most likely, so is that not worth trying a lower dose?

I once took 100mg of buprenorphine in desperation once to see if it would help my pain any better or anything. And absolutely nothing happened except that I felt really weird mentally for 3 days & became severely constipated like I had swallowed a handful of loperamide or something.

Personally, I have never gotten any "better" or increased effect by taking more than 8-16mg a day. Thinking you NEED more than that, especially when you're not coming off of full agonists, seems more like a psychological thing rather than truly needing it.

Buprenorphine gets used for pain in people with no tolerance with doses as low as 75 MICROgrams. If 75mcg is enough to cause an effect in a human being, think about how absurdly high of a dose 28mg is.

Buprenorphine dosing works pretty much the opposite of other full agonists. The more buprenorphine you take, after a certain point, will not do anything else & can actually make you feel worse.

Hey man, it's good to hear from you. Hope you're doing well.

I'll probably just echo what deathindustrial said, but you will probably feel better on a lower dose.

Maybe you could drop it down to like 24mg for a couple days, and then drop to 16mg. You might feel some anxiety or have some slight withdrawal for a day or two, but I think all of the accompanying side effects should start to get better with time.

I've only ever been on 16mg a day max. Taking more than that is probably unnecessary. Suboxone is a fairly ideal opioid when it comes to dose management because it has a long half life, the strips are easy to manage, and it doesn't really have a major short term high if you have a tolerance, so you're not really chasing a buzz as much as when you're dependent on a standard opioid.

Tapering your dose methodically is the way to go. If you take 28mg every day now, just started taking 24mg. I don't think your body will tell a huge difference. Do that for a few days, then start taking 20mg, and repeat as necessary until you get to a more manageable dose. You can also alternate days if needed. Taking a lower dose one day, and then a higher the next, back to a lower one, as long as you're ultimately still progressing downward, that can be a helpful strategy too.

That's what I did when I fully tapered off of Suboxone and was off of opioids for a year or so before my injury. Sublocade can also be good because it pretty much tapers the dose down automatically over the month. I think if your goal is to get off opioids entirely sublocade is a good option, but you have a lot more control over the dosage with Suboxone.

I always recommend black seed oil for managing the physical symptoms of opioid dependence, it can definitely be helpful with the inflammation, runny nose, hot flashes, all of those things. I usually always try to have some around.

Hey thanks for the reply. And i think you are right because some days i just take 2 and feel fine. I think it's a mental thing too. Like i take those 3 in the AM and since theres already so much of it in my system then i really don't feel the need to take anymore through the day, and honestly the only reason why i might take another strop is because I'm stressing and not really craving for anything.
I've actually tried to limit how much i tak because theres some people i know that take subs too and sometimes they run out before their script so I'll help them out with some of mine.
I tried taking like 8 or 9 once and it didn't do shit, so after that i realized that it's impossible for me to get high off of them. Which I'm an addict so had to try that atleast once.
The subs have saved my ass these last few months because I've been struggling really bad with shit like jobs, housing, food, and my mental health, and having to take the subs just helps me handle all of that shit without having to get fucked up.
It also helps with alcohol because early on i tried drinking liqour and beer and it tasted like ass. Like i couldn't even finish a pint because no matter how bad i wanted to get fucked up that it didn't even phase me to do more.
Thanks again for the reply, and i might do what @CfZrx said and just take like a full strip and like half the second strip or something and just collect the films for other shit

 

[CfZrx]

i might do what @CfZrx said and just take like a full strip and like half the second strip or something and just collect the films for other shit

If you end up experimenting with cutting the strips into 1 mg squares to reduce overall daily dose, I am curious what happens for you! Yesterday I took 2mg 3 times until about 3pm then began with 1mg pieces the rest of the day, leaving me with 5mg leftover. You can see how the strips begin to accumulate. Its nice to have enough on hand to outlast any issues filling it at the pharmacy or god forbid, a major natural disaster.

 

[drewbocop]

So I'm on 28mg Suboxone a day, and it's a pretty insane dose.
I've been on that dose for over a year now, and don't know what to think.
I kind of take all 3 strips at once. Usually in the morning before work, or sometimes I'll sleep in and take the 3 strips after 11am or maybe later.
I don't know what normal is anymore. I deal with hotsweats and hot flashes out of this world and those can be fucking miserable. Especially when I'm like working with customers and BAM hot sweats.
I want to step down but I'm afraid. I'm afraid because theres times where I'll take a 4th strip later in the day, and I just don't know.

I'm just writing this because I feel like I'm at a point where I can't step down because of the dose I take. I hate being on this shit like having to doordash or struggle just to get the $ to cover the pharmacy tab.

Just struggling with this shit. Does anyone have recommendations when dealing with hot flashes? Like is there something i can discuss with my doctor on something else that can help? I'm afraid he might step me down because I'm on a high dose, but I don't want to.. i do but I don't want to be told that I have too.

I'm also interested in Sublacade, I don't want to experience any WDs because that shit scares me. Like to jump from 28+ mg a day is like super frightening, so I'm worried I'm to about if the max dose of Sublacade would even work for me.

Just kind of sharing my experience with Suboxone. It's kept me off opioids which is good.

The constant sweating, and pitting out into my shirts, and looking like a freak at work was one of the main reasons I got off Suboxone back in the day, and that was only 8mg. They offered 16, but I knew better as a long time Bluelighter lol. And my doc had me jump at 2mg because he was like 70 years old and just a sweet old man and didn't seem to know any better. Didn't go so well. 3 straight weeks of feeling GOD awful and not sleeping. Ended up on methadone and did a taper off that living in South Beach and was successful. Still wound back using kratom for a decade and a half but whatever.