Bupe!!!
This is my very long winded Trip Report and testimonial to Suboxone/Buprenorphine. You were warned so turn back now or forever hold your peace!
Past discussion of my problem
So, after more than a month of stringing myself along and waiting, my appointment with Dr. Bupe finally arrived on 3/23. Since my post last month(link above) where I asked about the safety of “taking Naltrexone within 24 hours of an opiate” I have managed to grow my opiate habit to using 240mgs/day of Oxycontin to feel comfortable, and up to 480mgs for euphoria.
It was a fun ride while it lasted over the last couple of years, but I was spending my entire paycheck every two weeks all on opiates - close to $1,000/week. While I just barely made enough money to keep up with my habit, copping my daily’s just got harder and harder. One source of mine, who was prescribed 200 branded Hulk’s a month was slowing down himself, not to mention that other fellows that I used to score from were either trying to quit themselves, or just couldn’t work the same magic that they used to. It just got too difficult for me to get through each day comfortably.
The last couple of days before I went in for the Bupe last Wednesday were the worst as I couldn’t score shit. I managed on a few 40’s on Monday, and 2 40’s and 6 bags of dope on Tuesday. That really shows how bad things had gotten because in the last couple of years I only had to resort to taking dope about 6 times. I have always preferred the high of a brand OC 80 over any dope I have had, that’s just me though.
So last Wednesday finally arrives and my appointment with Dr. Bupe(for lack of a better name to call him!) was at noon. On my drive to the doctor I was very nervous, but also very overjoyed as I was pretty certain that the hell I had been living lately was about to come to an end. I could feel withdrawal setting in as my nose began to clog, but soon enough I had arrived at the doctors office, filled out my paperwork, and was soon in the safety of my examiner, Jill. Dr. Bupe was a specialist in Behavioral Sciences – they specialize in helping people through serious pain and also getting people off of the same medicines that they prescribe for the serious pain(go figure). I have a feeling that a lot of these types of centers operate quite similarly.
Jill asked me about 100 questions about my drug and my personal habits and I was very honest with her leading her through an open book of my past. I left no details out whatsoever – booze, nicotine, pot, mushrooms, lsd, mdma, cocaine. And, of course, vivid details on my opiate habit involving perc’s, vic’s, Oxycodone(30’s), various forms and large amounts of Oxycontin, fentanyl patches and pop’s, and dope. After Jill and I spoke and she took notes for about 45 min, Dr. Bupe himself came into the room.
Dr. Bupe looked over some of Jill’s notes from the last 45 min. and began to speak about Suboxone(Buprenorphine/Naloxone), as I had hoped for. He told of the amount of success stories they were having and, while an opiate itself, it allows you to get back to your life, and living like you should. I asked about the ill effects that I had heard were associated with taking Bupe in conjunction with Benzo’s as I take Kolopins almost daily. He said that in some ‘early French studies’ of the bupe/benzo combo that the ‘French’ had reported OD’s from the combination. He went on to say that the people who experienced OD’s were under the spell of massive amounts of Bupe - combining the two at low doses would not be a problem. He also said they will require me to come in once a week for about a month for some one on one loving, and then once they are sure that I am doing well I will have to come back once a month. I was expecting something like this and have no problem attending a couple of classes. Dr. Bupe finished with a bit about how at his clinic they let their patients police themselves – no piss tests, they like to build a level of trust in their patients. I was convinced the Bupe was I wanted before I even went in for the appointment so agreed to his very liberal terms and walked out of the office with two scripts and a very big smile on my face.
30 – 8mg Suboxone
30 – 1mg Guanfacine
Dr. Bupe told me that I could take as many Suboxone a day as would like and that he gave me enough for up to 6 a day. He said take as many as you need to feel comfortable. The Guanfacine is blood pressure medicine and takes the edge off a bit I guess.
I have been on the Bupe since 3pm this past Wednesday afternoon and HAVE NOT USED OR EVEN CRAVED OPIATES since sucking on those first two tablets on my ride to work after seeing Dr. Bupe. It has almost been 96 hours since my last taste of an opiate and I feel fine! I have taken up to 56mg of the Bupe in one day and have probably been averaging about 48mg over the last few days. Last night I slept like a champ so have only ingested 16mg today at about 4pm and it is now 8pm. I counted my pills on Thursday and realized that at the rate I was going I wasn’t going to make it till my next appointment with Dr. Bupe on Monday. I called Jill and she had a script of an additional twelve mailed out to me, which I received today and will fill tomorrow. I think I could get away with taking less for sure, but right now I like the mental state of mind it puts me in…I generally feel fabulous while on the Bupe.
I had no withdrawal symptoms from opiates, which were my biggest concern with the Bupe. I thought that there was no way it could get rid of all w/d symptoms, but it did. No chills, sweats, flu symptoms, jitteriness, or extreme congestion(the worst for me) – most importantly NO CRAVINGS and NO DEPRESSION. I cannot stress this enough…not only do I feel great, but I haven’t craved opiates even in the least bit.
In fact, yesterday I tested myself by running an errand for an old friend. I picked him up 2 80’s and 1 Fentanyl 1600 and dropped them off at his house while he and his wife were out shopping. Opiates were just not on my mind as I didn’t flinch during the entire transaction. It’s not a good idea for me to be around opiates right now and I know this, but it’s a good feeling knowing you CAN resist!!
The only two negative things I have noticed about Bupe are dry mouth and constipation. But, both of these symptoms are nothing compared to the hell I was living before. I am guessing the constipation comes from Bupe still being an opiate of some kind. It apparently sooths your opioid receptors just as an actual opiate would. I wonder if others on the Bupe experience these as well and if there are any other negative affects associated with the Bupe.
So, you guys get the picture, the Bupe is working for me right now. I know it is early in the healing process, but I will report on my success. I give a good deal of credit to this board and its members. If it wasn’t for some folks on here, a month or so ago I might have gone through some of he worst w/d’s of my life. By posting and looking around I was able to figure out a better plan of attack on cleaning my shit up and it seems to be working so far.
Special thanks to those that provided insight to me in other posts: mrcontin, blahblahblah, ketamike, and ItchySkratchy. I don’t know you guys, but thank you for the info you provided to me – it definitely allowed me to formulate a good plan of attack. Not to mention johnnyb420 who befriended me and who I have chatted with outside bluelight. Johnnyb has provided a good deal of encouragement and we don’t even know each other. We both like the Grateful Dead and dank nugs, I guess that’s all that matters.
So, thanks for listening and my apologies for being so long winded. I tried to recap my experience as briefly as possible with still giving keep people a really good idea of my situation. Sorry if I just wasted some of your time with a boring story, but I think posts like this can be very beneficial and entertaining to some. Most importantly, I hope this helps some folks dig themselves out of the same never ending pile of shit that I was waking up to daily. You need a big shovel, but it is possible.
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")