Why do people say Suboxone is just as bad?

[HalleyHeroine]

Hey there everyone.
I just started in a Suboxone program for the second time. When I was taking it the first time, I didn't want to be sober forever. I just wanted to be "no actively addicted" and be able to use occasionally. Well we all know what happens there, so here I am again, but this time serious and truly wanting to be done with opiates.

I have been doing some reading and I see a lot of people telling people who are interested in Suboxone that "it just delays the inevitable" and "it's not a cure / it's just as bad".

I'd like to share my thoughts on what those people have to say and get your feedback on it.

(To keep the intro short, I'm going to start this thread and then post what I think below)

 

[HalleyHeroine]

To be honest, even though I am a Suboxone advocate and patient, I agree with those who say it isn't a miracle cure, but for different reasons and with a different tone.

No it isn't a cure. No doctor or person has ever led me to believe that it was. And yes, it does "only delay the inevitable", but to me, that is its function. That is what makes suboxone maintenance a useful tool for any recovering addict. I'll explain...

The reason I wanted to give bupe a second try is because I had done cold turkey many times, only to relapse less than a month later. After my most recent relapse I realized maybe I can use bupe to my benefit by doing the recovery process backwards. Generally speaking, when someone does a CT detox, they go through withdrawals, and then after the physical part they have to learn how to live again. They have to cut contact with play places, play things and play mates, learn social skills, gain back trust and dignity lost by the disease, etc... This can be overwhelming and cause relapse.

By being on a maintenance drug, it gives the recovering addict time to focus on life first. I personally plan to spend 1-2 years in maintenance. During this time I can lose contact with those who will hinder my recovery and make new friends, I can learn to live sober, I can stay away from dealers, learn how to function and go to work without being high and get back some of the attributes I lost during my active addiction. Then, AFTER I have healed myself to a degree mentally and spiritually, I can taper and prepare to go through physical withdrawal. I think this way will offer much more success for me personally because I will be more mentally stable and have changed my lifestyle so much that I won't be as tempted to do the things that led me to relapse in the past.

In conclusion, yes, bupe "just delays withdrawal." But in my eyes that is what will make me successful this time. That is why bupe can be a useful tool.

I just wanted to see if anyone else has ever thought about bupe on these terms and how it makes you feel when people say this and that about its function.

Thanks guys.

 

[bcfly7x7]

To be honest, even though I am a Suboxone advocate and patient, I agree with those who say it isn't a miracle cure, but for different reasons and with a different tone.

No it isn't a cure. No doctor or person has ever led me to believe that it was. And yes, it does "only delay the inevitable", but to me, that is its function. That is what makes suboxone maintenance a useful tool for any recovering addict. I'll explain...

The reason I wanted to give bupe a second try is because I had done cold turkey many times, only to relapse less than a month later. After my most recent relapse I realized maybe I can use bupe to my benefit by doing the recovery process backwards. Generally speaking, when someone does a CT detox, they go through withdrawals, and then after the physical part they have to learn how to live again. They have to cut contact with play places, play things and play mates, learn social skills, gain back trust and dignity lost by the disease, etc... This can be overwhelming and cause relapse.

By being on a maintenance drug, it gives the recovering addict time to focus on life first. I personally plan to spend 1-2 years in maintenance. During this time I can lose contact with those who will hinder my recovery and make new friends, I can learn to live sober, I can stay away from dealers, learn how to function and go to work without being high and get back some of the attributes I lost during my active addiction. Then, AFTER I have healed myself to a degree mentally and spiritually, I can taper and prepare to go through physical withdrawal. I think this way will offer much more success for me personally because I will be more mentally stable and have changed my lifestyle so much that I won't be as tempted to do the things that led me to relapse in the past.

In conclusion, yes, bupe "just delays withdrawal." But in my eyes that is what will make me successful this time. That is why bupe can be a useful tool.

I just wanted to see if anyone else has ever thought about bupe on these terms and how it makes you feel when people say this and that about its function.

Thanks guys.

Sup halley,

So you make a lot of good points. Subs is good for maintenance, if you have an overwhelming desire to use again. It doesn't prevent it though as you have self admitted. One of the main reasons that some have a problem with subs is the length of time to detox/taper off it. Lets say you're on 8mg of subs for 1 year, then decide to taper it, the taper is around .5mg every 2 weeks, so in essence 16 weeks. Also most find the worst part to be near the jump off around 2mg and lower. With that being said, I was on oxy and morphine for 8 years and it took me less than half that time to be free. I did a methadone detox over 5 days, then dealt with the PAWS for around 2 months. So my addiction of 8 years and much higher mgs daily detox and w/d done in half the time at an 8X multiplier. While true you can function on subs much better than a normal detox once you decide to come off, you'll only be adding to the agony.

Second, most drs don't accept insurance for the appointments and each monthly appointment can be anywhere from 100-300$ per visit, plus the high cost of subs. So cost is a major issue.

Lastly, maybe.... some see subs as an excuse to try and avoid w/d. Many will take it to try an avoid the inevitable. Readjusting to all aspects of life like you mentioned above, do you think that won't need to be done again once coming off subs as it is still.a partial antagonist? Umm no, you'll have to readjust again. Also the trust, others outside of the addicts sometimes see this as hiding from a problem not fixing it. The people that swear by subs, by and large, use it as maintenance, most for the rest of their life. You hear the horror (had to get that in, Halloween) is in the taper and hell of getting off subs, its worse than oxy, H, morphine. Also I don't advocate CT, go to a medical facility to detox. Again this is my 2 cents, but I think it's pretty accurate.

If this works for you that's all that matters in the end. I wish you the best and hope this helps.

Bob

 

[HalleyHeroine]

Thanks for your response Bob. You bring up a lot of good points as well, especially about the longer wd period. I used to be glad that I quit suboxone after only about a month the first time. It wasn't until afterwards that I heard about the wds being longer and I've always seen myself as a "pull the bandaid quick" type of person so I was glad to be done with it before I got to that point. But it's been less than a year since then and I've been clean about 4 times since then. All lasting a period of mere weeks.

I have some time ahead of me before I can say how effective suboxone will be after tapering, but I know for myself that Cold Turkey isn't the answer. And I've never really seen in-patient detox as an option. What is that like?

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

There is no magic cure for opiate addiction.

Buprenorphine can certainly be used as a strong tool in fighting opiate addiction. If it's misused or abused then yes, it just another substance. However, the nature of it's pharmacology means it is useful in many ways as a tool for people who want to get off opiates. I could write pages of opinion on it based on my experience and that of others, but that alreadt sums it up imo.

Like most things in life, there is no black and white, and whether it is beneficial depends on many factors. It's certainly a big improvement over juice for the majority of patients imo.

 

[bcfly7x7]

Not too bad honestly. I thought the worst, but then again I only went to detox, so I was there 7 days. Lots of meetings, and it keeps you busy so you don't dwell on thw underlying symptoms.

It worked for me.

Good luck

Bob

 

[formetono]

You are right on tract, I am hopefully fixing to do the same thing. I have done it this way before and worked, but I had kidney stones and back surgery and just am still on drugs, but hopefully fixing to make it to sub.

 

[HalleyHeroine]

See bcfly, from your description of the 7 day detox I think, this is just for me and I know it could be the perfect thing for other people, the detox would do the same for me that cold turkey does. I mean when I would kick at home I take off work for a week or two and let the withdrawals do whatever and then get back to life when I feel better. I think with a detox I would feel the same way. Like ok, I got the physical part over with but now what do I do? It makes me feel really weak thinking about it because pretty much I'm saying I need to be monitored or need help longer than some other people.