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

[BlueHues]

^Which philosophy? Less is more?

 

[Fire&Water]

cuse'.."you KNOW wont even work"!

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

^^

Drug addiction is filled with illogical ideas like that. It's not a rational disease. Ha

 

[Zerrr]

few things..

Anyone getting more pimples on their face since starting sub? Ive gone from basically zero pimples to having about 5, and they're painful.

Also very groggy in the morning until I take my dose.

Worse thing is Ive started craving coke again on occasion, I think my brain is trying to be resourceful since it knows heroin wont work. It aint fooling me tho

hope everyone is doing well, I havent used anything except sub for almost two weeks now.

 

[jjdonkey]

I've been on subxone for five years after battling a pretty big painkiller addiction. At my worst I was eating 75 mg fentanyl patches while taking 400mgs of oxy a day. My doctors ignored my request for back surgery, for anything else to help my degenerated discs and just kept throwing pills and pills and pills at me until one day they said "hey you're addicted to pills, I'm cutting you off". So I ended up in detox and was prescribed suboxone. The thing was that until I could get my back surgery I was still dealing with pretty shitty constant pain, so the suboxone was prescribed at a pretty high dosage and for years I was taking 24 mgs a day.

Now I"m taking 12 mgs a day (although I'll admit that I sometimes take more if I'm feeling terrible) and sometimes I feel like I'm right back to being addicted to meds but the way I look at it is that I screwed up my brain so badly with the painkillers that I don't think I'd ever get back to normal without suboxone. Some people have to take blood pressure meds their whole life, some people have to take insulin, I have to take suboxone. I do wish I could get by with nothing, to not rely on medication to get up in the morning and function...but I made my bed and now I have to lie in it.

 

[jjdonkey]

If I can do it you can too. Still get cravings, its every day struggle but over time you will heal from inside out.

This is my biggest struggle. Five years later I still get ridiculous cravings. I'll hear about someone getting prescribed painkillers and I still think "you lucky son of a bitch". I can still remember exactly the feeling of that first rush of euphoria and I still miss it. Five years later and I'm still waiting for the "high on life" portion of recovery.

 

[Slum Survivor]

man i had a ton of crap typed up and something happened... ugh.

ive always wondered about how far down u really need to taper to before jumping off... since everyone seems to be noticing the way bupe acts different in small doses all of a sudden.

do you go off at 2-4mg or more because of the "less is more"? or do you keep tapering down, going past 2mg, going into the microgram range?
ive done the whole .5mcg or less jump, and it certainly was more w/d than i expected. ive also jumped off of 100mcg or so of IV bupe, after tapering down slowly to get there. that was at least as bad if not worse than the sublingual w/d. im torn about IV bupe, about weighing the gains vs losses. im trying this time to avoid it, but if i were to no longer have access it would be hard not to. i dont envy those in that position and i hope to avoid it.


and at captain: have you considered that blocker shot once you choose to jump off of the bupe? just thought id bring it up, if your goal is to be totally opiate free. not sure if its good for everyone, i just know it helped a friend of mine for a while. i dont know a whole lot about it, including the name.

 

[Salute my shorts]

I'll hear about someone getting prescribed painkillers and I still think "you lucky son of a bitch". .

Lol, worded perfectly

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

man i had a ton of crap typed up and something happened... ugh.

ive always wondered about how far down u really need to taper to before jumping off... since everyone seems to be noticing the way bupe acts different in small doses all of a sudden.

do you go off at 2-4mg or more because of the "less is more"? or do you keep tapering down, going past 2mg, going into the microgram range?
ive done the whole .5mcg or less jump, and it certainly was more w/d than i expected. ive also jumped off of 100mcg or so of IV bupe, after tapering down slowly to get there. that was at least as bad if not worse than the sublingual w/d. im torn about IV bupe, about weighing the gains vs losses. im trying this time to avoid it, but if i were to no longer have access it would be hard not to. i dont envy those in that position and i hope to avoid it.


and at captain: have you considered that blocker shot once you choose to jump off of the bupe? just thought id bring it up, if your goal is to be totally opiate free. not sure if its good for everyone, i just know it helped a friend of mine for a while. i dont know a whole lot about it, including the name.

Definitely do not jump off at 2-4mg's. It'll be hell.

The lower you can get down to, the easier the kick will be. Sub-milligram range is always best. .25-.5mg's. Easiest bupe kick I had though was when I weened down to literally .125mg's. There was a night in day difference in how severe the withdrawals were.

 

[RodRamsey]

This is my biggest struggle. Five years later I still get ridiculous cravings. I'll hear about someone getting prescribed painkillers and I still think "you lucky son of a bitch". I can still remember exactly the feeling of that first rush of euphoria and I still miss it. Five years later and I'm still waiting for the "high on life" portion of recovery.

Ya I agree once you have lived taking lots of drugs or painkillers your brain chemistry is going to be off. That being said it is possible to heal and your capable of doing this more than you think. I was on 500mg oxy/roxy/fent/H you name it opiate at mega levels and it wasn't even getting me high anymore. Taking 500mg just to stay off wds is very expensive and stupid behavior now looking back. Subs did help me leave that lifestyle behind and I also thought I would be on them for life. It took about 4 years but I managed to taper off and now clean about 6 weeks from subs. Only felt bad the first week then started feeling the heal. Your brain/body will and can do without subs. I also a chronic pain patient who is pieced together by titatinum rods, plates, screws. Pain levels are acceptable for now and not craving subs. Never really had great experience on them and the red tape bullshit was too much for me. I feel less grimey buying pills on the street than going to a corrupt doctor/pharmacy. If they treated me better maybe I still give them business with subs but to hell with all them. Maybe that frustration fueled my taper but I not the only person dealing with bs surrounding sub doctors. The choice is ultimately yours and I understand when people say I will be on subs for life. I once said the same thing and here right now to tell you coming off subs isn't as hard as they want you to think. If I can help in any way let me know. Not everyone ready for a taper/jumpoff I know that. My cravings for opiates started about 25 years ago and will never end. Some day when I'm old sure will have to be on something. At least till then I give it a rest for couple years. Maybe then something new will be available that actually works like those snail venom pills that are still in testing phase.

 

[ellua]

Thanks for the help guys, I wanted to draw it out that long because I have a lot of life changes at the moment and can't have it affect my work. I'll have to look into the costs of the strips because I've been on generic Subutex for years which is a few hundred dollars cheaper than Suboxone... my insurance company won't be happy for the switch.

Captain glad to hear you're thinking of quitting subs finally, good for you! I know a lot of people you've helped thru these forums will admire that.

Does anyone else get a different generic from time to time? I do not know much about scripts, luckily havent needed many. If I prefer a certain form of sub can I request that I get that one everytime?

If you're referring to the tiny little 8mg generic Subutex pills made by Hi-Tech, I've been getting those for about a year straight now. Out of 3 different generics I've tried these have been my favorites.

 

[Zerrr]

Yes I was. My script prior was for the roxane brand, I prefer the mini Hi-Tech ones as well. I don't feel any difference in potency though, they're are just easier to break up, taste better, more enjoyable to snort.

I might have to switch to the strips because of insurance issues (only script that is covered atm).

Id much rather stay on the subutex but I have to pay for em myself.

 

[RodRamsey]

Ya alot of insurance switching people to the films. Most of them only cover films or generic subutex. It can be helpful if you really want to get off subs because the films are really laim. If you not ready this switch can be tough itself. When I went from sub tabs to films of the same mgs supposedly, had wds immediately. Thought they gave me bad strips or something. They just don't work very well, for me at least and alot of other people saying the same. That was frustrating and made quitting much easier. Think about the money you save, time, doctor bs, etc. Life is easier without subs now that I don't have to worry about it. Give it time, I did a month taper then last week down to 0.5mg then jump off. Not too bad and after first week off feeling way better. No more lorpermide or cravings, not really thinking about it anymore.

 

[pillshatner]

doesnt sound too bad. mine was much worse but i jumped around 2 or 4mg; i dont even remember because i was in so much pain from an ear infection i just kept eating strips and crying.

im at day 11/12 ish and my heart is still pounding which keeps me up at night. it is extremely uncomfortable but i cant move around forever, i have to rest sometime and thats when i gets bad. everything else is almost gone though, the sweats and RLS is minor (but that is still mildly put).

i keep trying to find a position i can rest in that might help my heart not be so noticeable. i can feel it pounding in my neck and my ears. ugh its gross.

*and they should take all those feathers and shit off their ads. makes suboxone look all warm and fluffly. they need a skull and cross bones on those pamphlets.

dude i have no idea what ur talking about i used subs to get off of a huge opiod/heroin habbit i still do them every now and then to fight cravings but when i came off taking 3 8mg strips a day i never had any withdrawls at all well maybe thats a lie but i mean it was minor very minor and it was over in a day sub withdrawl is not only a cake walk compared to anything else its barely even there thats what great about subs the only downside is that it shuts off your opiate receptors and you cant ever get high again which i dont mind since im on the straight and narrow but a few times i fell off the wagon and even when i didnt have any subs they still helped me out by not letting me get that high i was looking for my only real question is that can you overdose on lets say heroin or opana or anything like that if ur opiate receptors are dead like mine i mean i wont get high but im pretty sure my organs would fail.

 

[ellua]

Oh at first when I switched from Suboxone pills to subutex the insurance denied it, I had to get a letter of necessity from my doc stating that I was pregnant before they would cover it. He never switched me back to the Suboxone after I had the baby, which was fine with me since I'd rather taste the bitterish subutex than the old orange pills. Wound up preggo again 6 months later anyhow. How's that for ass-backwards-- my insurance won't cover birth control!! (not their fault obviously, just sayin'. guess they don't mind a $40K NICU bill.)

I wanted to share my experience for any women searching for information about pregnancy and suboxone, briefly. I'd been on subs for 4 years when I got pregnant the first time and was terrified that the baby would have withdrawals, as by the 3rd trimester I was taking 16mg/day (I'd been down to 4mg/day before I was preggo, but the aches & weight that came with it had me slowly upping my dose). Everything I've heard about withdrawal in newborns is that it's unpredictable and has nothing to do with how high or low of a dose you take, it's pretty much a 50/50 chance.

So my first had zero withdrawal symptoms and went home with me on day 3. I had my second this past May and w/d was the furthest thing from my mind throughout this pregnancy, since I was taking a little bit less and my firstborn was fine. During labor though my son swallowed amniotic fluid and coughed so hard he got a pneumothroax, or air bubble, between his heart & lungs. This is what initially sent him to the NICU, and I'm told suboxone babies are automatically monitored for a few days anyway. He had moderate withdrawal symptoms, but scores were never consistently high enough to medicate, thank goodness... though I wonder if he was still a bit uncomfortable. He stayed a total of 9 days in the NICU because of his NAS (neonatal abstinence syndrome) scores and it was heartbreaking to feel like I put him there. I was in a place where I should've tapered before having another baby since I was ready to taper anyway.

Just wanted to share, and be a testament to the 50/50 chance of a baby having withdrawal since one out of my two did.

 

[waiting4]

Just popping in here because I decided to join BL last week when it became clear that my long term suboxone use was changing. I have all the details in another topic here.
So, after spending the past five years on 2 8mg per day, (tablets then film)-----I am currently on day 2 of what my doctor's office say is their standard 5 day detox from suboxone.
I also went from Thursday morning to Monday afternoon without anything. Then yesterday, Monday-picked-up this 5-day detox.
I felt enormously better after using 1 8mg strip. (the long weekend without anything was not bad just lethargic and neurotic over the sudden change in plans).
I also picked up some immodium, which I didn't need until today.
Stomach issues kicked-in today after my digestive system made a lot of noise, grumbling for a couple days... deciding to wake-up.
I've never heard of doing this in 5 days, but I think that I'm going to try.
I didn't read the entire thread yet, but I've already seen some hopeful information. I'm pretty worried about the long half-life and what not. And just what feels like a loss of control over my body which is not fun, but I would like to clear this stuff out of my system if it is possible.
Shuts down opiate receptors --like forever? Even the endogenous ones? I don't know about that, it doesn't seem possible. So you can never get high again is different I guess, but I just don't know about that?
And pilhatner----yes that is actually a danger. You really can OD trying to get high after coming off this stuff. That is one of the dangers. I'm not an expert of course, (and I have brain damage myself from being on this for so long)------but, I think that the longer someone would wait the better. I had actually heard in the very beginning, and they are NOT marketing it like this anymore, but I had heard that the crap supposedly "resets" the opiate receptors to zero. This is BS I think, but it would probably be safer to assume that at some point, a person's tolerance to narcotics would decrease and the standard rule to NOT use what someone would consider a "usual" amount, because it could cause an overdose would apply.

 

[RodRamsey]

No offense ladies but my wife would be going cold turkey the minute a baby is detected. Coming off bup is alot easier for you than it is for a newborn. There isn't much info on this topic or many others relating to bup treatment. Doctors are horribly missinformed and scripting high doses this week then cutt you off next week. Alot of the confusion is related to tapering off the subs. Doctors have no clue or want to loose a patient so they want you to stay taking high doses forever. Welcome to your new dealer, he or she just wears a suit and deals out of an office. My many years on subs and the doctors I experienced were more shady than street level dealers. Most doctors dissapear or get deported after couple years. They all living foul, and your best interest is far from their warped mind.

 

[Zerrr]

My instinct would be to agree with you Rod. Its def not a situation I would want to be in(for either parent).
Although I have read that the withdrawal is harder on the baby than the drugs themselves.

What is your opinion on this?

I have no children btw, and do not plan to have any.

 

[BeardScraper]

sub withdrawl is not only a cake walk compared to anything else its barely even there thats what great about subs the only downside is that it shuts off your opiate receptors and you cant ever get high again which i dont mind since im on the straight and narrow

wait this can't be true. once you get on subs you can never get high again? i thought it was just while you were on the subs. i was under the impression that if the subs were out of your system and you relapse then you would be getting high again. am i wrong here?

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

wait this can't be true. once you get on subs you can never get high again? i thought it was just while you were on the subs. i was under the impression that if the subs were out of your system and you relapse then you would be getting high again. am i wrong here?

No you're not wrong. That poster either didn't mean that or severely misspoke and has no clue what he is talking about.

Subs do not prevent you from getting high again. They do not "shut off your opiate receptors". That is ludicrous. Even when actively using subs, your receptors aren't "shut off", they are just being filled with the bupe to prevent withdrawal, and because of the high affinity bupe has, blocks other opiates if on a high enough dose.

Pillshatner, please do not throw out completely baseless claims. There is no such thing as "your opiate receptors getting killed and never being able to get high again". Where the hell did you even hear that? Please do not give out information unless you know for a fact what you are speaking about.

And as to it being a cake walk to get off, well, you may have had an easy time but many people don't, especially after long term bupe usage or multiple detoxes with it. The acute withdrawal symptoms might be less severe from bupe than full opiates, but the incredibly long PAWS period is very hard to deal with and causes many to relapse. Getting off bupe is the furtherest thing from a "cake walk" and anybody who thinks so clearly doesn't know what they are talking about.