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

[dhopeless]

Using a micron filter, identical effects should be had.

If you're just cotton filtering, or not filtering at all, then the extra inactive ingredients in Suboxone could be causing the problem.

The first time I iv'd suboxone it micron filtered. At the time I was injecting micron filtered subutex regularly and having read on this board that there should not be a difference, I tried it with suboxone and was very disappointed. It simply did not work the same way and took quite a while to reach peak effect. A few friends agreed as well. Some people I know have no preference, but they are ALL people that do not IV.

 

[lorne667]

back in the early suboxone days of mine i was allowed 32mg (4pills) and ate 4 of them a day for over a year. I think the comfy dose is anything below 16mg I myself cannot tell the difference in 16mg vs 32mg. Hell people even use it in the single mg's and get by fine, High doses seemed to bring on headaches for me

You can't "eat" suboxone, else they are useless. The BA oral is less than 10% It drives me crzy because I know someone who is prescribed 3 a day(24mg) and swallows them, complained they have no effect, and now are not even really addicted anymore. In fact I convinced them too snort half a pill(4mg) and they literally got high, just showing that even swallowing 24mg is weaker in this case than just snorting 4mg. Of course, they fucking refuse to put them under they're tongue, and now just trade for methadone since they're tolerance has dropped so low.

 

[xburtonchic]

Fire&Water, give the guy a break geez, he doesn't even have 10 posts yet. I'm sure he's still learning his way around the site. Your post barely made sense even to me, not exactly the best way to guide a newbie to the search function.. I'm just saying. :/

To the OP, what sekio said pretty much. And less is more when it comes to bupe. I got a pretty good rush once from 4mg after having to wait a week between refills. That was at the very beginning of my treatment though, and I've been on it as long as you. Hate to say it, but your tolerance is probably high enough now that you won't notice a rush unless you wait much longer than a week... at which point you might as well just quit for good and get the withdrawals over with anyway lol.

 

[Chn]

Really fuck what these guys said. If you can wait two full days.. Or as long as u possibly can. I didnt think I could wait any longer but i did 1.5. Take 2.5 X ur normal dose. Like if u take 1mg take 3 -4mg. Ull find what ur looking for.

 

[cire113]

It doesn't change anything. A couple years ago when "less-is-more" was a lesser known concept around here, we explained it as meaning that a lower dose is ideal because it generally produces enough of an effect at lower doses to cover most large habits, but the main point was that at higher doses, there isn't less of an effect, but there are more uncomfortable side effects. Of course low doses won't always be enough for everyone, but it has been shown time and again that more often than not, people are prescribed more Suboxone than they actually need. I think Suboxone is underestimated, and I am certain that, at least on BL,I have never heard anyone claim there was decreased mu activity at higher doses.

As far as I'm concerned, and I'm sure most of you that were around when I was would agree, this article is saying what we already know.

Wow if people would actually understand this it would clear up all the confusion lol this subject was beaten to death lonng ago....

Also the point is find what dose works for you who cares what other ppl take;

Personally I take 3-6mgs everyday ...


The more you take the more builds up in your system that's why u feel it less...

But honestly the whole point of suboxone is to feel as normal as possible ; as you take it daily your "Normal" not high feelling really is being under the heavy influence of sub 24/7 in your blood stream...

Stop taking sub and you'll see different it is lol...

 

[SubDude]

I was on 80mg of MMT for 20+ yrs and was switched to subs about 3 yrs ago and now I'm fine with 1mg. The side effects of subs... especially constipation aren't worth taking higher doses. I was told by more than one dr methadone is a relatively benign drug short and long term if taken as prescribed and you had an otherwise healthy lifestyle. I'm not sure the same is true of subs.

 

[Pegasus]

^It's pretty much established that methadone will be worse on your system than bupe. Methadone has a whole host of unfortunate side effects...

 

[xxsicknessxx]

I take 16mg of sub... I have taken as little as 1mg a day when I ran low for like 3weeks.. I find that I feel best around 12mg of sub. I think every is different.
16mg helps my pain, It helps with my sugary complications (gastric bypass) it helps with all cravings of all drugs, I sleep better.. I feel better
at 1mg I crave, I have problems bla bla at 16mg I feel off... so 12mg is my lucky number.

I could see 2mg being enough for some and 32mg enough for another I don't think saying less is more is true.

 

[i are spectre]

i found the effects of buprenorphine best when multiple doses of 2mg were taken, 3-4 times a day.

the end of my day would be much better if 6mg was divided throughout the day than 2-3mg doses or 1-6mg dose.

i found that i would begin to crave at doses less than 2mg per day, but only sometimes.

2mg in the morning, 2mg in the afternoon, 2mg at night, sub-lingual. best effects for me without the headaches and funkyness.

i would tend to show a decrease in ego when taking large amounts, and slight confusion/blurred vision, like a high dose loperamide.

 

[Tony Williams]

I am on buprenorphine 24mg/daily. Now I was wondering with my Sunday take home - if I put them small generic tabs into 2ml syringe, add water and shake them till they dissolve then shoot into a spoon and suck up into a diff pin through a micron filter. Is shooting bupe worth it?

 

[lorne667]

I am on buprenorphine 24mg/daily. Now I was wondering with my Sunday take home - if I put them small generic tabs into 2ml syringe, add water and shake them till they dissolve then shoot into a spoon and suck up into a diff pin through a micron filter. Is shooting bupe worth it?

Seriously??? shooting bupe isn't for fun, it's to make it more effective. You see, the sublingual BA is 18-35%. IV is 100%, obviously. So when you shoot suboxone, it is 3-4x as strong than sublingual. That means 2mg IV is equal to 6-10mg sublingual, except that it hits you all at once(instead of gradually) making it feel stronger. It also has a much shorter half-life IV.

In your case, it is a matter of whether you will really be better off IV'ing. Probably not, but you CAN make your pills last much longer. You see, you DO NOT NEED 24mg a day. It's just doctors are idiots and bupe is overprescribed. Plus I guarantee you aren't even getting the full 24mg, so your possibly getting less than 18% BA.

Anyway, if you IV 1-2mg, the effects will be comparable to the ridiculous dose your on now(most likely) but you will also have to redose much more often. Ultimately if you adjust to 1-2mg injections, then 24mg will last you 2 fucking weeks, and is much better, though in the long run, it may very well make your addiction worse. But if you do try, all it takes is a small shale, they dissolve easily.

(And in the future, USTFSE, or better yet, read the beginning of this very thread! It is the BUPE/SUBOXONE MEGATHREAD, ya know...)

Edit: oh you have a micron filter??? Well then at least it will be safe. But don't use a spoon; that is a pointless habit that is in peoples mind from shooting goddamn unpure dope. A shot glass is much more practical, no loss of liquid, and you can mix multiple pills at once)

 

[ThePharmicist]

Suboxone Strips: Quality Variation

Hey all,

Has anyone who takes the strips of Suboxone noticed a difference in quality of the strips from batch to batch or package to package?

Generally, my Suboxone has a slightly rough finish with tiny little dots on it. It looks like a little piece of orange sandpaper. It's also somewhat shiny. Over the past three months I have started to get these weird batches (or even an individual package) that vary from the previous description. Instead of being shiny and look like a little piece of sandpaper, there will be white blotches and the strip will be brittle. Pulling it out of the foil seems to tear theses without much pressure at all. I store my Suboxone per the instructions on the box, so I don't think my storage is a problem. I've gotten the crap strips from an unopened box of Suboxone straight from the pharmacy (not just one pharmacy, several). This makes me wonder if it's a manufacturing problem or a QA problem.

I haven't noticed a great deal of variation in the effects unless I take these different strips for three or more days. This can cause me a bit of discomfort, I'll feel as if I haven't took my total dose. Other times, taking the different strips will actually make me feel better or a bit euphoric. My goal is to maintain a consistent level of buprenorphine in my bloodstream, getting a buzz is nice but I would prefer just feeling normal on my dose.

Image Links (Sorry For The Quality):
Bad Suboxone Strip

Regular Strip

Has anyone else experienced this variation in the quality of the strips? Whether actual side-effects or just came upon a strange looking batch?


PS - I asked my doc about the crappy strips, he said some other patients had mentioned they've had them. He also said that other patients are getting sick from their normal dose of Suboxone when they take these shitty strips.

 

[dcraver877]

all my strips look like that cracked one too. I have never had anything else so I can't comment on a comparison. I feel like they have just dried out a bit too much and now are cracking. Also citric acid could be causign teh breakdown of the film.

 

[Pegasus]

The strips getting dried-looking and brittle is a pretty common occurrence. I think most people who use the strips have gotten these at least once. I think it's kind of ridiculous, but what can you do?

 

[Material541]

Does the route of administration affect the amount of time needed to wait after the last dose of buprenorphine to feel another opiate(~36-48 hours)? Given that a sublingual dose is felt longer than an insufflated dose is (which is felt longer than an IV dose is), I am inclined to say yes.

How is the duration of a snorted dose compared to sublingual dose, anyway? Personally, I haven't noticed much of a difference at all but I have read that others have experienced a noticeably shorter duration.

 

[dcraver877]

so if you just started bupe for maintenance and you feel low energy/anxiety, pinned pupils, and pretty frickin tired...do I need to be taking more? I'm coming off a 40-60 mg a day oxycodone habit after 3 years. I've been averaging 3-4 mg a day but I either feel like my dose is too high or too low no matter what I take. Maybe I'm just looking for effects that aren't there. any suggestiosn?

 

[Opiee]

Suboxone dilemma

So for almost 3 years, I've been doing opiates 2 days per week (separated by 3-4 days). On the days that I use: when the previous dose(s) wear off, I re-dose, then again, then again, etc. So probably about 3-4 doses on that day.

So on the days that I use, my optimal (comfortable) dose AT ONE TIME is about 40mg oxycodone (IR) plugged. So when considering the re-doses every 4 hours or so, in total I will consume around 120mg of oxy in a day (over 12 hours), twice per week.

Anyway, I am at the point where I am feeling very depressed, and have mild withdrawal symptoms on the non-using days (the sick/cold feeling in my body's core). This is leaving me nonfunctional. And given that I am unwilling to stop opiates cold turkey, I am considering replacing oxycodone with low-dose suboxone (2 mg) on those 2 days per week.

I have asked people their thoughts on this, with SURPRISING answers. Pretty much everyone is saying that because of it's potency, buprenorphine will raise my tolerance more rapidly than full agonists will, and will end up being a worse problem than full agonists. They also said that the withdrawal will be more intense than full agonists. They are actually advising me to stay on FULL AGONISTS instead of switching to subs!!

I found this very hard to believe, despite bupe's potency, because of it's partial antagonistic properties. I don't believe the tolerance rise is more rapid, nor do I believe the withdrawal is more intense. However, these people seem to be VERY credible, so I need a second opinion.

Can you shed some light on this discrepancy of opinion? I would highly appreciate it. thanks in advance

(p.s. Don't respond with lectures or arguments as to why quitting cold turkey is the best option. I have already gone through these lectures with others, and I decided I will keep using opiates 2x per week. Keep responses on topic (suboxone tolerance & withdrawal vs. full agonist tolerance & withdrawal)

 

[Fire&Water]

so if you just started bupe for maintenance and you feel low energy/anxiety, pinned pupils, and pretty frickin tired...do I need to be taking more? I'm coming off a 40-60 mg a day oxycodone habit after 3 years. I've been averaging 3-4 mg a day but I either feel like my dose is too high or too low no matter what I take. Maybe I'm just looking for effects that aren't there. any suggestiosn?

I started (Subutex) 20 hours after about 1000mg's Oxy hcl. (through the week) - I used 1 8mg. every 8 hours (2 daily) and I found to get the best benefits was to lay for down 20-30 minutes w/ no distractions ! tablet under tongue Do not open your mouth - breathe through yer nose only, the tab will not dissolve for at least 20 mins' if you do it right It was the right dose for about 4-5 days until I started decreasing doses.

1 8mg. tab pry' would have worked okay but 2-3 mg's would have not worked well -
Alot of Docs' dont have a clue ... the same ones that said 32 mg's a day was the best dose for pain, are now starting new patients on 2 mg's It doesnt work that way, there's too many objectives.

 

[cire113]

so if you just started bupe for maintenance and you feel low energy/anxiety, pinned pupils, and pretty frickin tired...do I need to be taking more? I'm coming off a 40-60 mg a day oxycodone habit after 3 years. I've been averaging 3-4 mg a day but I either feel like my dose is too high or too low no matter what I take. Maybe I'm just looking for effects that aren't there. any suggestiosn?

.

Wayyy overkill bro .. Taking sub maintenance for an addiction like that in those doses is a step in the wrong direction .. Unless you wanna be addicted to sub and be left with a worse addiction then what u had originally..
I would really heavily advise against maintence

Just my opinion..

Oh and


Cracked strips are not defects they are normal strips stored in High heat and dry out..

 

[dcraver877]

well this has been going on over four years now and I have had paws the entire time. Its definitely worth it. And a couple years back i dabbled with heroin too. I think its a good decision. I was just looking for advice on dosing.