 So it looks like a few people got a little bit upset about my opinions on Suboxone. So let's expand on this topic and discuss the truth about this medication that it designed to help get people off of opioids. What is up everybody? This is Chris from the Rewired Soul where we talk about the problem, but focus on the solution. And if you're new to my channel, what I like to do is take a look at what's going on sometimes in the YouTube community or pop culture or the news or just in the world in general and try to see what lessons we can learn from them. So if you're into that stuff, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell. So yeah, it is still mental health awareness month, but you know what? Every day should be mental health awareness day. Mental health is so, so, so damn important and addiction falls into the mental health category. Many, many, many people who struggle with addiction also have some form or another of mental illness. So I just talked about Suboxone in my last video and basically the point of that video was to discuss short-term versus long-term Suboxone use, alright? And some people are upset about that. So first let me make it very clear. I am not against Suboxone in any way, shape or form. I'm not against Suboxone. I am not against methadone. Real quick story. I remember when I first got sober, I was in a meeting and there was a guy who I didn't know anything about, but I was in a meeting and this guy was celebrating three years sober and he was sharing his story and it was such a powerful story. Like he was an alcoholic, he was a heroin addict, he lost his wife and his daughter, which made his addiction spiral out of control and then he was celebrating three years and like being somebody who is new in recovery, like that was so, so, so inspiring to me. Like I was like, oh my God, like this guy's been through hell and if he could be sober, like maybe I can do this too, right? Well anyways, after the meeting, like most of us addicts and alcoholics do, I went outside to have a smoke with my, you know, fellow people in recovery and like people were like talking smack about this dude. They were talking smack and I'm like, what the heck? And basically the reason they were talking trash about this dude is because he was still on methadone. So they were judging him, right? They were judging him saying this guy's still on methadone, so he's not technically sober. And at that moment, even though I was in early recovery, I'm like, who cares? Like who cares if that guy's still on methadone? His life is amazing now. Like even though that's not something that I would do, like good for him, right? So like the reason I share that story is because I don't think it's right for anybody to say who's technically clean or who's not clean. Like that is between you, your sponsor, your higher power, whatever the hell you want. That is, that is your damn business. It's none of mine. I've even had this conversation about, you know, some people, you know, still smoke pot and everything like that. None of my damn business. What I care about when I look at somebody, it's like, is your life better? So if you're somebody who is on in long term recovery and you have still been on Suboxone or methadone, do you think baby girl? But anyways, one of the reasons I made the last video to talk about short term versus long term Suboxone maintenance was because a lot of people do not know the facts about Suboxone. All right. And it's a major issue. Like you guys like pull your head out of the stand for just one second. The opioid crisis started because of the pharmaceutical industries as well as really crappy doctors. And they're doing the exact same thing again. And here's what I mean by that. Many people do not know that they can develop a dependence to Suboxone. All right. I will never forget one of my friend's sisters who lives across the country. She reached out to me and one day she opened up to me about her prescription drug addiction. I had absolutely no clue, no clue at all. And I hadn't talked to her in a while, but we leave comments and stuff on each other's Facebook pages. Stuff like that. She reached out to me. She's like, I need help. I don't know what to do. So I gave her some recommendations and everything like that. I'm like, first things first, you're going to have to detox. You're going to have to detox somehow. All right. Whether that's treatment or a detox center. Like I went to a detox center one time and I was just there for like four or five days and then I just went out on my merry way. But anyways, I gave her some options and she ended up finding an addiction specialist. Right. So she went and she had like a consultation with the addiction specialist and he prescribed her Suboxone and she comes back and she asked me. She's like, Chris, I want to know your opinions on this. She's like, he wants me to be on Suboxone for like two years. And I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, what? What? So like the reason like I'm like astonished by this is because doctors should be giving people the correct information as to if this medication is addictive and if you will develop a dependence to it. All right. Like in case you guys didn't get the memo oxy cotton, like the reason why Purdue Pharma is getting the pants suit off of them is because they originally marketed that drug as non addictive. All right. So when my friend comes to me and says, this dude wants to get her on Suboxone for two years without even telling her about the potential dependence, not even potential dependence for Suboxone for two years. You're going to develop a dependence. Okay. But he didn't even mention that to her or give her the option for a short term Suboxone taper. Like that is not cool. There are some awful doctors out there who just want, okay, here you go. Here you go. Here's some Suboxone. So anyways, she ended up tapering off in about two weeks. And last time I talked to her, she's still doing great. Still saying sober. All right. But anyways, I've seen some comments talking about how like Suboxone has helped them stay clean. It's helped them so they don't have cravings and everything like that. Well, for those of you who don't know, there was another medication called Naltrexone. There's also a shot called Vivitrol. And Naltrexone, it's actually a medication I took when I first got clean from opiates. And basically what it does is it helps to reduce cravings. And the beautiful part about Naltrexone is not only does it reduce cravings, but there is no dependence or withdrawal from that medication. I was on it for six months. That's typically what's recommended. And when I came off of it, like no withdrawal whatsoever. So if cravings are your primary concern, just recognize that Naltrexone or Vivitrol are very good options for that. Okay. So if you're not looking to become dependent on another substance, those are very good options. And something that I left out of the last video just for the sake of time, like I have been on Suboxone before and it wasn't like a taper or anything like that. But basically what happened, because of my congestive heart failure, when I was at the end of my addiction, I was swelling up and my heart wasn't pumping the fluids correctly. So like my legs were like swollen. They were like fucking tree stumps. But anyways, I developed an infection in my leg and once all the fluid drained out of my system, I had this wicked infection and they had to slice it open and like it was nasty. Okay. It was nasty. But anyways, they didn't give me any pain medications for that. Didn't even give me like a local anesthetic. The doctor I mentioned in the last video, it was the same doctor. So all he gave me was Suboxone. So he gave me, I can't remember. I think it was about 10 milligrams of Suboxone about an hour before he did the little procedure. And I got high as balls. Okay. So that's the other thing. Like listen, again, I don't care what you do or how you base your recovery, but like don't BS people and make it seem like it doesn't somewhat get you high. The whole reason that medication works is because it mimics the effects of opioids. Okay. So from my experience, and again, I'm just here to give people all of the information so they are equipped with the facts so they can make their own decisions. But the reality is, is that I've known a lot of people who stay on the medications of boxing just because they are still getting kind of high. All right. Methadone is another example. And I have a lot of opinions on methadone, which I will say for another video, but like a lot of methadone clinics, they're not even trying to help people better their lives. They're just trying to decrease crime rates, the spread of infectious diseases, and all that stuff. So they're just like here, come here, get your free methadone and get on your way, right? So I believe, I believe in a system where not only do we help people with their withdrawal, but we give them treatment and help them get to the root of why they feel the need to use substances in the first place. Like for me and for millions of other people, that is the ultimate goal is how do you live an amazing life without having to turn to drugs or alcohol, right? Like with all the pain that we're trying to avoid and we don't want to deal with our thoughts and our feelings and everything like that, we like to cover it up with some kind of pill or substance or anything like that. Like the ultimate goal, in my opinion, should always be how do you live a life free from these types of substances? Not all pills and medications, like I'm still on an antidepressant slash anti-anxiety medication called Lexapro, but again, like I mentioned in the last video, like just know the facts, know that you can develop a dependence and if you try to get off the medication later on, it will be very, very difficult, all right? So again, if you want to use the medication, if you want to be on it for years at a time, you do you baby girl. But my job here, my job on this channel is to equip people with the facts based on my experience, literally working with thousands of drug addicts, all right? But anyways, that's how I got for this video. If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up. If you're new, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell because I make a ton of videos. And don't forget to follow me over on Instagram and Twitter at The Rewired Soul so you get all sorts of magnificent updates, all right? And before I let you go, I want to send out a huge, huge thank you to everybody supporting the channel over on Patreon. You're all amazing. And if you would like to help support what I'm doing here, click the top right there, all right? Thanks again so, so much for watching. I'll see you next time.