Suboxone: a Drug for a Drug

The anti-Suboxone crusaders will tell you that taking Suboxone is substituting one drug for another. Oh really?!

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Suboxone
• a Drug for a Drug
• buprenorphine
• addiction
• opiates
• suboxone withdrawal
• suboxone addiction
• recovery
• drug detox
• stopping Suboxone
• oxycodone
• methadone
• heroin
• pain pill addiction

[All3nTyl3r]

i always get sick and have headaches with suboxone. what would you recoment?

[SuboxDoc]

You might be sensitive to naloxone; some people with your symptoms do better with buprenorphine alone (Subutex).

[ohpineapples]

What the heck is Klonopin? What does it do?

[SuboxDoc]

Klonopin is 'clonazepam'- just another 'benzo' like valium, xanax, ativan, etc. Klonopin is the trade name. It has a long half-life (72 hours) compared to Xanax or alprazolam (4-6 hours) and also has a slower onset of action. It is addictive, like all benzos, and is also a respiratory depressant-- especially when combined with opiates.

[Jagethemage]

"There are easier ways in medicine to make a buck, than treating addiction." not trying to be a dick, but i would like to know those easier ways.

[SuboxDoc]

It is no accident that addictionologists are in short supply. I made over 4 times as much as an anesthesiologist, and at the end of the day I had no patient caseload to worry about. I am an addict, so no offense -- but the lying, manipulation, desperate requests for early refills, anger... yet psych and addiction are the lowest paid medical specialties. Insurers pay 10 grand an ortho to fix an ACL (over 40 minutes)-- but the same insurer won't pay a shrink $100 for the same hour.

[scottgunmag]

Amen Dr. I had an extreme addiction to oppiates after having back surgery. Was on fentynal patch and roxycodone for breakthrough pain. After getting on suboxone, I was able to decrease the dose month by month. I was on it for about 9 months. Upon going off of it, it was more mental anxiety than physical withdrawal. I did have mild withdrawal symptoms but at this time in my recovery it was easy to handle. Mild diareah,,a little jonesing,,nothing you cant handle. This drug saved my life!

[Carly41963]

Hey "Doc what up" sorry had to do that again lol or is it "What's up Doc" lol you seem very nice! Ok here's my question.......do you personally know other Docs out there that are addicts? I think many Docs are addicts (not all) but there are some and I think they are the ones NOT wanting to write Scripts out for pain pills b/c they know how they are & they don't want you addicted. Is that the truth? Thanks so very much. Have a great day!

[Carly41963]

Hi...What's up Doc...sorry just had to do that lol ; ) Hope you don't mind. You seem very nice. You had said you have been there before.Did that mean you are an opiate addict? If so, can you tell us your story? Pretty please? In a nutshell? Pls.? If we hear your story or short version ...it will help to keep all us watching you straigh ;) Can we hear the story? Thank you for all your hard work.

[SuboxDoc]

Depends on the dose of Suboxone and the time the person was taking it. If taking a regular 8 mg dose for at least a few weeks it will take a week for the buprenorphine to be low enough for opiates to work-- although you will still be tolerant to opiates so that a high dose of opiates is required for pain relief.

[tubemasta11]

How long does a person have to go with out suboxne before they can start to feel the effects of pain killers again?

[mikeys95eg]

Suboxone saved my life. Im 20 years old and had been on oc's for about a year and a 1/2. i was snorting and shooting atleast 5 a day. I stole off ppl i loved, i lost my gf of 4yrs that will not speak to me to this day, and i ended up doing 30 days in county jail and 2yrs of probation. I started suboxone oct. 08 and ive been clean now since. I'm off subs now but it was a little tough but nothing like opiate withdraws. I am happy to have my life back, just wish i had my GF back. 1 Love.

[danielfblackert]

Suboxone helps people. It does not make you high like using a opiate antagonist, it makes a person feel normal. People who are desperate and in need. People who can not be cured, hopelessness. If you have high cholestrol, you manage it, just like someone on suboxone. In addition, it blocks other opiates, so someone can take it as soon as they wake up and not be able to use for 24-36 hours bc the suboxone blocks other opiates.

[SuboxDoc]

A common but silly thought. The number of docs taking on prescribing Suboxone is low, and decreasing; addictionology is about the lowest-paid area of medicine, and the most frustrating. I am closed to new patients-- have been for a year or two. I am paid $1000 for a whole year of treating a Suboxone patient; an orthopedist is paid $7000 for a 40-minute ACL repair. The anesthesiologist gets $700 for the same 40 minutes. I charge $165 for that time- and for the dozen calls between visits.

[amiller201]

lets see how long your going to be on sub. for and not to mention how much money you are going to spend. Oh and then you might have to spend 20k on rapid detox b/c you cant get off of the sub.

Remember guys the FDA approves pain killers too!!!

it is a money making thing. THEY ACCEPT NO INSURANCES, and charge anywhere from 200-1000 the first visit and 75-200 every time you go. Yes can average drug addict can afford that? Its a huge money maker.

[2005rosebud]

Thanks for your reply. We appreciate your work.

[SuboxDoc]

I hear you-- but she was down to a very low dose of methadone, I THINK about 4 mg of methadone per day. A person used to 4 or more mg of buprenorphine per day is 'cross tolerant' to 30-40 mg of methadone-- so if she took even a quarter of a tab of suboxone she would likely get a 'buzz', and would quickly go backswards with tolerance-- requiring her to go through all of that withdrawal over again to get her tolerance back down. Had she been on 30 mg of methadone, my advice would be different.

[2005rosebud]

On your blog you told a viewer to not switch to Bupe as she was almost off of methadone. Methadone has its own set of problems when one quits. It is not unreasonable to use Bupe to get thru these aches and pains and then detox from the Bupe.

[SuboxDoc]

Thanks!

[SuboxDoc]

This is utter nonsense; I let it through just to show you that there are people out there who want to confuse the issue. I don't know why-- maybe misery loves company. 'tooting' buprenorphine causes a bit less to be absorbed than taking it the usual way, because there is not enough moisture in the nasal passages to dissolve the thick, ground up mess this fool is talking about.

[SuboxDoc]

The 'problem' is opiate addiction. Buprenorphine gives you the chance to stop the running from drug to drug. If a person WANTS to stop using, buprenorphine is a huge help. But you don't get a buzz, so if you are looking to feel 'different' bupe is not for you.

[SuboxDoc]

Sorry for the delay-- for other people, be sure to follow your doc's instructions as this is all dangerous stuff. IN GENERAL, a person on 2 mg of buprenorphine who takes 30 mg of methadone will not feel the methadone, as it will be blocked by the bupe. The person would then stop the buprenorphine, and stay on 30 mg of methadone-- the buprenorphine would leave the body over the next week or two.

[outcesticideK]

I am a 23 year old Heroin addict who recently got clean and Suboxone has made life bareable. I would say my desire to be sober is about 6 days out of the week and on the seventh it helps to have something to relieve my desire to use. Obviously everyone is different, but if you're struggling with Early Soberiety, it has helped me a ton. Good luck to anyone who's trying to get clean. I know it sucks but it's possible.

[JustinPatrickMorin]

8:10 - 8:45 thats such a great argument. well said.

[myfagan]

SUBOXONE is God sent!!!my wife and i were banging alot of drugs for years until we started taking suboxone. she gets it from the doctor and we split it. i take a half a pill and my cravings are gone. we did methadone for a while but that didnt take care of the problem for long. the only thing is we have been taking it for a couple of months and have built a tolerance. we dont get high off of it anymore which sucks but it still takes care of the cravings.

[CHEEZEBURNATHADON85]

if you snort sub its like doing heroine spread the word,i get high as a mother fucker , get a grinder and toot it and you will love it, fuck dope fuck oc fuck meth fuck everything my D O C is SUB