Suboxone & what to expect.

[DicedPineapples]

I'm starting outpatient soon, group therapy 3 hours 3 times a week & getting suboxone.
i have a 9 year Lortah addiction under my belt. I've tried everything but treatment. I've done tapers, tramadol, cold turkey, and always end up back here.
what can I expect? Will subs make me feel normal with energy or the same as when I go cold turkey & have no energy for weeks? What's group like?! Help!

 

[The Doc.]

They shpuld make you feel almost the same as when you were on the other pills with not as much euphoria but its a strong opiate it has always gotten me pretty high and helped my pain quite a bit. Less is more ifyou take high doses (4mg and up) it starts to no longer give opiate effects and it blocks any other opiate you do. High doses may block themselves from getting you high but they usually give bad side effects so i decided to take low doses (0.2mgs every 6 hours daily) to avoid getting the side effects which made life harder. If you dont want any high large doses are the way to go low doses give you a bit of a buzz and dont block other opiates so some would stick to high doses to avoid feeling high from the stuff. If you dont need any blocking then low doses are the way to go plus you will feel nice and buzzed/happy.

 

[Carl Landrover]

You'll probably feel off the first few days when taking it. It takes a little time to find an appropriate dose. Doctors usually have you dose higher than you need, though the first few days you may need a higher dose than the dose you maintain yourself at.

Whenever I switch to sub the first few days I don't have that much energy, feel a bit lethargic, depressed, that sort of thing. It's bearable though and it's much, much better than going cold turkey, but it's not going to give you the high like a full agonist opiate/opioid would. I think you'll be fine. I'm coming up on 9 years since the first time I ever felt physical WDs. Been using for a decade now, lots of oxy in the beginning than heroin. Periods of being on suboxone and having clean time. More oxy. Then a lot more heroin. And still back on suboxone again. It's not for everyone, but it is a pretty amazing drug. I honestly don't think I ever would have quit without it or at least not without going to a detox and inpatient treatment.


Groups are all a little different. For my suboxone doctor there is just a required group meeting that is 1 hour long once a week. Your treatment sounds more like an IOP (Intensive Outpatient). Groups can be a little awkward at first, especially if you're just getting used to sub and feeling a bit anxious. I've got a bit of social anxiety, so meeting a group of new people usually gives me some anxiety. It depends on how they're run, but I've found group therapy to be beneficial for the most part. You'll probably meet some cool people and they will all be there for the same basic reason. Some people will have habits worse than you, some with habits not as bad as you. Either way it's usually a place that you can feel safe about being honest regarding your usage. It can be a freeing feeling to open up about your problems with opiates without getting judged.


Good luck. I have a feeling you'll be alright.

 

[DicedPineapples]

Thank you so much for the replies! I'm nervous but very excited to start this new chapter. My doses of Lortan aren't too high.. Around 70 mgs per day but I just can't beat it. Tried countless times and all different methods, i feel this is my last chance. Can't function without and my world is crumbling around me. I'm electively doing this, my family wants me to but I've chose this. I feel lots of guilt spending hours a week away from my family but I'm not much use to them like this anyway. I'll have to sacrifice a little time to turn it all around I suppose again thanks so much for the replies & I'll keep everyone updated as I begin my journey!

 

[The Doc.]

Right on your welcome with the low dose of hydrocodone your taking the sub should elimimate all symptoms in the first day or two on it. When i was in detox they usually gave us 8mgs once withdrawal started in then an hour later we would be amazed of how good we felt, not high just normal and happy and most everybody even reported their anxiety leaving them too. Everyone is different some people with extremely high tolerance's dont get much relief but you need to be doing large large doses for this to happen for example i was doing 500+mgs of oxy a day then went on to a 8ball a day of 70-80% pure heroin and 8mgs sub was all i needed to relive cravings and withdrawal. One reason suboxone may not work well like carl says happens to him is When someone has been switching back and forth from heroin or painkillers then back over to Suboxone when they run out of money or cant find dope this is when people report the Suboxone only making them feel only part relief when switching back over so they feel uncomfortable the first few days on sub. If you dont treat the Suboxone as a back up plan to keep you well for when you cant get pills then you should be fine because Suboxone doesnt raise your tolerance while on it unless you take more of it. For example i take 1mg a day and i still get the same effects as the day i started on it over a year ago but with other opiates you need to keep going up in dose just to keep well all day. Just be responsible with it and you'll be fine if you abuse it then it will bite you in the ass eventually when it stops giving you relief like so many on here report happening to them.

I wouldnt worry about group it may seem corny but its just a safe place to speak whats on your mind. They will explain the rules to you i dont know wjat the format will be since every group is different but just keep an open mind and share anything you wish thats on your mind. Are you doing one on one counsling? I did that for a while and it has helped stop my hardcore panic attacks i suffered from, now i dont go but its cause i dont feel a need to i feel better about myself.

 

[Carl Landrover]

Thank you so much for the replies! I'm nervous but very excited to start this new chapter. My doses of Lortan aren't too high.. Around 70 mgs per day but I just can't beat it. Tried countless times and all different methods, i feel this is my last chance. Can't function without and my world is crumbling around me. I'm electively doing this, my family wants me to but I've chose this. I feel lots of guilt spending hours a week away from my family but I'm not much use to them like this anyway. I'll have to sacrifice a little time to turn it all around I suppose again thanks so much for the replies & I'll keep everyone updated as I begin my journey!

When do you start in the program? Out of curiosity is there a reason you never tried the suboxone route before? I'm assuming that your doctor gave you some explanation of how suboxone works or maybe a pamphlet or something? Have you researched sub on BL or anywhere else online? I'm mainly asking just to make sure you know what precipitated withdrawal is and that you know how to avoid it. Just make sure that you're actually in full WD when you take it. Sometimes the anxiety/fear leading up to WDs makes them seem worse than they are. Taking suboxone before you're physically WDing puts you at risk for precipitated WD, which is pretty much just being sent straight into WD in an instant and it's a just a horrible feeling. So, avoid that.

 

[DicedPineapples]

Just wanted to update!
I had my assesment last week, had my first one on one with my counselor yesterday. I start my sub on Friday. Well, I get it scripted. Can't decide whether I should drag my withdrawn corpse in then or get my script and do it over the weekend. I'm thinking stopping on weds evening & starting my sub early Friday afternoon. Do I need to wait 48 hours?! 24+ in I'm nearly dead lol
I have to start my strict treatment schedule on Monday so I'm wanting to feel good on the subs by then.