Side Effects Of Suboxone (Page 9) (Top voted first)

I have been on suboxone now for just under a month. I think it is an amazing drug, i have had no cravings or interest in returning to opiates, my drug of choice was oxy. I get up every day feeling happy, and am able to take on what ever the day brings me. I am also on lexapro for depression at this time. There is one problem after i take my dose, which is 8 mg. twice a day, I am extremely tired sometimes to the point where if i sit down I will nod off, so I keep moving and can usually fight through it. I am wondering do other people feel this way or does it get better the longer you are on it? Two other things that are sometimes very bothersome are dizzyness and extreme dry mouth. I just wanted to find out other peoples experiences. Thanx

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Diane I have been on subs for 7 mo. keep taking your prescribed dose. I to get tired but luckily I don't work. I too take Lexapro seems to work ok. I was eating prescribed ox I was insufflating and eating them for 3 years' never got enough always thought I needed more .thankfully I got kicked out of the clinic because I kept running out and it showed neg. on drug results. I was taking 300mg a day. For dry mouth I use hard candy and cough drops. Latter down the line id start taking whatever dose that would stop the cravings. Don't stop taking the meds without a drs.help its hell kicking subs.Done this before and it was the worst.Sounds like you are doing well don't let anybody tell you you've traded one addiction for another. You are able to function. Hope it works for you and remember it's Better than being on the other drugs. PEACE KP

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I an fully in agreement with you on the diet issue. But up to 10 years to return brain function and rest of your body to normal? That is an awful long time. Though I fell 100% now, some things are definitely different now. While on Suboxone, I did not listen to any music whatsoever for 8 years. 0, mostly just talk radio. Now, its like I cant get enough of it. Its strange. Though my depression is 100% gone, my restless leg is 100% gone, and my horrific insomnia is 100% gone, some things are certainly different. The music as I said, and my appetite is out of control. Gained 30lbs being off suboxone, but far from overweight. 6ft2 and 195lbs. Those are probably the 2 biggest changes. I know that music, and vanilla extract help to produce/re-create the endorphines in your brain, since the tons that were lost during suboxone use. And taking L-Tyrosine is just part of answer. Without enough endorphines present, its impossible for L-Tyrosine, and the other 2 or 3 amino acids to work properly. The lifesaver for me as far as depression was concerned, was the L-Tryptophan. I took it for a month, and then was done with it, and my depression was 100% lifted. Anyways, I need to work on eating better foods. I did good for awhile, but now went back to the fast food garbage, since Im on the road alot.

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After years of pain meds due to a bad car accident and migraines I ended up on suboxone. I was on 8mg 3 times a day. When I lost my job and insurance I went through horrible withdrawals for 3 months straight before I gave up n went back to pills. Now I'm in the same boat. I've been on suboxone for about a year but down to one 8mg a day. Lost my job n insurance. Scared to death cuz I know what the withdrawal is like. It's way worse than opiate withdrawal. Can't find a doctor who takes Medicaid that's taking new patients. Really want to get off them but not like this. I have a child n need to be able to function n take care of her. Any suggestions????

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Jennifer, what you need to do is start tapering. If you are taking 8mg per day... divided up 3 times per day, you need to start tapering. Start by taking it down to 7 or 7 1/2 mg per day. Stay on that dose for a week at least... then go down another 1/2 mg when you feel stable on the 7 1/2 or so. and keep doing it until you taper down to 1mg per day..some taper downs may take longer than a week, thats ok. Maybe it will take 2 weeks on the lower dose before you are ready to taper down again. But this is the only correct way to do it. Do not jump ship like I did... even though I was only 6mg per day, it was 8 years worth,and I had it bad. Tapering is the way to go.. that way you avoid the serious withdrawls, and the PAWS. PAWS is worse than any withdraw you can imagine. If you taper correctly, you will be in good shape.

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Ash, I have to agree, you are correct. Suboxone is less lethal than H or Percocete or Oxy... The problem is this... Do you really know what Suboxone does to your brain? Especially to long term users? It can, and most likely will change the complete nuclear function of it, because of the suppressing of the neurotransmitters. Percocete and Oxy does the same thing, but the difference is, with Percocete and Oxy, you bounce back 100x quicker from the withdraws, than you do with Suboxone. That being said, if a person absolutely does the proper tapering from Suboxone, they will feel little to nothing in the way of PAWS... sure they will still have some withdraws, but for a shorter period of time, and less intense than from Oxy or Percocete. I do not know about H, since Ive never taken it. Now, do I think Suboxone can kill you? Yes, it can, especially since people do not follow the directions, and inject it, rather than under the tongue. Its the same with any of the powerful drugs. And people need to remember this, Suboxone is 10x more potent than Morphine. It most certainly is not for long term use, just as in any drug really.

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Just further proves the point that the only way Suboxone kills is with misuse.

As to the neurological effects of Suboxone, I feel it day to day. I can't stand the feeling of detachment that comes with my maintenance. I much prefer my standard of living now compared to when I was an addict and just view this as another step in my ultimate sobriety.

The research of physicians I've read up on comes to the common conclusion that Suboxone should be used for a maximum amount of two years, unless certain personal circumstances call for longer, even life long (typically for life long H addicts whose chance of relapse outweighs the cons of long-term bupe exposure).

I don't know the mitigating circumstances that led you to be on Suboxone for so long. But from the reliable reading I've done that length is almost unheard of, and the exception to the norm when participating in maintenance therapy.

The information says that for a typical heavy opiate abuser, it takes two years for your receptors to shrink back to normal and any treatment ended prior to that can have an 85% chance of relapse.

Suboxone has given me some senseo of my previous life back, I will be weaned off earlier then the usual two years and have never used since my first dose, I've been weaning little by little and the foggy feeling is slowly diminishing.

Also keeping in mind every medication FDA supervised has side effects but with keeping in mind the pros must significantly outweigh the cons. This medication is meant for addicts who are READY for their lives to change. If they're misusing it, I'd say obviously they're not ready for sobriety but only looking for a new high and probably would die eventually from an overdose anyway.

Not trying to seem callous but it's the patients choice wether to utilize this hard to obtain chance at a better life or not and Suboxone didn't kill them they killed themselves.

Just my .02...

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You said: I don't know the mitigating circumstances that led you to be on Suboxone for so long. Well, I did not have it bad, like people who were, and are coming off H. What happened to me, is that I ruptured 2 disks in my lower back, and though I was in the hospital for a week, they told me I did not need surgery, which was true. They gave me ephidurals, 3 of them, instead. They lasted 5 years, and then wore off. Thats when the pain meds started. Perocet, Lortabs, and some, but not alot, of Oxy. I think I was taking 4 40mg, or 4 20 mg of Oxy a week, thats how long they lasted on the pain relief for me.. The problem was, when they wore off, I felt like total crap. ANyways, this went on for about 3 or 4 years, and someone told me that I need to go see this indian md close by my house. So I did, and thats when he put me on a low dose of methadone. After like 10 days of that crap, I lost like alot of weight, as it just made me stop eating. Felt pretty bad too, so I told the doctor, who charged $100 per visit, which is cheap compared to some, that I am done with methadone, and I will just suck it up, and get over the pain in my back some other way. Thats when he recommended suboxone. It took almost 2 weeks to figure out the correct dose, and when it was all said and done, I was on 6gm for 8 straight years. I could not stop taking it. And tapering did not even come to mind. For me, suboxone was more addictive than any of the other stuff I had taken. Dont know why. But I am guessing that part of it was, that suboxone also works as a pain reliever, and it took away all the pain in my lower back. I dont know. However, I hit my 90th day clean on Saturday, and I still have 0 back pain.. Ive not relapsed, Ive not taken any prescription drug, and only take vitamins. Not sure why my back pain has vanished. But Im able continue work as an umpire with no pain whatsoever. Anyways, thats my story.. if my back pain ever starts to come back, I will get into that disk decompression therapy.. no more pain meds or suboxone, ever.

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Yes I have had the same experience with the nodding from Methadone, & was still nodding out after gradually decreasing from 173 mgs to 72 mgs. I had been fed up with the embarrassment of nodding out at starbucks, family functions, etc., & spoke to my Dr about going back on Adderral, but due to my addictive past, he rx'd me Nuvigil, which works beautifully! No jitters, no crash, just a great ability to focus & function. I got my 1st month of Nuvigil for free from the manufacturer coupon online, & then the next month, Walmart wanted $750.00, & even with an online discount card, it's still $547.00! Any advice on how to get it cheaper?

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Leslie, I figured, like suboxone, the company that makes Nuvigil probably had patient assistance programs too. Which it seems to.

Suboxone manufacturer have a program called Here to Help which covers your prescription costs but only for a year.

Here is the link for Nuvigil patient, without insurance, program you will probably need your physician office to fill out a portion. When I participated in it to expedite the process I had everything faxed and faxed back immediately and had my coverage within a week tops. Until I received what looks like an insurance card, I was given group, id numbers etc. It helped a lot while it lasted.

nuvigil.com/hcp/PrescriptionAssistancePatients.aspx

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Leslie I replied with a previous, hopefully helpful, post but the website administrator needs to review it first but here's another link that may help.

pparx.org/en

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Azumpire, thanks for sharing that with us...I've heard a lot of stories like yours when people use it for pain. Sorry I assumed someone was treating you for addiction. So did they just stop you cold, or was that the choice you made? Either way you're completely right, staying at the same amount daily for years, would be devastating on your mental and physical state. Have you started any other pain management? Maybe something holistic could help your pain??

I couldn't imagine being in such a state but tired of being doped up all the time and just wanting some sense of life again without being dependent on anything!

There's another thread on here where people ask a lot about subs for pain and people's experience on it, your story could be invaluable to someone there, helping them avoid the hell you went through....

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Baldcat, one who tries to point out wrongly stated facts may want to utilize spell check to avoid looking like a "rubbish" sayer themselves.

What facts are wrong here BTW?
Everyone, physician etc is different. We are not in the UK, which has been utilizing suboxone treatment for pain/addiction much longer then us. A short tip of facts: it's naloxone, not naltraxone, or whatever you cited, and the UK may want to reevaluate their mandated treatment, the overall consensus is it's quite flawed with a meaningless success rate.

Share your experience if you want but no one here is wanting some crazy brit naysayer typing nonsense when this is a place for discussion of legitimate facts, honestly answered questions and where we share our OWN EXPERIENCES for utilization by others, not to be condemned, trashy as you have, because yours was different.

Good luck.

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As well the naloxone does serve a purpose, significantly for addicts.

The naloxone is what blocks the opiate receptors, helping the addict avoid getting high, especially in fear of going into precipitated withdrawal.

Bupe is a partial antagonist and is SUPPOSED to work wonders in pain management clients who do not already have an opiate tolerance.

There's nothing extreme in our dosages we've cited. Some people are different and require more or less. And if weaned off appropriately, in addiction cases, it's worked wonders for the majority. People addicted should use Suboxone as only one tool in their overall treatment and not just depend solely on subs to change their lives, I'm sure that's the mentality that led most to become addicted in the first place.

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A suboxone doctor will tell you to be in moderate withdrawal when you come in for your first appt. I used a lot of pills Friday morning then went to doc Saturday morning was out by noon, took my first dose and was fine. Most docs will write your script for you to get filled and just ready to use when your within first 24 hrs of withdrawal.

Use til the day or night before your appt, day of your appt get your subs filled and then have them ready to use the next day when you start getting your more then mild dope sickness.

My worst problem about starting subs was saving the money to use for my initial appt instead of getting high, I ended up swallowing my pride, and asked my grandparents to pay the first appt for me because I knew I never would, especially if i ended up dope sick at some point before it.

If you can Google all sub docs n your area and compare insurance/Medicaid acceptance or compare cash prices, which can be high, then the cost of suboxone itself is a lot but barely touched what most spend on dope so I think it levels out.

Here to Help program, the pharma co that makes subs, will cover your prescription for a year, but only three patients per doc are allowed and you cannot have any insurance coverage.

If anyone needs the direct number or help understanding how to apply feel free to ask. The only downfall is the usual time on subs is two years... can be longer depending on extreme situations or the exception to the rule.

Good luck.

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Hi, you do need to be in withdrawal to get put on suboxone. Otherwise it could put you into immediately withdrawal. If you are already detoxed, they can put you on a different medicine that will help w/your cravings. I forget what it's called, but it will help you w/cravings. Good luck!

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I've been on it for 10 months and I have the same problem very tired and noddy at times. It hits me really bad when I'm behind the wheel of my car driving. I'm only on 8 mg a day when I tell my doc he said it's not a side effect. But it does what it's suppose to do for me. Good luck and God bless.

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Hi. You said you have the information needed to get your prescription s covered. Could u please share this info with me. Please and thanks!!

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I agree. For one having you on Suboxone for two years for hydrocodone is ridiculous. I used opanas and mainly perk 30s when no opanas around and I'll be done with Suboxone treatment about 18-20 months. Ive been weaning for about six, seven months already. I usually take less then prescribed. I've read up on weird, random clinical trials and apparently there isn't a documented benefit to prolonging the weaning process and the RECOMMENDED therapeutic treatment terms are anywhere from nine to twelve months. Obviously substantially less then the required two years.

Its a racket, just like pills.

I would've been better to of weaned off much earlier then what they wanted. I've put on weight, constantly constipated, spacey and just generally weird. I am thankful that I'm not nearly ready to suck, kill or steal to get whatever fix I needed like I felt before on dope anymore. ..so yeah that's always a plus.

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Hey Melissa,

First off you need to find out if your doctor has an empty spot for the Here To Help program. They're only allowed three patients per doc enrolled at a time, even if they're full, get on a waiting list.

So now let's assume they have an opening, you'll call the HTH call center and talk to a rep (get extension number so you can deal with only them, easier especially if a problem arises). When they verify that you qualify for assistance they will give the option of mailing or faxing the forms (only two pages) directly to your doctor office. Opt for the faxing, go to your doc office have them fill out and fax back while you're there. This seems mundane but it all helps to expedite the authorization process.

After that I would wait a business day and call the agent you spoke with, verifying the fax was received and you may even get your coverage information to use immediately over the phone before your card is mailed in.

I'm going to post the number for HTH directly but it's probably not allowed on this site. They can be sticklers.

BTW, I believe you qualify as long as you have NO INSURANCE and if I remember correctly income amount is not an issue. And the assistance only lasts a year.

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Melissa I posted the info but it needs administrator approval before showing on here!

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