Bupe Suboxone/Buprenorphine FAQ & Megathread v3; 2010 - 2022

[lasthurrah19]

Thanks for the quick reply. Yeah, I'm sort of expecting it to work OK at first then not at all. That's the way everything has been for me, as far as sleep aids, and that includes benzos, gabapentin, Ambien, Lunesta, Seroquel, etc.

It sucks because when I was on roxycodone I slept beautifully after having been a lifelong insomniac. I can probably get used to having an hour or two of sleep (like before), but right now it's the RLS that's unbearable.

Yeah, I know what that's like. I think I've ruined sleep meds for myself, at one time I was taking 1mg clonazepam, 10mg ambien, 400mg trazodone, 1800mg gabapentin to sleep and it didn't work at all, it maybe worked for 6 weeks. I've kind of resigned myself to the apparent fact that it's too chronic in my case to be managed by medication long term - still, if I don't take my 400mg Seroquel/45mg Remeron script every night, I would barely sleep at all, I'm talking like 2-3 hours every other night maybe. Seroquel knocked me out pretty well for like 3 months, longer than anything else, but I went up on dose very quickly as the instant release version worked but only for like 4 hours, and the XR version works but it's at 400 mg, which IMO is pretty insane for someone without any kind of mania/psychosis or even bipolar at all, I'm kinda scared to jump into anything more sedating (and with added possible long term side effects) - but even with this amount of meds, it's nowhere close to a guaranteed snooze, and it doesn't make me lethargic whatsoever. Benzos are totally out at this point, my doc thinks they make things worse (for me in particular), even in the (very) short term and I do agree with him.

Crazy what PTSD can do to you, I don't think I really even have generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder, I'm just so hyper-aware of everything (and at the same time dissociative, figure that out), my heart rate is constantly above 120bpm, going to a new GP soon to sort that out. I sleep in street clothes and a therapist once referred to that as "ready to run" behavior, I've been doing this since at least 10 years old - 15+ years.

Hope you're feeling better by now, and yeah what's up neighbor. Sorry for the long post.

 

[Been&Done]

i've been free of full agonists for 14 days now. i'm down to about 1-2mg bupe per day. i'm in pain when i'm on 1mg but it's not all that bad. i thought the depression was gonna be worse honestly. but, for what it's worth, i think this could easily turn into a success story at least for a while substantial enough to get things right in my life.

Next step: get off subs...

Keep it up, good luck

 

[jamesBrown]

I wonder if anyone who is taking a bupe dose thats less than 2-4mg's/day has ever experienced this problem with being hot or sweating alot. I read alot about people who are on high doses like 16mg's/day for example having this problem but no one who is on a small dose.

My theory is that low doses keep this symptom from occuring. But I could be wrong, im just trying to figure it out thats all.

 

[DexterMeth]

i've been free of full agonists for 14 days now. i'm down to about 1-2mg bupe per day. i'm in pain when i'm on 1mg but it's not all that bad. i thought the depression was gonna be worse honestly. but, for what it's worth, i think this could easily turn into a success story at least for a while substantial enough to get things right in my life.

Next step: get off subs...

Nice man. Keep it up. I finally quit bupe 3 weeks ago and I'm still going strong. I was down to .5mg for almost a year then I just decided to up and stop one day. I'm now on zero drugs what so ever. It gets better, but first it will get worse, so be ready and don't bitch out.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

I wonder if anyone who is taking a bupe dose thats less than 2-4mg's/day has ever experienced this problem with being hot or sweating alot. I read alot about people who are on high doses like 16mg's/day for example having this problem but no one who is on a small dose.

My theory is that low doses keep this symptom from occuring. But I could be wrong, im just trying to figure it out thats all.

Hyperhydrosis occurs without buprenorphine use for some people; it would be reasonable to assume that those people with it since birth will likeky also experience it on low doses.

 

[jamesBrown]

Hyperhydrosis occurs without buprenorphine use for some people; it would be reasonable to assume that those people with it since birth will likeky also experience it on low doses.

well yea....but im just talkin about the average person who doesnt have anything effecting them in a way that could make them more likely to have this "sweating" symptom. Just the average/normal person whose body is only responding to the drug itself(bupe...maybe naloxone).

 

[Captain.Heroin]

well yea....but im just talkin about the average person who doesnt have anything effecting them in a way that could make them more likely to have this "sweating" symptom. Just the average/normal person whose body is only responding to the drug itself(bupe...maybe naloxone).

If they do, it could be because they are allergic to it; though I believe there would be more noticeable and less desirable side effects to an allergic reaction to buprenorphine.

 

[funkee]

I haven't noticed an increase in my sweating, but perhaps that's because I always sweat like Niagara. As it stands, I sweat a lot... a whole lot... more than a priest at a little league game.

 

[Wesley_pipes_27]

I wonder if anyone who is taking a bupe dose thats less than 2-4mg's/day has ever experienced this problem with being hot or sweating alot. I read alot about people who are on high doses like 16mg's/day for example having this problem but no one who is on a small dose.

My theory is that low doses keep this symptom from occuring. But I could be wrong, im just trying to figure it out thats all.

A nice cold bottle of water helps a lot. It seems to bring down my core temperature and keeps it down.

 

[DexterMeth]

I'd always have water on hand when I was on bupe. My "appetite" for water has seriously gone down drastically since I've quit.

 

[shruuuuuuuuzzz]

URGENT ANSWER PLEASE

I am starting to take suboxone at a 2mg dose tomarrow to stop my heroin use.
I'm wondering if I can take a 30mg dose of temazepam 12 hours after I've taken my suboxone dose to help me sleep.
I HAVE NO tolerance to temazepam, will this be relatively safe, or should I not mix.

diphenhydramine, does not work at all with sleep aid, xanax at a 2mg dose while on suboxone in the past worked alrite for sleep. but I'm interested in trying this temazpem capsules I have. THANKS!

 

[Captain.Heroin]

I haven't noticed an increase in my sweating, but perhaps that's because I always sweat like Niagara. As it stands, I sweat a lot... a whole lot... more than a priest at a little league game.

Well said. By the way, are you still on the same dose as before?

URGENT ANSWER PLEASE

I am starting to take suboxone at a 2mg dose tomarrow to stop my heroin use.
I'm wondering if I can take a 30mg dose of temazepam 12 hours after I've taken my suboxone dose to help me sleep.
I HAVE NO tolerance to temazepam, will this be relatively safe, or should I not mix.

diphenhydramine, does not work at all with sleep aid, xanax at a 2mg dose while on suboxone in the past worked alrite for sleep. but I'm interested in trying this temazpem capsules I have. THANKS!

You will be fine.

 

[HdoubleODeezy]

I wonder if anyone who is taking a bupe dose thats less than 2-4mg's/day has ever experienced this problem with being hot or sweating alot. I read alot about people who are on high doses like 16mg's/day for example having this problem but no one who is on a small dose.

My theory is that low doses keep this symptom from occuring. But I could be wrong, im just trying to figure it out thats all.

i take 1-2mg/day intranasally and when im not doing anything i am freezing and when im working or doing anything that requires me to move i sweat bullets and get very warm. Before being on bupe i was always somewhat warm, even when it was cold out and snowing i could go out in a t shirt and be fine.. not no more (unless i am doing something like shoveling the snow, than i could have no shirt on and still sweat.)

 

[DeLee]

I got a question for those who maybe recognizes themselves in the following sentences.

Why do you wan't to stop / end you'r Buprenorphine medication/maintenance ?
(The question is for those who got good effects from Buprenorphine - who managed to get their lives in order with the help of Bupe)

Ive read about a lot of people who talks about tapering down and then cutting the medication away for good.
Im very interested in this. Myself I do not have any plans what so ever to either taper or quit my Suboxone. Though I have only been in the program for a short time and things may change in the future, who knows.

I got thinking about this when I got my meds filled up the last time at my maintenance program, various people in my program both high up chief doc's and nurses say that the most succesfull people tend to stay on their Buprenorphine life out. (Though this is a bit hard to really say for sure because Buprenorphines short time of use)

But most people who end their treatment with Bupe fall back into addiction with their DOC.

 

[jnicolas1980]

I got a question for those who maybe recognizes themselves in the following sentences.

Why do you wan't to stop / end you'r Buprenorphine medication/maintenance ?
(The question is for those who got good effects from Buprenorphine - who managed to get their lives in order with the help of Bupe)

Ive read about a lot of people who talks about tapering down and then cutting the medication away for good.
Im very interested in this. Myself I do not have any plans what so ever to either taper or quit my Suboxone. Though I have only been in the program for a short time and things may change in the future, who knows.

I got thinking about this when I got my meds filled up the last time at my maintenance program, various people in my program both high up chief doc's and nurses say that the most succesfull people tend to stay on their Buprenorphine life out. (Though this is a bit hard to really say for sure because Buprenorphines short time of use)

But most people who end their treatment with Bupe fall back into addiction with their DOC.

I was wondering that too, as I'm fairly new to the experience and have a somewhat unique situation (having been dependent on opiates for medicinal use, rather than an addiction [wasn't getting high]). I'm at between .5 mg and 1 mg a day of subs (filmstrips) and have only been on the medication for two weeks.

I'm wondering if I should continue to taper and jump off ASAP (to avoid the WDs/PAWS associated with longer-term use) or if I should stay on for a bit. Right now I feel pretty good, having taken .5 mg two hours ago (not euphoric or high, but pretty good). I kinda wouldn't mind doing this for a while, but I'm afraid of getting stuck in a tricky situation. I'm mostly afraid of going through withdrawal and how it will affect my job.

 

[love2party]

^addiction or dependence to any drug sucks, imo. Your still under the influence of a drug and you don't experience life normally, like it should be experienced. I bet there is ton of people who have tapered off suboxone and not relapsed.

 

[DeLee]

^addiction or dependence to any drug sucks, imo. Your still under the influence of a drug and you don't experience life normally, like it should be experienced. I bet there is ton of people who have tapered off suboxone and not relapsed.

Yes, there are success stories of course but (without any facts to back it up) I believe the majority who jump of their Buprenorphine maintenance program will relaps pretty soon afterward.

Like with Methadone doctors here in Sweden are more and more looking in to the option of lifelong treatment for the patients who have long and heavy opioid addiction.

And as a respons to your reply, I totaly get the idea of living life without any drugs or medications. I get the idea but I have a hard time seeing the benefits, I mean Buprenorphine works (atleast for me) like a mood stabilizer AND prevents me from relapsing or worrying about relapsing.
There were good reasons for me to get the Suboxone in the first place.

jnicolas1980
Bupe ain't no saint, if you use it long enough you will get addicted to it.
Depending how long you abused/used your drug of choice and how hard of a addiction you had and how it affected your life will all way in on how long you prob need to stay on it.
You are on a pretty low dose of Bupe which is good if you would wanna kick it.

 

[SececaRD]

WHats the best way to get the most out of suboxone??

Snorting, or under the tounge?

 

[Been&Done]

^^^ If you just read 1 page of this thread, you'll never ask such a question

Depends on many factor, but as a rule of bio-availability:

sub-lingual: 30 %
intra-nasal 48%

 

[Been&Done]

Yes, there are success stories of course but (without any facts to back it up) I believe the majority who jump of their Buprenorphine maintenance program will relaps pretty soon afterward.

Like with Methadone doctors here in Sweden are more and more looking in to the option of lifelong treatment for the patients who have long and heavy opioid addiction.

And as a respons to your reply, I totaly get the idea of living life without any drugs or medications. I get the idea but I have a hard time seeing the benefits, I mean Buprenorphine works (atleast for me) like a mood stabilizer AND prevents me from relapsing or worrying about relapsing.
There were good reasons for me to get the Suboxone in the first place.

jnicolas1980
Bupe ain't no saint, if you use it long enough you will get addicted to it.
Depending how long you abused/used your drug of choice and how hard of a addiction you had and how it affected your life will all way in on how long you prob need to stay on it.
You are on a pretty low dose of Bupe which is good if you would wanna kick it.

I have been using H for 10 years, and been clean (on Subutex) for almost 4 months, it gave me my life back and i love it for that BUT I don't want to live my life "opiated" even with a partial agonist. Like that post is saying, life is not as it is when you're depending on a drug. Then again, if taking 0.2 mg of a pill everyday or even 1 mg, will keep me from relapsing and living the burned out life of an addict all over again, then so be it. So, in a dilemma these days,
reading on here about tapering and PAWS and benzos, made me realize im dealing with a dependency all over again, only this time, im getting my drugs from a pharma, prescribed by a dealer in a white coat. Speaking of wizards, after my NY doc wrote Suboxone instead of Subutex by mistake, or at least that's what he's saying, he said he wants another 50$ to write me that Subutex prx !!! WHAT!!! He said they are very tight about this, and sending a Subutex prx by mail so you can pick it up at Buffalo (as it's different than Suboxone) is very sketchy!! So, he needs 50$ to apparently make it "not sketchy" don't know how!!! and he's saying "you have to leave something for the reception who will take your c.card number, really?!?!? the reception!??! Man....

So...back to the main question, to stop or to maintain, when to stop, are you ready to? many, many questions.
Sorry for rambling