What Exactly Does Suboxone Do? Is It Addicitive? (Page 8)

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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If you had read my post below you would of seen where everyone has an individual plan suitable for their drug usage. People are on it for a long time because studies show that any earlier for most people poses a high relapse rate. Everyone is different and any doctor worth their medical license will sit down with you and figure out what works best with you. The weaning of for me occurs at nine months depending on my progress. You should take your prescribed amount UNTIL THE DOCTOR TELLS YOU TO WEAN OFF. I have seen lots of people think they can stop taking it because they missed a day of their subs and feel fine without it, subs can have a half life up to several weeks for some people. And guess what after the subs out of their system what do they do? RELAPSE RATE OF 85% PEOPLE LISTEN TO YOUR LICENSED PHYSICIAN NOT RANDOM JOE BLOWS TELLING YOU SOMETHING THEY KNOW NOTHIBG ABOUT.

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My point exactly! You may be one of the lucky ones who actually has a doctor who's well educated in the do's and don't of prescribing suboxone. I'm also familiar with the long half life of subs and the rate of relapse. In all honesty, addicts won't always be totally honest with their doctors out of fear of having their mgs reduced. Believe me, I know that fear. When Purdue Pharma changed their formula, from OC to the OP imprint, the number of people complaining because they "didn't work as well" really meant they couldn't crush their pills anymore to kill the time release aspect was amazing!
I didn't mean to start any argument here. And you're right. Subs are the med I know the least amount about. I apologize for offending you and for my ignorance.

But I doubt there's many opiates out there my doctor hasn't tried for me. My car went air born and when it landed, I broke both feet and burst fractures in all but 7 vertebrae. My neck was spared. This was almost 3 years ago, started walking about 2 years ago, and next month I'm having my 4th surgery. He's installing the morphine pump while doing more repairs. I'm completely dependent upon pain meds. Addicted is more like it. But I don't abuse them. If I did, I'd run out early and be screwed!
Again, I really am sorry for offending you.

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You're also right about me not reading your previous post. I won't make that mistake again. I put my foot in my mouth and thanks for setting me straight. :-) I really am sorry.

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Damn did I come off as a b**** lol? Sorry if I did. I guess my "net-etiquette" needs some finesse. Anyway, sorry to hear about your accident CMJ. You're right about being dependant on your meds and what makes it sad is the fact that recreational addicts like me have screwed you over when it comes to having the old school pain meds available. Sorry :( I seriously didn't mean to sound like some old nagging hag lol. There are a lot of people on these forums pretending like they have some sort of medical training when they don't know squat. Merry Christmas and I hope they hook ya up with something good after your next operation ;) If it wasn't for suboxone I'd be drooling over your meds right now.....thank God I got my dignity back.

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Hey Ash; glad to read your recovering. I'm one of those unfortuante ones that were put on pain-meds because of severve pain. But fortunatley, being kind of anal as I am, I couldn't deal with waking up every morning and before I did anything, I had to take my meds or else I would go into withdraws. So I went on the subox program and have been over the pain meds for about 4-5 weeks now, but mentally I feel great, however, I still have the severe pain to deal with and my kidneys probably won't last too much longer taking 5-6 800mg ibupro a day. So now I'm in pain management trying different things. Good luck on staying clean and I'm praying for ya

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Frank, thank you so much for your encouraging words. It means a lot for even a complete stranger to say they are happy for me! I'm sorry to hear about your situation ...when I first started doing pain pills they were prescribed to me too. What do these docs expect you to do when they just cut you off?! I told my doc (thinking honesty was the best route) that I could tell I was getting addicted. I had the same symptoms as you, waking up every morning dope sick until I popped a couple perks. Well when I told my doc about this he said that I obviously was an addict and kicked me out of pain management ....not too cool in my book! I wish there was something NON NARCOTIC to help with severe pain, but alas there isn't. So like you said you've got option A ; suffer through your pain and kill your kidneys with otc remedies or B; be an addict for the rest of your life! What's the lesser of two evils? There is a lot of stigma that comes with being prescribed pain pills, it seems you're labeled an addict right away and the same with subs. I got pulled over and a cop saw my subs in my purse (in their bottle and all) and automatically declared that I must have been a heroin addict and that I was probably holding! Damn stereotypes....well Frank I will stop ranting at you. You have a merry Christmas and definitely keep me in your prayers ...we could all use some support from the Guy upstairs :)

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Congratulations on getting your life back! I remember the feeling. It was me who came off like a know-it-all. I'm just as guilty as the rest who popped the occasional pill or 5 and before you know it, you need a handful just to feel "normal" Double that for a buzz. But I did manage to kick the habit on my own (with the help of family) by weaning down slowly over a 5 month period. I was clean for nearly 3 years when I had my accident. But my tolerance is through the roof now. 400mg Morphine, 60mg oxycodone, 40-60mg valium daily. And the b***h of it is it doesn't control my pain :-( Not even a buzz so I don't CARE about the pain. I take them only to avoid wd's. Some fractures didn't heal right and repairs are needed in 2 sections in my spine. So the anesthesiologist is installing the pump while I'm under. The good news is delivering the meds right to the spinal canal you only need about 1/100th the amount of medication! No more pharmacies...yeah! I'll get the reservoir filled at his office monthly. Sorry to ramble...Good luck with your sub treatment and have a Merry Christmas and a very happy new year!!

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Hey Ash; your "rantings" are good theraphy for people like us who have lived this pain meds addiction nightmare, so please, keep ranting. What you said about be labeled a drug addict is one of the reasons why I decided enough is enough. I’ve always been the type person who marched to the beat of their own drum and when I had to give up my drum to opiates so they could take charge, I, metaphorically, went into being not my own drummer withdraws. But when my x-wife, who by the way, championed the idea of me going on pain meds because she didn’t want to see me suffer, that is until we got divorced, told a judge during one of our court hearings that I was a “drug addict.†What was the first time I’ve ever been called that and it stuck in my psyche for a long time. So again, please keep up your “rants†because it’s good to let other people know they are not alone with this affliction,

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Hey look I commend you on helping yourself and getting control of your life instead of a drug controlling it. I know how it feels and especially when you think it will be that way forever. But I really recommend you find something productive to do instead of typing messages on here all day. If you keep talking about it and can't find a substitute for your brain activity you may relapse. Good luck to you and again congrats on getting control. And to the other guy, 2 years is not necessarily a long time it all depends on how long your addiction was. Some people are on lifetime dosages from disc problems or back pain that were on OC's for decades. Good job ash. Everyone else stop giving opinions and assumptions to people asking legitimate questions. It's misleading and could hurt someone. I'm glad ash at least gave facts. And by the way, for the original question, any opiod can be addictive. Just the same as caffeine or tobacco. Even non narcotic things can be addictive mentally. Do research yourself or ask a doctor that had to take classes on the effects in order to be able to prescribe the medications. And again ash I didn't mean to be hurtful by saying find something else to do, it's just not good to keep on your mind is all

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@Stephen. I used to post every day for almost 2 years at Drugs.com after my accident. I was top rated poster in 10 categories and helped lots of people. More importantly, they all helped me. By sharing experiences and the horror stories, it may help you feel like you really aren't alone, battling this demon you think no one else could possibly know how strong of a pull it really has on you. You don't necessarily need to know all the facts or have medical training to help someone just as much as some of the best counselors out there. Besides, even the best doctor's have differences of opinions. Just words of encouragement and knowing you aren't alone is therapeutic in itself. Connecting with people who know what it feels like to be trapped in an additive vicious circle, the panic and desperation, fear and anxiety, admitting your addictions and talking about them are the first (and best) steps to a successful recovery. People do eventually move on like I did. But as long as giving and getting the support and help so many of us need, I say post away until your hearts content. It's a lifeline for many people. Without it, where would they go? I think people are more likely to relapse if they don't talk about it rather than when they (we) do. Addicts will turn inward. And when they don't like what they see, they use to feel good again. Of course these are just my opinions and I meant no offense towards you. I may have it all wrong, but we all have our own demons to battle and if posting here keeps the demons away for a while, that's a good thing.

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Stephen, I'm sure you are trying to give us what may have been good advice for maybe your own experience or someone else's but everyone has different ways of coping. For some people (apparently for Frank, CMJ and I) it looks like being able to talk about something that is usually too EMBARRASSING to talk about is doing us some good. We lead productive lives (at least I know I do) but talking and having someone to relate to can help a lot to heal :). And everyone is different. What may make us feel better may be counter productive for the next Guy. They say when you can discuss something without feelings of embarrassment it means you're on your way to healing! So guys if it makes you feel good about yourself and helps us realize we're not alone and there's others out there going through the same thing.....more power to everyone :) Hope y'all had a great Christmas!

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If I could love your post Frank I would!

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Oooops that was you CMJ! Awesome post man :)

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Kudo's to you Ash. Thank you and have a great new year too!

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I know how desperation that accompanies the situation your friend is in all too well! U have been on suboxone for years and it has definate benefits. I never think of doing oxys, I no longer have that desperate feeling when oxys are not readily available and I feel normal. I am on a very small dose, I never experience the highs that I did on oxys but suboxone takes away the urge for that high. It is a very effective substitute. I would only recommend it, however, if your friends life istotally controlled by pills! Suboxone has allowed me to function properly, no more struggling to meet bill payments because all of my money was going to pills, no more meeting strange people in strange places for money and pill exchanges, no more severe mood swings and desperation that accompanies someone on a constant search for pills. That was all such an inconvenience to say the least. It actually greatly affected my entire life and others around me too. Having said all that, suboxone is addictive and its obviously so much easier to go from oxys to suboxone than from suboxone to nothing. I found the withdrawals from suboxone worse than from oxys and they lasted longer! And I have always been on a very small dosage! In summation, I would only recommend suboxone if your friends life is being ruined beyond repair because of his/ her habit! There are ways to get suboxone for less too. There is a program that is provided through the manufacturers. Contact them and they will send out literature to your friend, who will then have to bring it to a suboxone Dr. I'd that Dr does not already have 3 patients on his program, your friend may be able to sign up and receive the suboxone free of charge. Also, go to the website, heretohelp.com ( I think that is it) and there is ample information, resources and coupons available. Hope I've been helpful! Good luck!

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HI Ash; please keep posting. Don't let anyone tell you that your posting too much or whatever. For me, I came to this site just so I could read posts from people like yourself who has lived this hell called addiction and for me and I'm sure others as well, its' therapeutic and I've learned so much about addictions and how to handle the ups and downs of getting off drugs and what to expect. I'm not the type to sit in a room with a bunch of other people (NA Meetings) and talk about my addiction. Don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with attending those meetings, but I'd rather read posts from people like you and others instead. Take care my friend, God Bless and I wish you and your family a very safe and Happy New Year!

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Hi everyone. I am new to posting comments but I read them all the time. And let me just say thank u it helps me so much. I to am on subs and have been since may. I was addicted to pain meds for about ten years. Until I got in some trouble and was forced to stop. My life was a down ward spiral. I wish addiction wasn't so tough. Suboxone has helped me though to move on with my life but I fear the day when they are taken away from me as well. I'm so used to doing something everyday.

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Yeah I think thats a lot of my problem too. Just having the mentality of having something to take to."feel better". But the doc should wean you down when its time for you. How long are you on suboxone for??

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I have been on it for 8 mo. He said I would be on it for another six mos. But I am seeing a counsler as well.

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From what my doc has said that the average person spends at least two years on subs. Some people (dependinh on the length of their addiction and how bad it was) are on it for longer or even the rest of theur life. The statistics show that any less then two years have a higher chance of relapse, about 85%!!! Ive been on it for three months to the day actually tomorrow and from what the doc has planned I will start weaning at 9 months but be on it for two to three years. It is seriously the best thing thats happened to me in terms of treating my addiction...the only downfall is that I spend around 600 a month between my script cost and doc visit. Its getting to the point that im choosing between staying on the program or paying my rent :/ Anywho though lol. Hopefully by the time they boot us off we have learned some copeing skills when it comes to breaking our habits of taking something to make us feel better. But on that note ive never hear of anyone (that ive met at least) havent relapsed after completing the program with ongoing substance abuse counseling. The suboxone website has a program to.enroll in the online here to help to teach you copeing skills and have a game plan if you feel like or do relapse. These forums help me out just by talking about it and relating to others. So if you ever wanna have a rant fest with me feel free :P

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