Maximum Dose Of Suboxone/subutex & Chronic Pain (Page 8)

What is the maximum dose of suboxone or subutex when you have severe pain?

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I have been on suboxone for chronic pain for2 years now, was taking 180 mg opana & 4 mg dilaudid for breakthrough pain it work just perfectly for pain management, I have never had a problem with taking narcotics but I do not like what they do to my brain; very depressed with sub I have no spikes in the pain just continuous pain relief.

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related to tricyclic antidepressant and is virtually identical in chemical structure to amitriptyline and similar medications which in low doses have been used for chronic pain syndromes

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Actually I get great relief for pain on suboxone. I have had multiple failed back surgeries and suffer from severe back and leg pain. It depends on the person.

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100% agree. I just started yesterday after 8 years of 200+ mg a day of oxy. I feel so much better already!

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I'm sorry! I was talking to someone who wrote "if your Dr its prescribing suboxone for pain then he needs to back to medical school" I don't see that reply now. I don't think i know how to use threads. Sorry!!

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I get tremendous pain relief from suboxon but I am so drowsy all the time. Been on for about 8 months and only take minimal dosage of 2mg. Half twice a day. Anyone else?

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Hey it does that, I've replied to posts before and it shows up on different threads making me look insane lol. No harm, no foul just keep educating those who 'know everything' ! Thanks for verifying: )

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If you go on the suboxen website and look under the here to help program or call them and ask ....they have an application for people with payment issues. I was told if you Qualify income wise they can help you get your script for free. I

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@Ron can I ask where you live? The couple Dr's I've seen in Boston say Subutex is only given to pregnant woman. And I know that's not true! Is it your PCP that prescribes or pain Dr?

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Hi, it's been a year and a half and I see a number of responses to what I wrote.

To the guy who respectfully disagreed. I am so happy that you are drug free and, I sincerely hope that anyone who can manage their addiction and remain drug free without drugs do so without the aid of drugs. I admire you. However, there are a great many of us who do not have such an easy time of it. It is to those that I was addressing when I wrote what I did. And I truly hope that everyone one understands that there are many ways to treat a disorder and that if you succeed, the worse thing that you can do is criticize or offer a negative opinion so much so that the addict feels guilty about taking medication and not doing your particular way.

Had Dr. Drew given Mike Starr Buprenorphine, would he be alive today?? And if he were on buprenorphine twice daily would that be so bad? At least he'd still be making music. Yes, I agree, if we can taper someone off of BUPRENORPHINE, WE SHOULD. But if we can't, what is the alternative other than sobriety. H, Vicodin, Oxycodone, death from overdose. I am a physician, and I don't treat every person the same. Some go to rehab and do well, others have been to rehab 2, 3, 4, or more times and buprenorphine gives them their life back. Yes I agree, some people have a hard time getting off of opiates. But what you don't understand is that many of us are genetically damaged and are missing certain genes that control various neurotransmitters. When you were on Oxycodone, H, or anything else, the reason you became an addict is because your brain began to crave the drug to fill in the vacant gaps. That is why you can go your whole life without a problem and then one day break your leg, and once you get vicodin, your on your way because your brain got a taste of what it needs. This only happens in 15-20% of people. But when it does, it comes out with a vengeance. What cam first, the chicken or the egg. If you are addicted and cannot get off of your drug of choice, and buprenorphine helps you to do so, that's great, but don't expect that you will be able to get off of buprenorphine easily if your brain hasn't changed. Just like they say in AA, take one day at a time. Just because you stopped the craving with buprenorphine and you have got your life back doesn't mean that your can stop the medication easily. For instance if you are a diabetic and on insulin, once your sugar is controlled doesn't mean that you could survive without insulin. In fact, most will never get off of insulin. Remember, that what is true for you, may not be the answer for someone else. If Phillip C. Hoffman had had buprenorphine, I believe he might be alive today. I certainly could be wrong. But I do know that he was in rehab 3 or 4 times and tried to follow AA / NA and it didn't work FOR HIM. So remember, don't throw stones at glass houses, because we all must be treated in a way that fits our physiology and psyche.

Remember, there is little difference in the outcome with either suboxone or subutex. the naloxone is there only to prevent IV drug abuse. That being said, about 5% of people may have a reaction to suboxone because of naloxone. Similarly about 5% of people seem to notice the difference between either drug despite the fact that it isn't supposed to happen. There is no explanation for this. I have patients who swear that suboxone works better than subutex and vice versa.

Lastly, believe it or not, as long as one is on constant buprenorphine at least 12 mg daily, the doctor can give that person an opiate for pain and it will work because 2-8% of MU receptors are still open. However, if you are on subutex, you cannot feel high. Also, as long as you were on subutex first and it is maintained at 12 mg daily, the added opiate for pain will not make one ill. However, never ever run out of subutex because if you do and then try to start an opiate and then later try to restart subutex, you will become deathly ill. The bottom line is that no one should be on subutex unless they are under doctors supervision. It is too complex of a treatment. Usually, people develop their own theories like "it doesn't work" or "I couldn't get off of it," but weren't under the care of a physician. What addicts do is try to control treatment and usually they fail because they don't understand what they are doing. Americans make up 4% of the planet's population yet our country consumes 80% of the licit and lillicit drugs in the world. We have the most AA NA CA groups, rehab programs, methadone clinics and spend double what anyone else spends on healthcare yet we have the most overdose deaths, relapses, and addicts in the world. Think about it. If what we are doing doesn't work, why do we keep doing it? Addiction is the only area of medicine that is treated by lay people. If you had a heart attack and I told you that Bill here also had a heart attack and I trust him, so since he had the same experience he will be your sponsor and get you through this heart attack, I would hope that you are skeptical. I treat more people as an outpatient successfully than I ever treated in a rehab center. Why? because patients are on the right medications and treated long term. Anyway some of you will argue the points, but the point is to have an open mind and constantly re-evaluate what you are being told.

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If anyone needs information on the Here to Help progran, please just ask. It's not easy to find online, there's another program created by the Sub manufacturer and goes by the same name but the program is an online support group and the number listed is wrong. I have all the application info, the phone number and requirements. I was on for a year, i post all the time but no one seems to notice it so if needed just reply :)

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Yes, Suboxone absolutely helps to control chronic pain. I too have gotten my life back. No more trips to the hospital twice weekly+. No more taking 3+ pills daily for pain. I wish/ pray life was not this way. My child has gotten her mother back and doesn't worry if/ when I'll go to hospital again. It's not a perfect solution, but much better than the alternatives so far. I am a former athlete, mother. Some dx's: degen disc dis, arthrits, neuropthy, fibmyalg, chronic migrnes. I'm happy to answer questions except those posed by 'drug/ high seekers'.

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Hi Knosis, Glad to read that things are working out for you. Like the expression goes "ya gotta do what ya gotta do".

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Thank you Lee for stating the truth. I was on suboxone for 2 years for chronic pain. After my stomach shut down, a hospitalization for a bowel obstruction I finally had to spend about $20,000 for a rapid detox. It still took me 25 days of hell to detox off this drug. I was in recovery and went to addiction specialist for pain solutions. I became bedridden and my pain was worse. In Europe they suggest .4-.6 mg for up to 12 weeks for non cancer pain. It wiped my feelings out! This all happened while the dr knew I was in recovery and went to AA and didn't want to be an addict. People have an easier time coming off H. This is a huge $$$ maker for the "select" dr's that prescribe it. No one could detox me in MN. They only knew how to start it. Suboxone has it's place short term but NOT longterm!!! It is a lie!!! I beg you to do lots of research.

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that's awesome! Amazing that more people don't respond to this information as. America has plenty of police, plenty of Prisons, plenty of punishment in general. Look around for treatment and help... What a joke. War on drugs.. Unreal. So many people entrenched into the business of fighting drugs that they lobby to continue to keep them illegal. They're fighting for their jobs. The government is so stupid. With all the money they spend you'd think that drug treatment would be free. That would really save them money. More importantly, that would save people!they are not really about helping us. It's all about control. And money.sorry for the of subject rant.

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Yes, I continually read up on info about this medication, especially as it relates to my particular situation. Also discuss things with my docs and make sure each knows what it's going on. This solution it's not perfect, but I've been able to better the quality of life for myself and, by doing so, my child's. I understand it takes the brain 90 days to reset itself/start producing dopamine after the complete cessation of opioids/opiates from the body. My brain never produced enough of this neurotransmitter (and others) to begin with, which explains several chronic health problems I battle regularly. While I have not experienced any GI problems after 10 months on Suboxone, my body chemistry/ DNA is different than yours. You are right about the serious matter of allowing oneself to become physically/emotionally dependent on such a strong medication as Suboxone. For me, the benefits outweigh the risks/side effects. I am lucky to be working with several good doctors (finally) vs. the sadistic narcissistic types in PA who cared little about me (their patient) and my family. Sorry, I had to include that 'dig', b/c my entire family suffered a great deal for the 3 years I was in the care of folks who had forgotten their hippocratic oath (to help, not hurt).

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Supposedly it can take up to ten years for normal, or as close as it can get, brain functioning to return. After severe opiate usage, whether prescribed or not.

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I take suboxone because I had an opioid addiction I now get 60 strips a month and I fill at Wal-Mart if I didn't have insurance my script of 60 would cost me $541.06 I have filled 1 time at walgreens and the cost of that script was $499.00 its all expensive as crap you may want to check into blue cross and blue shield insurance thts who im with and after my 500.00 deductible is meet I have a $0 co-pay.

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Why does anyone pay the outrageous brand name price. Suboxone is a huge rip-off. Tell your doctor you cannot afford it and have them write you a script for bupernopherine. This is the generic version and it is in sublingual pill form. I take 8mg daily and pay $32.50 a month, all of it out of pocket, no insurance. Suboxone is one of the biggest pharmaceutical scams ever!

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Hi Max, All the sub drs. around here will only prescribe suboxone unless your pregnant. Now I,m talking sub drs. not shrinks or a personal dr. thats taken the course. One sub dr. helped me out once. My insurance hadn,t started yet. He prescribed subutex. It was way cheaper. Before he wrote script and while I was sitting in his office he called someone and he had to explain why he was prescribing the subutex opposed to the suboxone. Don't know who he was talking to. What pharmacy sells 30- 8mg for 32.50? This info would be helpful. Thanks

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