Bupe Suboxone/Buprenorphine FAQ & Megathread v2; 2010

[Paulination]

So, there's a chance I won't even get suboxone? I don't want to waste $450 and up for the visit..

450$? eh probably different in different states but mine was 200$ for the first visit then 125 for the ones thereafter and thats before insurance. anyway its all about the doctor really its never about you. I got lucky I looked up the suboxone doctors and called the ones that were closest to me from the list, each time I got on the phone with the receptionist and/or doctor I asked, "do you prescribe suboxone?" most of them said they were filled up with patients or wanted to talk about just doing therapy for a few months before considering suboxone. anyway after about 5 of them, I met the best doc in the world, shes smart, nice, and give me 32 mg of suboxone monthly which is the best thing about her. I can even tell her I went out drinking with no consequences. I got their and I told her I needed to be on suboxone and she said we should talk about this in another month and I just said flat out "no im in pain and I know this medication would really help me", she agreed to give me suboxone but said I needed to wait until 24 hours after my last narcotic dose and until I had withdrawals., luckily i read all about suboxone and already knew that, I told her I already knew about that and was into withdrawals, she said I looked like hell when I walked in lol. what did she think I had, lol a cold? anyway I got hooked up with 8mg per day and after a couple months it was 16 and then after a couple it was 24 and etc.
anyway you might wanna look into different doctors since 450$ sounds like alot for a entry fee but then you might have to wait a couple weeks for the different doctor to get you in, but probably not. 150$-300$ for the first time sounds legitamate and 125$-200$ for a half an hour visit after the first time. if they want to put you on a dose of 8mg and then start weaning you down month after month, tell them you want to be on long term maitenence. atleast thats what I think its called. and this is if you want to be on it for a long time.
Also this site here https://www.naabt.org/patient_doctor/patient_login.cfm
is a great tool for finding the right doctor for you. you register and then it shows you a list of the closest doctors around you and you post a message saying like "I wanna be on suboxone maintatence for the rest of my life" and give your insurance provider. doctors will message you back stuff like "i can work with you and put you on buprenorphine maitence for as long as you need. I wish I used this site when looking for a suboxone doctor, luckily I found a good one. and also if you ask they will list their prices for you so youll know which one is cheapest. good luck man i hope you didnt go to that appointment yet or if you did hopefully you will have found the pot of suboxone at the end of the rainbow

 

[dubSTEP]

So, there's a chance I won't even get suboxone? I don't want to waste $450 and up for the visit..

WHAT. Is that the best deal in your area? If you pay $450 and the doctor refuses you your medication that you need you better make a scene. If he says "no" don't just say okay thank you and leave.

 

[dubSTEP]

This is my 3rd week on Suboxone and I feel like the anti-depressant effects are wearing off. It's starting to feel like it's doing more harm than good. At first it made me feel happy, content, made me motivated, made me WANT to do the little things. I feel this is all wearing away and I feel like I did when I was on opiates...I have no interest in leaving my house. I hope this doesn't last and it's something else. I'll need to start to taper and get off if this continues. Then theres the risk of relapse....fuck.

 

[JohnDubs]

I called a office today and they don't accept appointments, just walk-in's. Lady said anywhere from 70-90 a visit. I wonder if they don't do RX's just hand outs?

 

[Paulination]

This is my 3rd week on Suboxone and I feel like the anti-depressant effects are wearing off. It's starting to feel like it's doing more harm than good. At first it made me feel happy, content, made me motivated, made me WANT to do the little things. I feel this is all wearing away and I feel like I did when I was on opiates...I have no interest in leaving my house. I hope this doesn't last and it's something else. I'll need to start to taper and get off if this continues. Then theres the risk of relapse....fuck.

then obviously your brain chemistry is not made for buprenorphine or any opiates, my best bet is to try to taper off(that is if you think youll feel better) and if you feel better problem solved if not go back on suboxone,oh and if your worried about relapse ask your doctor about just putting you on nalaxone since nalaxone itself isnt an opiate and wont make you high at all, alot of people just take nalaxone just ask your doctor about it. I am not a medical profesional so you will want to talk to your doctor if you are going to do this. some people just arent made for suboxone/subutex I for one seem to have found the lady opiate ive been looking for all my life, ive tried every single one. I hated the Nod effects from opiates and the sedation. first time I tried suboxone i felt as if I were in heaven. Not only have I taken it for 3 years and I never developed a tolerance to any of the effects for a whole year then I maybe I lost about 20% euphoria. Now its about stabile and since ive changed to intranasal use and am back to about 80% i dont know if its my liver enzymes or the nalaxone or my opiod receptors but its been a great tool for social, depression, anxiety, and alot of other factors. their have been studies that the nalaxone has had the power to reduce tolerance and addiction which is nice since its combined with buprenorphine. but this may not be true.
other answers may be trying DXM in helping to reduce your tolerance unless your on anti depressants as this can be dangerous, grapefruit juice is good as it inhibits the CYP34A liver enzyme but it can lower tolerance pretty fast so you will wanna lower your dose, ibprofen/advil/acetminphen this can be helpful but only take the maximum dose that it says on the bottle. I feel so bad for you my friend suboxone has done so much for me and I thought it pretty much would do it for everyone else as well. and ofcourse you could try methadone I was going to do that but I dont want to have to go their everyday just to take a pill and wait 2 years to get take home doses.

I called a office today and they don't accept appointments, just walk-in's. Lady said anywhere from 70-90 a visit. I wonder if they don't do RX's just hand outs?

I doubt it, I dont think it would be like a methadone clinic in my state you have to pick it up from your pharmacy. That sounds like a really good deal one of the best i heard. hopefully youll be able to get 24mg in a couple months they usually make you wait a few months but you could ask them to raise it to 16mg that is if you see them more than once a month. you usually have to since they only give you a script of 30/60/90/120 pills and no refills since its a schedule 3 drug. damn and it used to be schedule 4 in the beggining. motherfuckers. anyway I hope you find it to be life saving, ive tried everything from H down to tramadol and found bupe to be the best damn feeling opiate in the world. hmm but some people say it does nothing but stop their cravings and some people get knocked on their toes. tell how many milligrams they start you off with im curious. good luck dubs. and they do walk ins? thats pretty cool although they probably give you a script and kick you out the door lol which would be nice in some cases. my doctor sits with me for half an hour and talks about how things are going. although sometimes I wouldnt mind just getting a script and leaving .

listening to:The Butthole Surfers - Who Was in My Room Last Night?

Metallica- Sanatorium

 

[hazydavy84]

hey all...i was hoping i might be able to get some feedback about some problems i've been having. I've been on suboxone for about 9 months at this point and been clean for the past 5 months. over the past two months i've had worsening issues with lethargy, sleep, fatigue and weakness. It seems that when i sleep I need 12+ hours to feel rested and am still very sore/weak feeling for the first hour or two after i wake up. I'm currently taking 4 mg's a day (down from 8) and have been steady at this dose for about a month. I also got some bloodwork done and nothings showed up as unusual (thyroid, testosterone, etc.) Does anyone have any similar experiences? Thanks

 

[Georgie25]

hey all...i was hoping i might be able to get some feedback about some problems i've been having. I've been on suboxone for about 9 months at this point and been clean for the past 5 months. over the past two months i've had worsening issues with lethargy, sleep, fatigue and weakness. It seems that when i sleep I need 12+ hours to feel rested and am still very sore/weak feeling for the first hour or two after i wake up. I'm currently taking 4 mg's a day (down from 8) and have been steady at this dose for about a month. I also got some bloodwork done and nothings showed up as unusual (thyroid, testosterone, etc.) Does anyone have any similar experiences? Thanks

Im the same way...I take 4mg a day and always feel tired no matter how long I sleep, which is usually 10-12 hours. I always thought it had something to do with subs being an opiate and they have semi opiate like effects which can cause drowsiness, nodding, etc. Even on the side of my sub prescription it says warning, may cause drowsiness. So it's probally just a side effect we both get.

On another note I've got 1 8mg suboxone left and have been taking 4mg daily for the past 7 months or so...I was maintaining on extra pills i had aquired from the sub dr a few months back as I lost my job and couldnt afford to go anymore. How bad is this going to be? I did get accepted for Medicaid with free health insurance the past couple weeks, so maybe they will cover going to another sub dr cause Im real affraid once this suboxone is gone I will go back to dope...

 

[Paulination]

Hey I was wondering how I could
Get my doctor to put me on generic subutex. I imagine since I have been on suboxone for three years he would be ok with it and I would tell him that it would be 400$ cheaper which is the truth anyone have any suggestions on how to get it? Oh and hazy I think it probably is your testosterone because even tho they say its fine their range of normal is 200 or higher and opiates will always will lower testosterone my testosterone was low because of my suboxone use but he decided not to put me on steroids cause it wasn't abnormaly low but it was low enough that he was concerned also opiates always make u more lethargic

 

[AllOverItPDX]

I just started a new bupe doctor cuz my old one of 2.5 years had his license revoked and he had never prescribed the generic bupe to a patient. he was under the impression that the naloxone blocked other opiates but once I informed him that the bupe was actually the blocker and I couldnt get high after taking just bupe, he was willing to prescribe me the generic as long as I pee for him every time I see him. I also stressed the fact that is was WAY cheaper for me to have the generic. Your doctor should understand

 

[hazydavy84]

yea i know it can cause drowsiness, but from what i've heard, that is a symptom which is more likely to occur with higher doses. since i didn't feel the same way at a higher dose, it seems strange that this would occur after the dosage has been lowered. Additionally, the only type of "high" i get from the suboxone is a bit of an energizing mood lift..

 

[jamesBrown]

You guys dont have too do a drug test everytime you see your bupe doctor???!!

Ever since I started, I have to piss in a cup for my doc, and he tests for EVERYTHING...including suboxone.

One slip up and im kicked out.

Im suprised that alot of you dont have to take drug tests....pisses me off

 

[Paulination]

Cool I hope he does I did the math and it wuld bee 300$ cheaper

 

[Bupe]

I'm wondering how long it would take to get off 8-16mg/day relatively comfortably. Let's just say after jumping straight down to 8 then not taking any more until WDs get uncomfortable and dose up until WDs go away then repeat. By my thinking that could be a quick way as opposed to just guessing and taking a daily dose but rather skip doses and hold out as long as possible until redosing to a lower dose. How long after your last maintenance dose would it then take approximately to lose tolerance so you can use bupe recreationally?

Has anyone gone from a maintenance -> recreational bupe user? I would love to be able to use this stuff recreationally, this is a bad idea I shouldn't be considering but whatever it's better than kidding myself about relapse risks of not having the protection.

 

[DigThatFunk]

So, hey guys, I've got a question similar to many I've seen, but can't seem to find one that exactly answers my question. I'm a pretty regular, but light opiate user(generally about 60-100mgs of morphine regularly), I got both some Suboxone and Methadone a few days ago.

Anyway, I did a minuscule amount of the sub, then got the m-done and did some a while after the sub(only waited like 6 hours, I actually got off though, only took 15mgs of m-done, couldn't have been more than like 1mg sub i took originally though). I had 50 mgs m-done total, I took 15 the 3 nights ago, 25 over the next day, and then only 10 mg's at like noon yesterday(all m-done...just recreational, btw). My question is, how long will I need to wait to do like 1.5-2mg of suboxone again? I may get roxi's later today, which, if I do, no biggie...but if not it would be awesome if I could take this sub. I know generally it's said to be 36 hours or so, but that always seems to be for much higher doses than what I took. Thanks a lot guys!

 

[IAMWHY]

thats good to hear man, well thats a pretty small amount you probably wouldnt even have any WD symptoms if you quit all together right now(If thats what you want) and if you start getting headache,chills,cold sweats,etc after a couple days you could always go back to your 24mcg-28mcg dose and be WD free in a hour or two. If I were in your shoes that would be hard to do though. just the habit of getting everything prepared is a little euphoric in itself. I guess i could snort orange pixie sticks, and you could IV sunny D but that wouldnt be the same and also have health complications lol. I wish I could taper myself down like you are doing, you got some balls man.

Thanks Paulination! (This is Captain.Heroin on someone else's account; I am away from my own computer and don't have my password memorized unfortunately)

I definitely could quit cold turkey however I find that I wouldn't be able to be very functional without it. I have ADHD and am choosing not to regularly use amphetamines. Buprenorphine is a much better treatment, is more reliable, and doesn't incur a tolerance (especially in the same way amphetamines do).

I was actually researching; they recommend that a human adult do 300mcg per shot (IV or IM) whereas children (ages 2-12) were instructed to be given 2 to 6 mcg per kg every 4 to 6 hours (IV or IM). Even by this standard, the amount I am using would be on par with a very young toddler that weighs 30 lbs. being given 2 mcg per kg. This tells me I am extremely sensitive to buprenorphine's effects (specifically when bypassing the high percentage of protein binding by intravenous injection), and that I might be able to taper even lower in the future.

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Buprenex

This is my 3rd week on Suboxone and I feel like the anti-depressant effects are wearing off. It's starting to feel like it's doing more harm than good. At first it made me feel happy, content, made me motivated, made me WANT to do the little things. I feel this is all wearing away and I feel like I did when I was on opiates...I have no interest in leaving my house. I hope this doesn't last and it's something else. I'll need to start to taper and get off if this continues. Then theres the risk of relapse....fuck.

You'll get better effects if you start tapering though, buprenorphine has more negative effects at a larger dose (especially when you have abstained from full agonists for a while, your body starts to get sensitive to opiates again).

Im the same way...I take 4mg a day and always feel tired no matter how long I sleep, which is usually 10-12 hours. I always thought it had something to do with subs being an opiate and they have semi opiate like effects which can cause drowsiness, nodding, etc. Even on the side of my sub prescription it says warning, may cause drowsiness. So it's probally just a side effect we both get.

On another note I've got 1 8mg suboxone left and have been taking 4mg daily for the past 7 months or so...I was maintaining on extra pills i had aquired from the sub dr a few months back as I lost my job and couldnt afford to go anymore. How bad is this going to be? I did get accepted for Medicaid with free health insurance the past couple weeks, so maybe they will cover going to another sub dr cause Im real affraid once this suboxone is gone I will go back to dope...

It might be bad but you'll live. If you feel the need to go back to dope, definitely try to get in with a new Suboxone doctor. If you have the will power I think you will be just fine! Coming off of buprenorphine isn't fun by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not hellish like heroin withdrawal either. Best of luck.

I am so sorry to hear that you lost your job Georgie! I'll talk to you about this when I am back from my mini-vacation. %)

Hey I was wondering how I could
Get my doctor to put me on generic subutex. I imagine since I have been on suboxone for three years he would be ok with it and I would tell him that it would be 400$ cheaper which is the truth anyone have any suggestions on how to get it? Oh and hazy I think it probably is your testosterone because even tho they say its fine their range of normal is 200 or higher and opiates will always will lower testosterone my testosterone was low because of my suboxone use but he decided not to put me on steroids cause it wasn't abnormaly low but it was low enough that he was concerned also opiates always make u more lethargic

If buprenorphine is effecting your testosterone levels, you need to taper down.

Benzodiazepine use (chronic usage) and full agonist opiates and ethanol are the worst in terms of repressing your testosterone levels.

One of the reasons I have been doing so well on buprenorphine is because my testosterone is very well maintained and balanced (instead of constantly being repressed while I was doing heroin all the time), there is a huge difference in my quality of life since I switched over to buprenorphine.

You guys dont have too do a drug test everytime you see your bupe doctor???!!

Ever since I started, I have to piss in a cup for my doc, and he tests for EVERYTHING...including suboxone.

One slip up and im kicked out.

Im suprised that alot of you dont have to take drug tests....pisses me off

I have *never* taken a drug test and have been on Suboxone for over a year.

The good doctors don't waste your time - they are all about wanting to see you get better.

Drug tests would only discourage me from seeking treatment in the first place; they know that. They "reserve the right" to drug test me but they have never even indicated they plan on doing so. I also told them I wasn't going to do that and they had no issues with that.

Often doctors will even *charge their clients* to run drug tests!!! I would never consent to such a thing! You either know whether or not you did drugs, if your doctor doesn't trust what you're saying, why would you pay to prove how much of a liar you are? Additionally, false positives and false negatives are a very real part of drug testing; which is why you should just refuse to submit UA's, out of the fact you have stayed clean for so long (I haven't used heroin in 22 months, there's no need for me to ever have a drug test!), and also that other doctors won't drug test you.

Most doctors are in it for the money. If they are, they will want to keep you as a patient. If they are a crazy, strict, nazi-like fucked up in the head anti-drug sort of type, you don't want them as a doctor anyways.

 

[suninthenight]

injured and on Subutex

Hello,

so I've been clean for months now, for me, that mean's I've been on 8mg Subutex and haven't slipped. Well I need a root canal, and the doctor gave me some Vics for the weekend. My Sub doctor is on vacation and I'm in legit pain. I thought the Subutex would help, but it's definitely not doing the trick. I didn't tell my dentist that I'm on the subs because it was my first visit and I didn't want her to think I was drug seeking. Which I'm not...really...I'm hurtin'

I don't know what to do. I want to take the vics but I don't know the reaction. I know I won't get sick, but will it help the pain?

HELP...please.

 

[Bupe]

Hello,

so I've been clean for months now, for me, that mean's I've been on 8mg Subutex and haven't slipped. Well I need a root canal, and the doctor gave me some Vics for the weekend. My Sub doctor is on vacation and I'm in legit pain. I thought the Subutex would help, but it's definitely not doing the trick. I didn't tell my dentist that I'm on the subs because it was my first visit and I didn't want her to think I was drug seeking. Which I'm not...really...I'm hurtin'

I don't know what to do. I want to take the vics but I don't know the reaction. I know I won't get sick, but will it help the pain?

HELP...please.

No it is too weak with 8mg+ the bupe blocks the hydro mostly/all so nothing will happen. Whether you realize it or not it's drug seeking behavior and you didn't say anything because you wanted opioids... And there's nothing wrong with having cravings and wanting it...

 

[suninthenight]

No it is too weak with 8mg+ the bupe blocks the hydro mostly/all so nothing will happen. Whether you realize it or not it's drug seeking behavior and you didn't say anything because you wanted opioids... And there's nothing wrong with having cravings and wanting it...

well for me, drug seeking behavior is when I'm faking being sick or injured to get medication. And I can own it that I've done it a million times. I can also own that I do have cravings, and if I wanted to "use" I would have went and bought some, waited 24+ hours and taken 'em. but right now, I am in legit pain and I'm asking how to take medication while I'm on Subutex. Can you help me with that?

Can I take the vics while on subs? I won't get high, but will it stop the pain?

 

[Bupe]

well for me, drug seeking behavior is when I'm faking being sick or injured to get medication. And I can own it that I've done it a million times. I can also own that I do have cravings, and if I wanted to "use" I would have went and bought some, waited 24+ hours and taken 'em. but right now, I am in legit pain and I'm asking how to take medication while I'm on Subutex. Can you help me with that?

Can I take the vics while on subs? I won't get high, but will it stop the pain?

If it won't get you high it won't get through to the receptor and help with pain, sorry. You can take a high dose but that's the only chance it will work at all if you can't wait.

 

[suninthenight]

If it won't get you high it won't get through to the receptor and help with pain, sorry. You can take a high dose but that's the only chance it will work at all if you can't wait.

so for my sub dose I'm supposed to take 8mg a day..I've worked it out so I take 4 in the morning and 4 at night. I took my 4mg this morning (8am) and it's time to take my 4mg for the night, if I skip my dose...might I be able to feel a vic around say 8-10pm, having only taken half of my usual sub dose?

I hope that makes sense...