What Exactly Does Suboxone Do? Is It Addicitive? (Page 13)

i have a friend who desperately wants to get off of methadone and pain pills. will suboxone work? is it addicitive too? if someone can please help me that would be great! also is it very expensive, that's what i've heard.

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Wow, I just read this entire thread. Here is my story. I was a pill popper for about 9 years. Went from perks to roxys. About 3 years ago someone close to me got prescribed methadone as a pain management deal. By this point, I couldn't afford the amount of pills I was taking and my life literally revolved around making sure I had the pills that I needed to keep me from being sick. That sucked, especially being a mom without the option of sick days. Besides the fact that it was a huge secret at the time. I was a 'closet addict'. So, this person started sharing their methadone w me. I would still be high whenever the opportunity arose. My life got completely out of control. The methadone drained me of my will to love....I gained weight and started acting like a total junkie. Part of the reason was because I was only taking one 10mg pill a day, plus whatever else I could get my hands on. ALL of my money was going to pills and I was a miserable mess. Anyway, late last year I got into some legal problems. I knew I couldn't continue taking the methadone because a dirty UA would land me in jail. I tried coming off of the methadone myself but it was impossible. By the second day, I was so sick that I was in tears, shaking, sweating...etc. Plus, having such easy access to it made it even harder. I ended up going into a 5 day detox, after making arrangements for my kids, and I was given suboxone. I had to wait 48 hours after my last math dose. So, I left the detox feeling great. A few days after coming home, when the sub started to wear off, I was right back into withdrawal. Granted, not the severe shaking peak type wd, but it was still hell on earth. I suffered for 3 weeks, cold turkey withdrawing, I swear, death sounded appealing to me at that point. Even after THREE WEEKS I was still sick as a dog coming off of the methadone. Finally just a few days ago I broke down and went to a sub Dr. She prescribed me two 8mg strips a day, which I know is way too much and am definitely not taking, but I finally feel human again. Ive never felt such relief in my life. Its like the sun is finally shining again after being stuck in a dark hole for years. I want to taper fairly quickly. She gave me a script for 30 strips and an appt for 2 weeks from now. My 'hope' is that I can taper off with these 30 as we all know, this is not cheap. I paid $48 for 5 strips, plus $150 for the visit (the Dr didn't say more then two words to me, just wrote me the script and made me sign a contract. Either way, I now have a legal prescription in case my PO has me do a drug panel and thank GOD I'm not laying on my couch waiting for death. In my opinion, I wouldn't recommend methadone to ANYONE. Its the worst drug in the world. It didn't make me high at all, made me fat, made me sweat like crazy, and pretty much lost all of my ambition. I just hope to God that the sub isn't as hard to come off of as the methadone. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. How I made it 3 weeks is beyond me. The wd seemed to get worse instead of better. I feel SO much better on the sub and am very hopeful that ill be able to wean myself off fairly quickly. To anyone dealing with addiction, my heart goes out to you. Its one of the hardest things I've ever done, and my life hasn't exactly been a walk in the park. For anyone considering methadone or suboxone, I can tell you that for me, methadone was NOT the answer.

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Well apparently I'm not allowed to post a link.

Anyway, Jasmine, all you need to do is Google suboxone doctors in your area and start calling.

If you have insurance try to find one that accepts it, if not, or they don't have openings yet, you'll have to pay cash and keep calling and comparing prices. Remember if you don't have insurance you'll be paying for your prescription too. If you need any help or advice please feel free to ask us. We've all been at the point you are, loving the high, but hating the withdrawal and what you're addiction does to your and your families lives.

At least you know it's no way to live. My life and that of my children, family and friends will never be the same. I missed out on and ruined so many relationships it's heart wrenching. I wish obviously I'd never started or gotten help sooner..but beter late then never.

Good luck.

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I am a 21 yo female and I started useing illegal opiates when I was 19. For the first time in 2 n a half years I am getting clean. First of all you need to b ready to tell yourself no, if u try before that it is likely not to work. Addiction is mental and physical...so if possible change your environment. If u are truly ready to have your life bak, make it as easy as possible for yourself so not to get discouraged. If I did it u can too. I was a heavy Iv user and smoker...and all I did was leave town with 6 10mg methadone and 2 8 mg suboxone. I say cut bak as much as possible b4 leaving. Then take a methadone when it is unbearable. If u can find subutex use them when the methadone is gone because it won't give u precipitated withdrawls, if not u have to wait 12-20 hours before taking suboxone because of the naloxone...tex don't have that blocker so it makes the transition easier. Doable either way. You won't b able to eat well for about a week or 2. Stock up on chicken noodle soup and bananas because they r they r the easiest most nutritional foods to eat. Dope sickness includes many awefull symptoms, it won't b easy so u only want to go thru this once. Don't let yourself switch from one addiction to the next, methadone withdrawls r worse than H. And I'm sure subs aren't much better if u r taking a lot multiple times a day. Addicts should b helped not punished, humans make mistakes.... this one is just very hard to overcome. Don't feel bad about getting help, or how people will look at you. It is the only way to get thru it and feel good about yourself again. Good luck to everyone with a problem! and to those who don't, please stress to the young people in your life how seriously dangerous it is to try opiates even once. It is and never will b worth it to feel like u r going to die for a week or longer. Wikipedia has a good page if u want more in depth info. on the drug itself. A lot of role models/famous people use. All it takes is a friend saying " it's not that bad just try it once." Mexico is the second largest producer of black tar H. This is a serious epidemic in the USA, so please spread the word so nice people like me don't want to kill themselves because of a stupid drug. I used to b so happy, and I will b again now that I feel better and know how extremely seriously dangerous it is. Thanks for reading and good luck! B strong! It's the right thing to do for the people u love but most importantly for yourself. Life is hard, it's much harder with this problem. It is a very strong depressant.
Sincerely, Aurora

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Do u know anything about furicet w/d? I too have been on everything possible. The barbiturates are the worst next too methadone. If you are on a benzo for a legit reason and you use barbiturates does it perminitally make the benzos not work proper ally?

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I should mention that I also take subutex, it is suboxone without the naloxone. It does make it much easier to function then being on methadone but the withdrawl is pretty bad and like methadone long lasting,but at least u can have some quality of life with suboxone, subutex versus methadone.

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So I have been taking lortabs for about 6 years. To be completely honest only for the rush of it. I started with 1 a day. Half at a time then gradually made my way to about 5 a day. Which may not seem like alot to some people but im tired of feeling like I depend on them to be normal. should I try weening myself off the pills or possibly suboxne. I don't want to leave one addiction and go to another. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

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Hi Mae, this may be bad advice, but here goes my explanation lol.

I would ask around, friends, if you could get subs on the street. Four mgs a day for a cpl days, then two, then one. Lasting about a week, ten days tops. Your addiction, is an addiction, but still mild for now so don't let it progress any further.

Now my reasoning for having you get them this way instead of through a doc, is that I've seen people with a minimal vicodin habit end up on 24 mgs of subs for three years which is insane. I've had a terrible opana, oxy and high perc use for years and a measly four mgs has been fine for me.

But to play devils advocate as well, they, emphasis on they, say that you should use suboxone for as long as you were using opiates. They, again, say that without this ongoing maintenance therapy most addicts end up with an 85% relapse rate. Sooo the choice is yours, obviously lol, but if you go to a doc and they prescribe you more then 6mgs a day....don't take it. I was prescribed twelve and I took four and was fine, my habit daily costed me several hundo a day and I was just fine with a miniscule amount of subs.

Everyone is different so figure out what works best for you. If you take subs from a friend, wait at least 48 hours from your last loratab til your first subs to avoid precipitated withdrawal, which is hell in itself.

I want to state I'm not a doctor or have any medical training, I'm just sharing my personal experiences and opinions. ..

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Hi. My name is kristina and I have been a H addict for about 4 years almost I just recently got clean as of October 2013 until about the end of Januar y 2014 and I ended up relapsing. I smoke and inject it. Lately I have been injecting it more. I have been using it for the last 4 months straight and obvioulsy I'm addicted once again but this time I have 4 suboxone 8mg pills to take so that I could kick the H . I got arrested Saturday late night ajd that was the last time i ii injected the H it was probably Saturday around 6 or 7pm I last used I went to jail and kicked cold turkey until Monday when i got bailed out I have used but I still have that itch to. I'm on my 5th day clean off H I havenhing for my withdrawal I had all. of the come down symptoms since I had to do it cold turkey . So i wanted to know if I shoud just take it in halves or the whole thing since I only have 4 of them the last time I tried to use the suboxone to kick the H I was only taking quarter of the pills i would break them into 4 pieces and do it like that and I alad 3 strips that I did thx same thing to. What's would be thx best thing to x I'm dck and rred of bng on thold k

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Hey Stina,
If your on day 5 clean your allmost thru it.
If you really got to take some sub just take enough to take the edge off.
If you cut a strip into 8 pieces try taking one of those pieces which would be 1mg and see if that helps. if it doesn,t help in a few hrs. take another 1mg.
Take the least amount as possible. Subs are amazingly strong.
Good luck and post back and let us know how your doing.

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Hi Bob,
If you are still reading this site and posting to it, I would like to mention that you didn't write the name of the medication, you are writing about. Perhaps, you will post that, too, to help others? Thank you, for your post, it is much appreciated

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Hi Hippefreak, I low this is an older post , but, it caught my eye. I was addicted 2 Oxy 4 almost. 10 years. Went on methadone 4 almost. 5 years. I tapered down from 110 to 24. At that point I could NOT take the withdrawals anymore.Dr put me on suboxone. You need 2 b withdrawing b 4 u can take the suboxone. It works great with cravings and sometimes , pretty good with pain. I've been on it 4 almost 8 years now and if I have 2 stay on it 4 another 8 years, I will. I don't ever want 2 b back in the grips of addiction, again. Plus, I have many painful medical problems that it helps with. Well, I hope by now, u have been successful in your choice . Let me know how u r doing.

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You are dead wrong on several accounts regarding suboxone. I know personally, through doctors, and through others who have used it, that suboxone indeed does stop opiate cravings. In fact, i think that is its best feature. You also talked about how brutal withdrawal from it is. Sure its brutal if you were taking 32 mg...thats way to much for anyone. 4mg tops will give full effect to most any addict and its a relatively low dose thats manageable if you wish to get off of it. Why doctors start people on higher doses is beyond me but my guess is its about the almighty dollar like most things anymore. Integrity seems to be an archaic term. While people use this partial agonist to get off full agonist opioids, its primary purpose has always been maintenance treatment. Once your brain is forever altered with the formation of additional receptors, it is difficult if not impossible for some to live without the receptors being occupied. This all depends on what was used, how long, dose, and in what fashion. Every single addict is altered in a diff way depending on that formula..thats why some can get off and others cannot. Personally, i may need to be on a low dose ~2mg for the rest of my life. I sure don't want to. There is nothing attractive about suboxone except for the fact that it keeps me stable in some ways , and i continually try to lower my dose in hopes of getting off someday. You are right about methadone. People can and do discontinue it, but it is a full agonist opioid so it basically continues the brain injury that occurred initially with the creation of new receptors. It is much harder to discontinue and is primarily a maintenance drug. I would recommend subs over methadone in a nanosecond. Anyone on methadone for a long period of time faces continued dose escalation to the point where the brain maxes out its ability to create new receptors. I wouldn't recommend methadone unless the person is already at that stage, because it would only serve to max them out eventually. Suboxone, as a partial agonist, does not perpetuate the damage but rather occupies the current population of receptors w/out creating new ones. This is fundamentally diff and why it remains one of the few but important breakthroughs in opiate addiction in decades. It allows the addicts brain to start to get its house in order, so to speak, without making matters worse. It is not a cure, but it halts additional damage. Only time will tell if the addict can eventually discontinue a low dose of suboxone or needs to remain on it forever, but it is the one treatment that gives hope. The primary concept in opiate addiction treatment is whether or not the patient is maxed out. Newly formed receptors never die, but can become dormant without activation. This is what every soul that wants to be clean and get their old life back desires. Only time can make them dormant, and only time off of all agonists of any type, including suboxone. Only the particular individual can make that call. They may or may not be able to live without a maintenance drug depending on extent of brain injury.

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If you are going to act so smart and be a doctor.. Be sure to spell things correctly first...

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My husban is planning to start today around midnight using suboxone. he is bad on H. do u think he's going to get up fine? how long does it takes to kick in?

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Hi Carrie, My niece is a opiate addict maybe coke too. She has been at the bottom of the barrel. The whole family is suffering. She is in a outpatient program taking suboxone but I still think she is using. We found needles and one used. She blames her boyfriend who has been gone to inpatient 2 weeks ago so the needles are "His". My niece has a beautiful baby. My brother and I help her very much. Last night she was so out of it she couldn't take the baby. She was really out. She says its the prescribed saboxone. How do I know that she is not taking other meds? How can she be so out of it with a prescribed medication? Please help. My name is Chris

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Suboxone is a better alternative than what he's currently taking but it's still addicting and if you don't come off the right way you still will get very sick but it's much more manageable then what he's on now.

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Suboxone will only block other opiates. Suboxone does not make you sleepy, actually it makes you alert. I have been on the program for many months and if she is getting them from a clinic they should be giving her a drug panel every time she goes in and if she's a minor you can access her files from them if your a legal guardian. If not, buy a U/A kit from Walmart and ask her to prove her word to you. You're in a tough spot but it's great to hear how much you care. I wish you the best of luck in your fight. I have done them all and am willing to help you if I can with advice.

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I tried suboxone a couple times. But each time I took it I wasn't in a withdrawal state. It was a terrible experience. Now I'm scared to try it again. I work 5-6 days a week and can't afford to be outta commission for a few days. My habit is pretty high, will suboxone work for me?

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hi carrie, ive been on subs for almost 4 yrs and I call it a miricule drug. was clean for 7 yrs and was in pain everyday of my clean life. 25 yrs of herion burnt out my endorphins for ever, (I belive) but I use a kolonipin once or twice a day to help with extremely high anixitey. the 2 together makes me feel normal and not a bit high .don't need high any more in my life. or do I wan tit, writre me if you would like. john

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My husband is addicted to over the counter coedine and sleeping tablets. He is also on subozone. And anti depressants. He has since opened up and he is weaning off tge sleeping and coedine tablets. I am trying my best to help him get ckean as I know he does not want to do it but is addicted

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