Opioids Is my Suboxone (Bupe) dosage high?

[MrBaconHawk]

It's a dumb question cause I'm well aware it's high (I am prescribed 8mg three times daily for my back pain, along with 150mg Lyrica (pregabalin) three times a day) but I don't get much of an effect from it. It sort of helps the back pain, not by a whole lot, so I typically end up taking 2-4 doses at once, cause it's better to take it at once and feel okay for a few hours than be in pain all day regardless if I take it or not. But there are times I end up taking far more than I need to (6 to 8 doses, which equates to 48mg-64mg of Bupe at once) which, even at that point, the effects are hardly noticeable to be honest. The first 2 days I took this, one strip was enough to help and gave a noticeable effect, but that died off VERY quickly, and I was taking this level ever since.

From what I understand, tolerance shouldn't work that fast but there's no other reason I would have nearly no effect, from what I can tell. So I'm wondering if I should risk a conversation with my Pain Clinic doctor asking for a dose increase. Last time I asked, we went from around 300 mcg (micrograms) 3 times a day to 8mg so it was quite a large jump. Anyway, the doctor is very lenient, doesn't test for THC and when I told her I was using weed occasionally to supplement the other meds, they said they don't test cause if they did the government wouldn't let them give me medication so they just stopped testing for it (cause they're pro-weed). Do you think I should ask for higher dose? Will it even help? I hear the blood-saturation does increase linear-wise but the actual effects have a ceiling so maybe I'm already at that ceiling? I've never actually been "high" per se but it sometimes gives me a slight effect of a little bit of numbness or lighter feeling, but nothing much more. So am I actually at the ceiling? Do I need to take even more than 8 at once to see if it gives any recreational effect? Or is this just another case of "You're opioid resistant so you'll never feel the effects of it" and there's no hope for effects, whether that be recreationally or medically?

Also, I'm curious if there's a way to reset tolerance or something, I will sometimes take a break from it for a few days or even a week, I don't really get withdrawal symptoms, it's harder to sleep cause I'm in more pain (usually a 5 or 6 on the pain scale) but nothing else. Any tips for me to make the most of my meds? Thanks

 

[OpiateKiller]

Wait so you're taking between 6 and 8 strips or pills a day? 8 mg per each? That's a gigantic dose and the most prescribed or recommended usually is never above 24 mg. Buprenorphine has a very long half life so most people can dose it once a day and it lasts all day, for 24 hours. Sometimes, if you have a fast metabolism, twice a day (morning and night dosing) may be required to maintain steady levels in the body, but you should never really need more than in my opinion 8 mg a day.

Suboxone is a rare drug, one of a kind and the only in it's class to have what is called The Ceiling Effect.

This means that though the drug may induce a high, which increases as the dose increases, it only does so up to a certain point. For many people ending an opioid addiction, this means that they cannot get high from buprenorphine because they cannot take enough of it

If you can take a week off without noticing any withdrawal symptoms you are a miracle and one in a million, but I've heard of others who can do that as well.

The less you take, and the longer your breaks you take, are truly the only way to lower or reset opioid tolerance. DXM (cough medicine) in low doses has shown some promise in studies to reduce tolerance, and grapefruit juice which inhibits enzymes in the liver can increase the effects of opioids.

Best of luck

 

[MrBaconHawk]

Wait so you're taking between 6 and 8 strips or pills a day? 8 mg per each? That's a gigantic dose and the most prescribed or recommended usually is never above 24 mg. Buprenorphine has a very long half life so most people can dose it once a day and it lasts all day, for 24 hours. Sometimes, if you have a fast metabolism, twice a day (morning and night dosing) may be required to maintain steady levels in the body, but you should never really need more than in my opinion 8 mg a day.

Suboxone is a rare drug, one of a kind and the only in it's class to have what is called The Ceiling Effect.

This means that though the drug may induce a high, which increases as the dose increases, it only does so up to a certain point. For many people ending an opioid addiction, this means that they cannot get high from buprenorphine because they cannot take enough of it

If you can take a week off without noticing any withdrawal symptoms you are a miracle and one in a million, but I've heard of others who can do that as well.

The less you take, and the longer your breaks you take, are truly the only way to lower or reset opioid tolerance. DXM (cough medicine) in low doses has shown some promise in studies to reduce tolerance, and grapefruit juice which inhibits enzymes in the liver can increase the effects of opioids.

Best of luck

I used to try DXM, I still have a couple bottles of Wal-tussin (Walgreens version that's just pure DXM), I stopped taking it a while ago cause I got fairly sick one time (I wasn't getting enough effect with 600-800mg DXM so I also drank some alcohol, ended up feeling pretty nauseated so I stopped doing it. Transitioned to Golden Teacher shrooms, taking around 8 grams with effects similar to what people get from 0.5 to 1 gram) so how much would I have to take of DXM to reduce my tolerance and possibly as well how much Grapefruit juice to take as well (I've tried that before with other opiates, not sure how much of a difference it made).

And yeah, I am definitely a one-in-a-million case cause it's not common to have this type of stupidly high tolerance to all medications from the start. Seriously, my first time drinking I had somewhere around 12 shots before I got a a decent buzz, 5 grams of shrooms my first experience, I took hundreds of mg of Oxycodone earlier this year trying to overdose and ended up waking up the next day (couldn't move for a little while and my foot was numb for a few days but everything was back to normal by the time I left the Psychiatric Hospital) so I have no idea why my tolerance is the way it is but... Maybe someone needs to run some tests on me cause I haven't seen anyone else like that. There are people who have tolerance to JUST opiates but not nearly everything like I do.

 

[Fire&Water]

Most pain Dr's prescribe it liberally because they cant get in trouble w/ the DEA ...
although it does jackshit for most any type of pain and they know it

A milligram or two may help somewhat if you can keep dosing down to every 24 - 48 hours

 

[LivingOnValium]

It's a vit on the the high side most definataley but i wouldn't worry about it too muu much. 4x 8mg strips (32mg) is maximum daily total dose allowed to prescribed.

 

[Skippwiggins]

anything higher than 32mg is a waste of good medicine

 

[Nas47]

It's a dumb question cause I'm well aware it's high (I am prescribed 8mg three times daily for my back pain, along with 150mg Lyrica (pregabalin) three times a day) but I don't get much of an effect from it. It sort of helps the back pain, not by a whole lot, so I typically end up taking 2-4 doses at once, cause it's better to take it at once and feel okay for a few hours than be in pain all day regardless if I take it or not. But there are times I end up taking far more than I need to (6 to 8 doses, which equates to 48mg-64mg of Bupe at once) which, even at that point, the effects are hardly noticeable to be honest. The first 2 days I took this, one strip was enough to help and gave a noticeable effect, but that died off VERY quickly, and I was taking this level ever since.

From what I understand, tolerance shouldn't work that fast but there's no other reason I would have nearly no effect, from what I can tell. So I'm wondering if I should risk a conversation with my Pain Clinic doctor asking for a dose increase. Last time I asked, we went from around 300 mcg (micrograms) 3 times a day to 8mg so it was quite a large jump. Anyway, the doctor is very lenient, doesn't test for THC and when I told her I was using weed occasionally to supplement the other meds, they said they don't test cause if they did the government wouldn't let them give me medication so they just stopped testing for it (cause they're pro-weed). Do you think I should ask for higher dose? Will it even help? I hear the blood-saturation does increase linear-wise but the actual effects have a ceiling so maybe I'm already at that ceiling? I've never actually been "high" per se but it sometimes gives me a slight effect of a little bit of numbness or lighter feeling, but nothing much more. So am I actually at the ceiling? Do I need to take even more than 8 at once to see if it gives any recreational effect? Or is this just another case of "You're opioid resistant so you'll never feel the effects of it" and there's no hope for effects, whether that be recreationally or medically?

Also, I'm curious if there's a way to reset tolerance or something, I will sometimes take a break from it for a few days or even a week, I don't really get withdrawal symptoms, it's harder to sleep cause I'm in more pain (usually a 5 or 6 on the pain scale) but nothing else. Any tips for me to make the most of my meds? Thanks

If you think your doctor is good,than talk about this.He/She supposed to know your condition better.First they prescribe higher dose bupe for examp.Than lower your dose slowly to some point.As to Lyrica also don't find any painkilling capabilities...even antianxiety effect is low.But it helps me with rls.and 150mg is not much.Succes.

 

[smokeymcpot42089]

I advise you to consider your exit plan and that lots of suboxone doctors will just be gone clinic and all one month .... as to lyrica they decided to push it as a controlled substance because there was the smallest street market for it. So they did and labeled it a gabapentinoid? (sp) which is just some stuff they made up off the cuff. My ma has been getting it for I wanna say seizures for like 20 - 30 yrs (well neurontin first) and she is pissed cuz lately filling it has became the same as filling a controlled substance. (since it now is..)

also should mention it would be very easy to taper down on suboxone to the point where you 'should be' to just be comfortable.

 

[Pickledlemons]

Most pain Dr's prescribe it liberally because they cant get in trouble w/ the DEA ...
although it does jackshit for most any type of pain and they know it

A milligram or two may help somewhat if you can keep dosing down to every 24 - 48 hours

I wouldn't say thats true. I've seen 1mg fuck up people with no tolerance real good. But if you have a history of opioid use, you're right.

To OP, if 24mg doesn't help you, I doubt any dose will. I think the ceiling affect is around 30mg. But there is diminished return after 4mg or so.

 

[Las Veghost grower]

8mg 3 times a day is high considering the half life that shit is just building up in your system, your gonna go through some hellish wd when it’s time to stop man…I mean at this point you’d be better off on oxy or something ,…

 

[Nas47]

Tappering slowly to a milligram or less and for a while substitude with kratom or even oxy with shorter halflife stuff,if you wanna quit this is option.

 

[Numbskin]

It's a dumb question cause I'm well aware it's high (I am prescribed 8mg three times daily for my back pain, along with 150mg Lyrica (pregabalin) three times a day) but I don't get much of an effect from it. It sort of helps the back pain, not by a whole lot, so I typically end up taking 2-4 doses at once, cause it's better to take it at once and feel okay for a few hours than be in pain all day regardless if I take it or not. But there are times I end up taking far more than I need to (6 to 8 doses, which equates to 48mg-64mg of Bupe at once) which, even at that point, the effects are hardly noticeable to be honest. The first 2 days I took this, one strip was enough to help and gave a noticeable effect, but that died off VERY quickly, and I was taking this level ever since.

From what I understand, tolerance shouldn't work that fast but there's no other reason I would have nearly no effect, from what I can tell. So I'm wondering if I should risk a conversation with my Pain Clinic doctor asking for a dose increase. Last time I asked, we went from around 300 mcg (micrograms) 3 times a day to 8mg so it was quite a large jump. Anyway, the doctor is very lenient, doesn't test for THC and when I told her I was using weed occasionally to supplement the other meds, they said they don't test cause if they did the government wouldn't let them give me medication so they just stopped testing for it (cause they're pro-weed). Do you think I should ask for higher dose? Will it even help? I hear the blood-saturation does increase linear-wise but the actual effects have a ceiling so maybe I'm already at that ceiling? I've never actually been "high" per se but it sometimes gives me a slight effect of a little bit of numbness or lighter feeling, but nothing much more. So am I actually at the ceiling? Do I need to take even more than 8 at once to see if it gives any recreational effect? Or is this just another case of "You're opioid resistant so you'll never feel the effects of it" and there's no hope for effects, whether that be recreationally or medically?

Also, I'm curious if there's a way to reset tolerance or something, I will sometimes take a break from it for a few days or even a week, I don't really get withdrawal symptoms, it's harder to sleep cause I'm in more pain (usually a 5 or 6 on the pain scale) but nothing else. Any tips for me to make the most of my meds? Thanks

So basically at 24 mg it is said that the mu receptor is 94% full (don’t quote me on the wording) - so basically nothing else can get it. That’s why it has a ceiling effect at that dose, that’s all the receptor can fit, and because it’s a partial agonist, it doesn’t act like a full agonist (heroine etc.) and you don’t get ‘high’. The higher doses won’t do anything to you really. I haven’t found much research on what side effects to expect past 34mg but from my own experience, it’s nothing but maybe nausea. Would your doctor try Methadone for pain?