Suboxone/Subutex (buprenorphine and naloxone) treatment.

Tried it once but the word is that it works wonders, and  has gained a great deal of notoriety for its ability to interrupt severe opiate addiction, including heroin and methadone addictions. It was approved by the FDA in 2002 for use as an opiate addiction treatment. Like methadone and LAAM, buprenorphine is potent (30 to 50 times the analgesic potency of morphine), has a long duration of action, and does not need to be injected. The buprenorphine products under development are sublingual tablets. Unlike the other treatment drugs, buprenorphine produces far less respiratory depression and is thought to be safer in overdose. Suboxone is not likely to be abused because of its naloxone, or Narcan, component, which will cause withdrawal symptoms if the medicine is crushed and snorted or dissolved and injected. and in most states doctors are only permitted to treat 30 patients no more at a time for Buprenorphine.

My comments are my opinions based on the questions posted on this message board and should be taken purely as is and not as medical gospal. Please consult medical concerns with medical proffesionals. Thank You!

I can speak from direct experience - Suboxone is highly effective at eliminating WDs from Hydro, or any opiate for that matter. The best first step for anyone wanting to investigate Suboxone is to visit this site:

http://www.suboxone.com/ 

The site has a "physician finder" that you can use to locate a doc in your area that is licensed to prescribe Suboxone. I found a doc about 20 mins from my house and he was awesome.

Best of luck to all!

shadowbox

First we got a Methadone clinic here about 4 years ago, and then Suboxone about two years. I've known people that claim it's worked wonders for them, and others that say it hasn't, even some that got deathly sick taking it while still opiate-dependant, supposedly following doctor's orders. The numbers I hear here for going on Suboxone from Methadone is, work down to 30mg, then supposedly its safe to start. That doesn't seem right to me. They do not give out Subutex (without the Narcan) around here. For straight off the street Heroin use, a friend of mine did well by taking it once he'd started about a day into withdrawl. It seems to work better on the lower habits, people on higher doses or with long IV habits say it did not work for them.

Heroin addiction is one of the most difficult challenges a person may face during their lifetime. If a person finds they have a physical dependency to heroin or any other opioid there is a solution.

Investigate this website: http://www.suboxone.com/

There are real benefits to Suboxone and now anyone with an opiate addiction can overcome their dependency in a matter of weeks.

(edited to fix link)

I have been taking suboxone 8mg-2mg for approx. 5 mths now and from the begining I have had disrupted sleep. Let me say first off though, I have no insurance and have been having to buy only enough to take 1/2 to 1 a day, sometimes 1/2 in the morning-1/2 eve, sometimes a whole in the morn. makes no difference I go to sleep then wake up a few hours later. (my script is for 3 a day) I was taking ten to fifteen 10/650 Lorcet  a day.  along with ten to twelve xanax then the same amount kloni's. I have been on a waiting list for about a month now for a free mths supply account of being unemployed and my income level. I was approved and recieved my first supply today.

On to the actual question at hand: My Dr. prescribed me 50 mg. Trazodone which did not help then 50mg amitriptyline which makes me feel really depressed. The only thing which lets me get a good nights rest is 1mg to 2mg (taken by 0.05 mg). I asked him to prescribe me 0.05mg xanax and his reply was that a lot of people in our suboxone group was asking him to do that and he couldn't .

If  Anyone who has had this side effect  I would be extremely gratefull to know about it. Also I would be very interested in Dr. Lois' opinion also.

sorry for the long post

(edited)

Either Subutex or Suboxone (Generic name - Buprenorphine & Buprenorphine+Nalaxone) is by FAR a better treatment for drug addiction than methadone. With Methadone, you still access the pleasure system and will still get euphoria. Also, Methadone works like the pain pills  in the way that your body and brain tells you that you need/want more and more. Higher and higher doses to obtain the same effect. I know few people who have lowered methadone doses successfully and permanently.

Subutex (Buprenorphine) has saved my life. I had chronic pain. Bad car accident left me with a partial knee replacement and terrible agonizing pain due to no cartilidge between my plastic patella and my bone. Lots of scar tissue (as they have had to go back in several times) and other issues. The Subutex manages the pain for me to the point to where I can bear it. I never crave or even consider taking more than the daily dosage. People like to post things like "Subutex is clinically stonger than Morphine, etc" but who really studies what the clinical aspect of each medication is? Who cares? Do you know how your antibiotic compares clinically to other drugs? The point is to not be getting high, requiring more and more to obtain a rush, have a clear head (which I absolutely do) and for some it controls pain and works as an anti-depressant. I'd been on anti-depressants for YEARS. Tried everything from inpatient counseling to outpatient counseling. Group meetings and step work. I clinically was depressed for no reason. There had been times when external situations had caused me to be depressed, but I got so that if I wasn't on an anti-depressant It would come on for no reason and I'd feel horrible. Isolate and stay in bed.

I began Subutex treatment because I was taking such high amounts of narcotic pain medications that the side effects were ruining my life. I was having blackouts and I certainly wasn't employable. With the Subutex I am extremely high functioning. I've been on it now for almost 5 years. I have cut down when I felt like I was having less pain and had no adverse effects. PLUS suddenly.. I had no depression! I'd forgotten to take my Effexor and typically I'd feel horrible the next day. But it didn't happen, so I just decided to try (like I had with other anti-depressants in the past) to go on without it. After awhile I would get depressed and begin having panic attacks. All of those things are gone with the Subutex.

I've also taken Suboxone with the same success. The only reason I switched off of it was that I was getting blurred vision from it. People say that you go into horrible withdrawal if you take a narcotic and you have been on Subutex or Suboxone and it won't work anyway. Well I had to have an emergency surgery and I didn't have time to put stop the Subutex first (actually I was on Suboxone at the time). I didn't have any withdrawal. I certainly wasn't sick from it. Plus the pain meds that they gave me to control the immediate post surgical pain worked just fine.

There are a lot of myths out there about these drugs. I used to say they were miracle drugs, but I did find that I'm not as sharp on them as if I were on nothing at all. I also have recognized that if you don't follow up disolving the tablet by brushing your teeth or rinsing your mouth, they will give you a mouth full of cavities. It wasn't just me that this happened to. I knew two other people that took it and had the same thing happen but you can avoid it by brushing afterwards and using mouthwash.

To me.. methadone is just as though they legalized taking vicodin. They might as well. It has almost identical effects except for it's longer lasting. But the addiction monster will continue to grow if you are on the methadone and in my opinion, you will not be able to truly practice a healthy system of recovery.

I absolutely am in recovery. I do step work, hold a position in N/A and live the life of recovery. I don't care what anyone's attitude is about Subutex, because actually I haven't had any attitude but I've heard it in other forums.

The problem was my life had become unmanageable on the pain killers. Otherwise I see no problem with using those if you need them for pain! I mean seriously. But for me.. I come from a line of addiction in my family and I did abuse the medication by taking more than I should at times and definately would have taken even more had they been available. So it was time for me to seek out an answer. I went through treatment as I had before. The difference was before when I went through treatment, I could only manage the pain for so long before it was unbearable and then I had no options. The second time there was Subutex and it worked and continues to work.

Very sad that the drug manufacturers take advantage of people struggling with a life threatening disease to charge a ton of money for Subutex and Suboxone. But now there is a generic substitute for the Subutex and it works! Thank God. I read on here that the generic was much cheaper. Well, in California at CVS they aren't much cheaper than the brand, but hopefully that will change over time.

So I went from years on Dilaudid and Vicodin and Xanax and different anti-depressants (they'd change me every time they heard of a new more effective one coming out on the market) to then being on Oxycontin (what was at first thought to be a great drug and I'm sure is for some people) and then I'd take the Vicodin for breakthrough pain, Xanax and Anti-depressants. To taking Subutex PERIOD!!!

I am so grateful for the release of this terrific drug.

edit/g

I suffered from depression big time for many years. Now that I'm on Suboxone I manage my opiate dependence and have totally controlled my depression. I want to taper off of Suboxone within one year of my induction; I feel I can do it! But if my depression returns then I will want to be put on small dose Subutex; because ultimately I know it's the Buprenorphine keeping my depression symptoms under control. Feel that .5 mg can keep it under control.

There are talks about the FDA allowing trials of Suburex treatment for depression. Got to love that dopamine!

You only go through withdrawals if you take an opiate before taking Suboxone not vice-versa. Just puttin that out there.