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

[Cakusnie]

I met with an MAT doc recently. I shared that I had 'misused' subs by going intranasal and rectal route because I had heard about increased BA. She gave me a look and told me this information was incorrect and best BA is SL

 

[iamthesuck]

I feel like some of them don't know. But the best way to stabilize is to go SL. You need a low tolerance to get any mood lifting effects from Bupe. It works really well as intended, I've had limited positive experience snorting.

 

[radiodog]

Hey guys, just just checkin in with yall. Beenon subs a few times in the past and going to get back on them with a doc tomorrow.

I have a question for you guys. What do you think of using suboxone for a meth addict? See, I was a heroin/opiate addict for most of my drug-life and in the last couple years have switched to meth. (Dont ask why, mainly availability reasons.) But I can honestly say I crave meth and think about it a LOT less when I'm on suboxone. What do you guys think?

 

[Loocifer]

Hey guys, first time posting and hoping this is the right place for it. Here goes;

A little over a month ago I went into detox to try and kick my H habit. I was doing about a gram a day of H that apparently had fent in it as well. When I got into detox I was so, so horribly sick. I remember rocking back and forth and screaming a lot. They thought they were going to have to send me to the hospital but tried giving me 2, then 4, then 8mgs of bupe and that was enough to hold me, though it was still a really rough night. By day 4 I felt fine and was released and of course went right back to the dope man bc even though I felt ok I still wasn't sleeping and my anxiety was through the roof. Anyway fast forward a month later and I've gone to the clinic and gotten a script for bupe, the 8mg pills. I started them 2 days ago on Tuesday taking 4mg, then 8. I took 8mgs yesterday and 6 today even though I still feel pretty sick. I'm soaked in sweat, I have chills, anxiety, insomnia, skin feels like sand paper. I had really hoped this was going to work this time but I still feel sick and its getting really hard to not say fuck it and not take my dose tomorrow and go cop before work bc I have to work tomorrow night. Am I doing something wrong? I just don't get why I still feel so shitty after 3 days. Idk if it matters but I'm 32, 120lbs with a high metabolism.​

 

[Automator]

Hey guys, first time posting and hoping this is the right place for it. Here goes;

A little over a month ago I went into detox to try and kick my H habit. I was doing about a gram a day of H that apparently had fent in it as well. When I got into detox I was so, so horribly sick. I remember rocking back and forth and screaming a lot. They thought they were going to have to send me to the hospital but tried giving me 2, then 4, then 8mgs of bupe and that was enough to hold me, though it was still a really rough night. By day 4 I felt fine and was released and of course went right back to the dope man bc even though I felt ok I still wasn't sleeping and my anxiety was through the roof. Anyway fast forward a month later and I've gone to the clinic and gotten a script for bupe, the 8mg pills. I started them 2 days ago on Tuesday taking 4mg, then 8. I took 8mgs yesterday and 6 today even though I still feel pretty sick. I'm soaked in sweat, I have chills, anxiety, insomnia, skin feels like sand paper. I had really hoped this was going to work this time but I still feel sick and its getting really hard to not say fuck it and not take my dose tomorrow and go cop before work bc I have to work tomorrow night. Am I doing something wrong? I just don't get why I still feel so shitty after 3 days. Idk if it matters but I'm 32, 120lbs with a high metabolism.​

If you’re in withdrawal, I’d ask for 16mg or even 24mg to start.

Try that, after a few days you should stabilize on the bupe - but you HAVE to stop the heroin.

Fentanyl is hard to convert to Suboxone - if you can tough it out, I think you’ll be fine. Methadone is also an option. Just have them get you comfortable, then taper down to 20-30mg before you jump to Suboxone.

Hang in there bud, you’re almost at the finish line.

 

[OEandricearoni]

Hey guys, first time posting and hoping this is the right place for it. Here goes;

A little over a month ago I went into detox to try and kick my H habit. I was doing about a gram a day of H that apparently had fent in it as well. When I got into detox I was so, so horribly sick. I remember rocking back and forth and screaming a lot. They thought they were going to have to send me to the hospital but tried giving me 2, then 4, then 8mgs of bupe and that was enough to hold me, though it was still a really rough night. By day 4 I felt fine and was released and of course went right back to the dope man bc even though I felt ok I still wasn't sleeping and my anxiety was through the roof. Anyway fast forward a month later and I've gone to the clinic and gotten a script for bupe, the 8mg pills. I started them 2 days ago on Tuesday taking 4mg, then 8. I took 8mgs yesterday and 6 today even though I still feel pretty sick. I'm soaked in sweat, I have chills, anxiety, insomnia, skin feels like sand paper. I had really hoped this was going to work this time but I still feel sick and its getting really hard to not say fuck it and not take my dose tomorrow and go cop before work bc I have to work tomorrow night. Am I doing something wrong? I just don't get why I still feel so shitty after 3 days. Idk if it matters but I'm 32, 120lbs with a high metabolism.

Honestly man when you have a big habit transitioning to sub will not be painless. Last time i did it i was in a similar situation doing around a gram a day and when i switched i still felt sick for 4 or 5 days. Not as sick as id be if i hadnt taken the sub but still pretty shitty. You just gotta get past the first 5 days or so and you will start to feel normal.

I remember when i had a small habit sub was like a miracle drug. I was pretty disappointed when i found out the hard way it doesnt work that well when you have a big habit.

 

[Karamazov]

Anyone here think bupe is more than 2x stronger when snorted? Ive been steadily tapering from 8 mg. recently made the switch from 4mg sublingual to 2 mg up the nose and I got a little buzz! Makes me wonder if the bioavailability is higher than the oft quoted 30-50%. There also seems to be a qualitative difference - a difference nicer kind of high.

Anyway. I wonder if others have experienced this?

 

[THE_REAL_OBLIVION]

Yeah, but it stops its effects quicker that way. Also, snorting brand name suboxone pills (when I started to take it, it was here since around only about a year, no generics, but the generics are also pretty similar..) in their acidity, the lemon and lime extracts that makes suboxone pills taste like extra-lemon lemon pie will likely fuck up that nose of yours if you do it too often. Dunno about other US only pills or alternatives such as Zubsolv and Bunavail, they're N/A here.

 

[Man67]

Just like the title says..

I have been dealing with depression for all of my adult life, I am 22. I have been depressed since I was 9 years old. It hasn't gotten better, it has gotten worse, and lately has turned more severe. I can barely get out of bed in the afternoon. It's not about getting out of bed in the morning, it's about getting out of bed before 5 pm. This is not healthy, and I know this...

I have tried all sorts of different medications, I have been through therapy many times, I have been hospitalized twice. I have tried to commit suicide a couple times.

I figured out a couple years ago what helps with this depression.. opiates. When I am on opiates everything is better. IT's the ONLY thing that works.

I had a period of time where I was a heroin addict, and I have been on methadone, but am now off. I have been clean for a couple months and I can say 100% that I felt waaaay better when I was on heroin, oxy, vicodin, methadone, ANY opiate.. than when I am clean.

Suboxone doesn't work as well as these other opiates, but when I take it, it curbs my depression to the point where I feel almost like a normal person. I feel fine when I'm on suboxone.

I have never been on subs for a long time. The longest I have been on them was a week. Although it helped then, I don't know if it would continue to help with my depression over a long period of time...

..but I'm thinking of giving Suboxone-maintenance a try as a way to relieve my resistant depression. If I were to do this, I would stay on it for the rest of my life. I have also considered getting back on methadone for the rest of my life too, but I figure subs would be a better alternative because the addiction potential is not nearly as high.

I know that I will become dependent on the subs if I choose to do this, but I am starting to think that it just might be worth it... I'm tired of hating everything, and not being able to talk to people, and not caring about fucking anything.

What do you think? (keep in mind I don't care about being addicted to something, I consider being addicted to a medication, but being free of depression a far better alternative than not being able to get out of bed for the rest of my life.. keep that in mind posters.)

I just found this old post and it's pretty similar to my life story. Except my depression started 10 years ago and in order to cope with it I was using Oxy. Never tried anything stronger. At the same l was on several different antidepressants (mostly SSRI) but they didn't help me at all. At the end I developed tolerance to Oxy and became chronically depressed and suicidal. I went to my Dr. and told him EVERYTHING. I also said that I am not trying any new antidepressants as they obviously didn't work. He prescribed me Suboxone (16mg) and that was the day that changed my life. After my first dose, depression was gone and I felt almost "normal". The only problem was I felt sleepy and tired all the time so I reduced my dose to 8mg. I will try to tapper my dose slowly but I will never quit. I have no alternative and Suboxone saved my life. Literally. I just hope that tolerance won't be an issue again?

 

[plumbus-nine]

Ketamine. I've read from quite a few people that it changed their lives to the better, and when used as directed just 1-2 times a week in low dosage you won't be at risk for addiction. Problem is the fucked up healthcare situation where in some countries like the states (?) people have to pay these thousands themselves or acquire illicit ketamine and do it at your own risk.

Opioids unfortunately come as Ian937 said with their honeymoon phase, I've experienced this myself, they bring immediate relief but worsening on the long run. Not for everybody and bupe might be different because it's a kappa receptor blocker and currently in clinical trials against therapy resistant depression together with a mu receptor antagonist. Don't know how the trials run, I've read about mixed opinions. Kratom might help over some days, I'm currently using it because I can't get any ketamine for an acceptable price here, and it does help me but it's no miracle cure and I don't know yet how this experiment will or won't work out. It seems to work better while NOT on other antidepressants for whatever reason. SSRIs are ridiculously useless for me.

 

[Man67]

You are 100 % right. By the way there is a nasal spray with ketamine that apparently work miracles for depression. It's available in Australia and it's not covered by Medicare. Price? Around $2000 per week!!? I can only dream about it.

 

[No_more_evry_monday]

Just like the title says..

I have been dealing with depression for all of my adult life, I am 22. I have been depressed since I was 9 years old. It hasn't gotten better, it has gotten worse, and lately has turned more severe. I can barely get out of bed in the afternoon. It's not about getting out of bed in the morning, it's about getting out of bed before 5 pm. This is not healthy, and I know this...

I have tried all sorts of different medications, I have been through therapy many times, I have been hospitalized twice. I have tried to commit suicide a couple times.

I figured out a couple years ago what helps with this depression.. opiates. When I am on opiates everything is better. IT's the ONLY thing that works.

I had a period of time where I was a heroin addict, and I have been on methadone, but am now off. I have been clean for a couple months and I can say 100% that I felt waaaay better when I was on heroin, oxy, vicodin, methadone, ANY opiate.. than when I am clean.

Suboxone doesn't work as well as these other opiates, but when I take it, it curbs my depression to the point where I feel almost like a normal person. I feel fine when I'm on suboxone.

I have never been on subs for a long time. The longest I have been on them was a week. Although it helped then, I don't know if it would continue to help with my depression over a long period of time...

..but I'm thinking of giving Suboxone-maintenance a try as a way to relieve my resistant depression. If I were to do this, I would stay on it for the rest of my life. I have also considered getting back on methadone for the rest of my life too, but I figure subs would be a better alternative because the addiction potential is not nearly as high.

I know that I will become dependent on the subs if I choose to do this, but I am starting to think that it just might be worth it... I'm tired of hating everything, and not being able to talk to people, and not caring about fucking anything.

What do you think? (keep in mind I don't care about being addicted to something, I consider being addicted to a medication, but being free of depression a far better alternative than not being able to get out of bed for the rest of my life.. keep that in mind posters.)

I feel you man , i have subs with me for a week now and after 2 or 3 days i no longer get high off them they just make me normal (stronger and better valium) i feel that i function better minus the emotional flatness.. Also weed is much better and it can even enduce noding 8/2 suboxone pill can last me for 3 or 4 days
It looks like this is best drug to clean myself of all the other shit since only drug i want while on them is weed.
How much evryday usage can i do and not feel wd when i quit?

 

[Man67]

I like your way of thinking. You are right, there's nothing better than Suboxone if you want to stay clean. The problem is, you have to take it every day if you want to feel "normal". I started with 8mg and several months later l am still on the same dose. Tried to tapper it down but it takes time and patience. Then I realised one thing. Why should I go down when it's workings properly? I don't even think about oxy and addiction, my chronic pain (headache) is gone and my depression is almost cured. I am aware that l have to be on Subs for life but l'm good with that. Your question is a bit tricky as we are all different. Start with a low dose and see how it goes? You are the boss and it's a your decision. Good luck.

 

[Xo.QueenK]

Hey BL fam, I was wondering if anyone has experienced IV sedation while on buprenorphine?

I found out I have 2 abscesses in my wisdom teeth, and long story short, I need all 4 removed. I'm 30, so this is a risky operation based on where the nerve is running. I've been told it's basically guaranteed I'd lose feeling permanently based on where the nerve is running. So it's going to be a tricky procedure.

I've seen 2 oral surgeons about this and my surgery is scheduled for next week.
I elected for IV sedation, although I'm not certain how this was even an option. If I move wrong while they're operating, I would risk that nerve being damaged.

Anyway - I spoke with the doctor about me being on suboxone. I'm on a relatively low dose, as I've been tapering for some time.
I take about .5mg every other day, to every 3rd day. I'm on the strips, and they're 8mg so I cut those down into tiny pieces.

My doctor said that suboxone could interfere with the IV sedation, saying he wanted me on as low a dose as possible. From there it would just be sedating me, but he said suboxone could impact that, and 'we wouldn't want you waking up mid surgery,' which is the most horrifying thing to say to a person. He said that what he would want is for me to take that dose as I normally do and have the day of my surgery being the 3rd day (the day I would normally take my dose, but not to take it). So he basically wants me on the lowest dose of suboxone as possible.
My concern was the complete lack of knowledge around this topic/drug - in regard to IV sedation/operations of any kind. There has to be more information out there that is published knowledge, right?

So first, I decided to go with another oral surgeon that seems to care more about the specifics of where the nerve is running and how best to get the tooth/teeth cut and removed. He went into great depth and actually drew out how my tooth was, where the nerve was, and where the abscess was. However I'm incredibly anxious about the suboxone and sedation.

But has anyone had a surgery performed while on Suboxone? Is the amount of IV medication supposed to be higher if you're on it? Does this impact it at all?
& would it potentially impact nitrous oxide (laughing gas)?
Or was this just a 'to stay on the safe side, be on the lower end of your medication' type of note? He said this shouldn't impact anything else, because they aren't going to IV any pain medication, for oral surgeries they don't do that (I was surprised to hear that, but okay..).

Anyone experienced this or anything similar? Is this something to worry about? If so, should I get my Suboxone prescriber involved? (I'm genuinely not sure if he does that outside of a massive car wreck type thing, and that's tied in with the pain medication portion of what I can received/will break through the Bupe).

I've put this off for so long, I don't care the pain I'll be in afterwards - I just want to get this done and over with. I am greatly concerned about the possibly permanent nerve damage/loss of feeling, as well as waking up mid sedation!

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Nas47]

All i know thst,if u on subs especially from long time must inform anestesiologist.'cause maybe sustainable state of analgesia is more difficult to achieve.wishu luck

 

[Xo.QueenK]

OK thanks for that. Have you experienced this, or know by proxy?
My issue isn't about my doctor being aware - as they fully are. But they never asked me how long I have been on it (which has been about 1 year, so I would call that a long time). But them not asking me this is something nerve wracking. I'm guessing this information should be delivered to the anesthesiologist directly?

 

[Nas47]

Ye man.if u expect intervention musr talk with ur doc at least.anesstesiologist must know how u take and from what time

 

[smokeymcpot42088]

HEY REAL INFO, ANECTODAL BUT REAL. I got umm a knife in my stomach and was bleeding out and needed a laproscopy? but anyways you look out for you. I took about 10 kpins before surgery and informed them of my suboxone script. Which they knew little to nothing of. I remember the surgeon sayiong "wow your not unconscous that suboxone must be strong" Than he moved to propafanol.. problem solved. After giving me injections of fet they wanted m eback on sub and i had to explain precip. (they didnt listen so i swallowed the first half a piill)

 

[VerbalTruist]

Hey BL fam, I was wondering if anyone has experienced IV sedation while on buprenorphine?

I found out I have 2 abscesses in my wisdom teeth, and long story short, I need all 4 removed. I'm 30, so this is a risky operation based on where the nerve is running. I've been told it's basically guaranteed I'd lose feeling permanently based on where the nerve is running. So it's going to be a tricky procedure.

I've seen 2 oral surgeons about this and my surgery is scheduled for next week.
I elected for IV sedation, although I'm not certain how this was even an option. If I move wrong while they're operating, I would risk that nerve being damaged.

Anyway - I spoke with the doctor about me being on suboxone. I'm on a relatively low dose, as I've been tapering for some time.
I take about .5mg every other day, to every 3rd day. I'm on the strips, and they're 8mg so I cut those down into tiny pieces.

My doctor said that suboxone could interfere with the IV sedation, saying he wanted me on as low a dose as possible. From there it would just be sedating me, but he said suboxone could impact that, and 'we wouldn't want you waking up mid surgery,' which is the most horrifying thing to say to a person. He said that what he would want is for me to take that dose as I normally do and have the day of my surgery being the 3rd day (the day I would normally take my dose, but not to take it). So he basically wants me on the lowest dose of suboxone as possible.
My concern was the complete lack of knowledge around this topic/drug - in regard to IV sedation/operations of any kind. There has to be more information out there that is published knowledge, right?

So first, I decided to go with another oral surgeon that seems to care more about the specifics of where the nerve is running and how best to get the tooth/teeth cut and removed. He went into great depth and actually drew out how my tooth was, where the nerve was, and where the abscess was. However I'm incredibly anxious about the suboxone and sedation.

But has anyone had a surgery performed while on Suboxone? Is the amount of IV medication supposed to be higher if you're on it? Does this impact it at all?
& would it potentially impact nitrous oxide (laughing gas)?
Or was this just a 'to stay on the safe side, be on the lower end of your medication' type of note? He said this shouldn't impact anything else, because they aren't going to IV any pain medication, for oral surgeries they don't do that (I was surprised to hear that, but okay..).

Anyone experienced this or anything similar? Is this something to worry about? If so, should I get my Suboxone prescriber involved? (I'm genuinely not sure if he does that outside of a massive car wreck type thing, and that's tied in with the pain medication portion of what I can received/will break through the Bupe).

I've put this off for so long, I don't care the pain I'll be in afterwards - I just want to get this done and over with. I am greatly concerned about the possibly permanent nerve damage/loss of feeling, as well as waking up mid sedation!

Thanks in advance!!!

Are you being actually put under with something like propofol? Or are they doing a “twilight sedation”? Something like versed and fentanyl.

With the first: you don’t have to worry about it. With the second the opioid they give you will be blocked.

Either way, you’re going to be in pain. They write opiates for recovery after this kind of surgery.

You really should talk with the anesthesiologist about what’s best for you. If they aren’t doing actual sedation and they’re going to snow you with benzos and opiates, it’s going to be rough.

 

[deficiT]

Recently switch to zubsolv. I'll have to say I much prefer it. Currently taking 11.4mg daily, which is equivalent to 16mg standard Buprenorphine