Can You Take Benzos While You're On Suboxone? (Page 6)

I've been seeing a lot of posts regarding taking benzos while on Suboxone. It is ok to take a benzo w/ suboxone - as long as you're taking the prescribed dosages you'll be fine. Now if you're taking 3 or 4 8mgs of Suboxone and say 5 or 6 Xanax that's not good, that's where the reported deaths have come from. I've been on Subs for 5 yrs. I've also been subscribed klonopin and am currently taking valium w/ it and it's fine. I'm on a low dose and only take what I am prescribed.

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Boy u said it all my addiction to lortab ruined my life sent me to bankrupt lost my wife I was taking at the end of my addiction 40 lortabs 10,s a day I don't know wat I would have done if not for suboxone

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Wow can't believe the cost where do you live? I live in Adelaide Australia and I've been on subutex and now suboxone for nearly 8yrs and we only pay $3.50 aday or $25 for week paying upfront no wonder ppl don't get clean with cost like that.

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I'm on (24) mg of suboxone and I'm also on benzos. I take (3) mg a day of klonopin. As long as u take you're meds. As prescribed, u won't have any problems. I've been on the both 4 years now. And, it's all 4 Ligitical reasons. Now if people abuse them or shoot them up, then there could be problems. Don't claim 2 know it all, but, I am a nurse and worked in the field.

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Novus medical detox in New Port Richey. Ijust came of off xanax 1mlg. And 170 mlg of methadone daily, but sometimes I would take xtra methadone up to 270. They depicted me in 12 days. I feel great but just lazy a little soar but flexeral and phenergen help for nausea and muscle spasms. $800 a day. Well worth it I was on meth gor 2 1/2 years. B4 that 3 more years with about 6 months break. I'm happy.

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Hi FeelingViolated,

This is in reply to your post (#96).

I am a Canadian physician and clearly with the DEA involvement, you are in the US. You did not mention your state. I am not too familiar with federal laws in the United States, nor am I familiar with individual state laws concerning your issues. Here is my opinion based on the limited information you provided. Like I said I am NOT very familiar with all of the laws concerning your issues, I am only familiar with the laws in my country which I'm sure differ substantially because of a federal law enforcement agency's involvement in all things related to prescription narcotics.

As far as your situation with you combining a benzodiazapine and narcotic, and the threat of indictment, you've possibly broken some sort of "doctor shopping" law in place in your state. It is EXTREMELY important to notify any physician you receive a narcotic prescription from, of ANY/ALL other narcotic prescription you receive from any other doctor. Not only is this the law in most countries, but it is also of utmost importance that your doctor know what medications you take, including OTC and herbal medicines, because of possible interactions. When you combine multiple CNS depressants like your Xanax and Suboxone for example, you are at increased risk for things like potentially fatal respiratory depression.

As far as your Doctor telling you not to leave the state... That seems overly harsh to me based on the information you gave. Assuming you had a valid prescription and reason for taking the Xanax (ie: generalized anxiety disorder, etc), you were only receiving the Xanax from one other physician, you were honest with him/her when asked about narcotic prescriptions, and you were not abusing the Xanax, it seems like an overreaction on his/her part. However you only gave minimal information. The MD could have many different reasons to suspect that you were Dr Shopping. The fact that the DEA sent a letter in the first place makes me question what triggered that reaction from them. I'm also assuming you signed a contract agreeing that while taking your Suboxone you would not seek any other narcotic prescriptions from other doctors. This is generally the case.

As far as your rights being violated, that doesn't seem to be the case here assuming you signed a similar contract upon receiving your Suboxone to what we give clients where I am located. He gave you a choice... Either you stick around, or I will no longer treat you. That is the MDs right. He can impose conditions for continuing your treatment, especially in Addiction Medicine. He must have felt justified based on the evidence given to him by the DEA, or he wouldn't have been so harsh with you. Do you have a history of abusing your Suboxone/Xanax? Do you have a history of drug seeking behavior or Dr. shopping? Any of these things could have ultimately lead to his/her decision.

However, as I mentioned, you gave limited information. Furthermore, I also have limited knowledge of the federal and state laws wherever you live in the US. So this is just my opinion based on the information you provided, conjecture, and educated guesses.

It is unfortunate that you were treated so poorly and had to cancel your vacation. Unfortunately, you live in a country with a federal law enforcement agency with the power to influence medical decisions, and Doctors often overreact because they are worried about being penalized by them. Furthermore, in the United States MDs get sued much more often.

Whether these reasons had a hand in the reason you were treated the way you were, who knows? As far as feeling violated, I can see why you feel that way. That was pretty unfortunate. I hope you can straighten things out and earn back the trust of your DR. Good luck, and if you have any further questions feel free to ask. I'll do my best to answer them but just keep in mind that they are only my opinion in some cases and I live in a different country with different laws.

Good luck!!

Dr. D

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As a drug and alcohol counselor who works with a physician that prescribes suboxone and zubsolv, anybody who is on long term maintenance with suboxone is asking for trouble. Suboxone should be used in a reduction therapy program. Taking 8 mg or more of suboxone every day for multiple years is irresponsible on the part of the prescribing physician at best.

As far as incorporating Benzos with suboxone- if you want to risk death, keep telling yourself that certain benzos are "weak", or you have "a high tolerance" for them. Benzos and suboxone are a terrible combination at ANY level, and can slow respiration to fatal levels, especially if the patient uses benzos close to bed time, or if the patient has sleep apnea. Quit f***ing around in a blog site when it comes to these kind of matters!

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Cold turkey can be done but it will be uncomfortable . However the post acute withdrawal stage is shorter than if you were to quit Suboxone. Speaking from experience, I never went cold turkey off full agonist opiates- I chose Suboxone. I've been on it for 5 years & have slowly tapered down to 4mgs. My doctor- who's a psychiatrist and addictionologist- also has me on 2 mgs Klonopin & 40mgs Celexa (antidepressant). Actually I was on those meds before I got on Suboxone. To your question, many Drs will prescribe "comfort meds" to help you thru withdrawal- Benzos. Clonodine (the blood pressure med you spoke about, & perhaps an antidepressant or sleep aid. Sub completely takes away the opiate cravings/withdrawal- & u should take the lowest possible dose that does that effectively. Short term Sub treatment, if u can handle it, is usually preferred because once you're on Sub for a long time you'll get dependant and have to go thru another set of withdrawals- these lasting a lot longer than regular opiates. Hope this helps a little. Good luck!

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First off his physician wouldn't prescribe two different medications if the interactions are fatal. At the pharmacy it would set off a red flag and they will not fill the prescription and the DEA would investigate improper prescription practice with the physician. Secondly suboxone is not a painkiller, it is a anti agonist which is a synthetic derived from opiates which Completely different. Suboxone replaces receptors in your brain to stop from withdraw and at a certain dose no matter how many suboxone you ingest it will do nothing once your brain receptors are replaced with the naloxone. Naloxone is also used for people who are overdosing. The buprenorphine is the mild synthetic agonist that stops the withdraws and all other symptoms. Rather than somebody giving they're own option doesn't mean bash him because hes not a doctor. Common sense and doing your own research goes along way.

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Josh, I'm sorry but what you're saying is inaccurate. You won't be "red-flagged" by the pharmacy, or the DEA, from taking Suboxone -buprenorphine + naloxone- and another controlled substance like a Benzo. I take Buprenorphine and Klonopin ( have been for almost 6 yrs now) & not once has a pharmacist even looked at me strangely.

Secondly, Suboxone is a Partial Agonist Opiate, who's function is to remove someone's opiate withdrawals. The Naloxone, when absorbed sublingually, is almost non-existent. It's only there to prevent someone from injecting the Sub into their veins like heroin. Since Suboxone is only a "partial" agonist it only attaches itself to enough of the brain's MU receptors to take awaywithdrawals. But the buprenorphine in Suboxone has such a high affinity that it blocks full agonist opiates (ie heroin, oxy, etc) from getting through and activating the MU receptors- that's why someone on Suboxone doesn't feel a "high" like they would if they were JUST taking regular full agonists.

Suboxone without the Naloxone is called straight Buprenorphine (which I'm presently taking) & it's STILL fine to take that and a Benzo in moderate dosages AS prescribed by your doctor.

And I believe you mean Naltrexone- not Naloxone- that is used in patient's who may have over-dose on regular full agonist opiates. Like mentioned earlier, Naloxone is basically clinically insignificant- simply there to prevent IV usage.

I've been on Buprenorphine and Klonopin for years- prescribed by a psychiatrist who's certified in addiction medicine. I've never had a problem. Nor will most who take the combo responsibly.

Take Care.

p.s. Mods: I do not believe I made the statement below the comment from Josh- I think you may have assigned the wrong username to that post.

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Mods- please disregard my "p.s." comment from my last post. I was mistaken. Thank you :-)

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I thought it was IMPOSSIBLE to "shoot up" benzos.

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If determined enough (and irresponsible enough), one can shoot up practically anything. I've personally witnessed it.

Regards!

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Lmao

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I was on exact same dosage for years but have cut the sub down to 16mg and benzo to 2 mg. I am going to continue a slowww taper as my fear is that my Doctor gets out of business/relocates and in ny area sub dr.'s are expensive. Also I don't trust insurance industry so getting off sub is #1 since u can get benzo from family doctor. Good luck and God bless,

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Honestly I have gone thru the withdrawal from both- the withdrawal from the suboxone was way worse and lasted weeks. A lot of ppl get stuck on suboxone and have a hard time, but at the same time getting off opiates is hard cold turkey without that crutch unless you're truly committed to getting clean. I feel the the sub drs are just legal drug dealers- u almost always pay cash and they're giving u something that you'll b hooked on. I spent more time on sub than pills and had a harder time getting off the sub. Anyone I know on sub says they wish they hadn't and the opiate withdrawal would have been easier- or just using the sub for the first week of withdrawal then stopping. Contacting a physician is a good idea if u go cold turkey- maybe they can prescribe something short term to make it a little less rough. In my opinion, not a professional one obv, it's just switching one addiction for another. Good luck to you!

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I've been taking subs for almost a year now. My pcp took my klonopin away when I told her I started suboxone!!!! I'm losing it. I've been buying Ativan, valium.. I have the worst anxiety disorder. I took 9mg of valium today with my 12mg sub. I can't relax because I feel dizzy. It scares me to take what I'm not prescribed so the sedative effect makes me more nervous.... Please anyone in my shoe?? Tell me imI'm okay. Pathetic. I also take busBuspar and Prozac.

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I've been through withdrawals they can cause seizures that can kill you and suboxin was the best thing I've ever had if you want to come off of it quick with suboxone you take to full tabs 1h day cut the tabs in half do that for 3 days cuddle me in a sling and do that for two days and t I mean cut the quarters in half it works great

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Hi!
So ive been researching this for a bit and am just paranoid in general. I am weening off subs and am down to about 2 mg or so a day. I am also prescribed about 4-5 mgs of valium a day and about 20 mgs of aderal ir a a day.....is all this safe to take together????? after i am off the subs i am going to stop taking the valium and aderal as well.... i just want to make sure everything i am taking currently is ok to take together!

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I've been tapering for a while myself, & I'm currently taking Klonopin for my GAD (its also useful for the natural anxiety one feels while lowering their dose), Fetzima for depression, & Clonodine to help keep my blood pressure under control- elevated blood pressure can be a common symptom of tapering side effects. This combo has served me well for quite some time now.

I don't have much experience with Valium, but I suspect will do more good than harm since its a Benzo like Klonopin. The Adderal I'm having difficulty understanding its usefulness here- but I've never taken it before.

The true key to a successful taper is to take your time and let your body adjust to the new levels of Suboxone. Don't allow your doctor to push you to a lower dose if you don't feel stable. But you need to be vocal, not passive. If you feel its too soon then say something.

IMO your doctor wouldn't have prescribed this regimen if it wasn't safe- I just don't know what the Adderall is for.

When you're off Subs don't be surprised if you need some "comfort meds" for a while- this is common. And most physicians (in my experience) are receptive to this.

Hope this has helped a little. Good luck :-)

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I was on more pain medz then most cancer patients for 10 years by the time I quit I was on 3/15mg rod 4/30 fox a day after that didn't work as well they put me on dilaudid 4/8mg and 4/30mg roxy and I said no more so quit cold bad mistake with in 8hrs or less withdrew already started like flu times ten cold sweats, fever, thro ups, like death saying hello no s***. It is very dangerous on you and body your body can go into shock die etc. Slowly wing down then quit.

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