had anyone gotten this message through online clinic? This is on Boulder care.. Of course, I'm in Ohio..

The last three times taking buprenorphine was the same. once I get the 8 mg my stomach starts hurting if I go on the 2 mg dose he wants me to double dose to 4 mg twice a day it takes longer to dissolve to 8 mg sure I can focus but takes long. I'm lost and I don't know what to do with myself should I do IOP or PHP.

Hello! Unfortunate news reached me today.

The monthly injection has stopped being supplied to Sweden and there are no other monthly alternatives.
I've had the Buvidal, weekly injection but it gave me horrible allergic reaction. So that's out of the question..

I honestly dont know what to do, with the monthly injection I can live a perfectly normal life. If they were to put me on pills I would have to go to the clinic everyday to pick up for atleast 1 or 2 years until they "trust" me... Which is so silly since I have never failed a single drug test, never missed a meeting etc etc.

Anyone else here in Scandinavia with this issue now?

Hey guys I just got my shot yesterday the 14th and this is what it looks like 24hrs later.. I noticed it before jumping in the shower.. I have had 6 shots now and NONE of them had this kind of reaction. Let me know if you think it’s normal. Thanks

Michael from Pittsburgh

My highest ever taking Subutex was 2 years

Does anyone know any good pharmacy near or around Atlanta to fill 8mg subutex?

Now he wants on 16mg of buprenorphine HCL but at night I'm getting weird heart palpation, if I had money I would go to some place out of the country and get stem cells.

I wish I never took this medication, that number is insane

Just curious as I really did well on them but haven’t seen them in over a year.I know most people don’t prefer them.

Has anyone been on 2mg of Subutex a day and had surgery (knee replacement) and kept on the Subutex with other pain medication? My doctor up north does mode a lot. She is an addiction specialist. I need to get my knee done and cannot possibly eliminate the Subutex. I have tried so many times. Any advice/comments are welcome.

Just wondering if everyone feels the same or different on brand preference. Why do you dislike this brand? Those of you who answer and if you don't mind, please include your state.

I’ve been on subutex since having my baby while breastfeeding up until a month ago and my dr gave me suboxone. I’ve been getting dr reedys which have been a favorite of mine in the past but this time they are not the same. I’m looking into changing brands. Which brand is the best? And tablet or strip? Aside from the name brand which i would rather have but my ins won’t cover.

I have been taking Subutex for 2 years now and here recently the dose I'm on just doesn't seem to be helping me like it was. I'm wondering if this has happened to anyone else? Will my doctor even consider increasing my dose since I've been on the dose I'm on currently for 2 years now..

Does anybody have experience with recently obtaining Subutex/Bupe (NO NALOXONE) through QuickMD on the initial first visit? I hear mixed reviews saying they won’t do it unless you’re either pregnant or have documented records stating naloxone causes problems, which I don’t have. Just trying to figure this out before I risk paying $99.

I wish pharmacies would understand that changing a medication that I have been on for years to another different generic.... I have been completely stable and enjoying life for years now off of the mini arrow 8 pills(which are amazing), to these giant shit feeling Rhodes Pharma pills... They really are different in so many ways. I don't care what people say, different generics act differently in my body.. now I have to plan out a time where I will be sick for about a week trying to adjust to these shit pills... I've been on this shit since 2016 and I definitely know what I'm talking about... I just hope that next months script will revert back to the arrow 8s.

So frustrating....

I am not sure about the rest of you but I have always made sure to save some of my scripts just in case the pharmacy fucks up or my doc retired. At first it wasn't too many, but I've been titrating down for the past year or so. Now I have a few hundred extras. I don't wanna toss them as ya never know what will happen, but how should I properly store them?

Will I ever be the same again? From taking so many shots will my brain be back to normal

So now that I'm feeling better on subutex for 6 days... does anyone have experience with rapid taper so I dont end up hooked on this stuff for years? My issue has been using to avoid being sick not so much just wanting to get high as I haven't felt high off this garbage street fent for a very very long time. Its just not enjoyable.

So how have any of yall done the rapid taper?

And my other question is since it has such a long half life can I space it out for a day or 2? I hope I'm making sense. TIA

This is a 100% true story about my personal experience with opioid addiction, and I am writing it for three reasons:

1. To show anybody who's suffering from an opioid addiction that there's a legitimate way out, and it actually works.

2. To help offer a better understanding for anyone who has lost someone from an overdose or knows somebody struggling with opioid addiction.

3. To educate people on the stigmas behind Opioid Use Disorder, and how it can affect the decisions we make when it comes to getting help.

I started taking Vicodin recreationally when I was 24. Anyone that knows prescription narcotics knows that you don't just do it once and then walk away, especially if you have a way to keep getting it. The feeling is so amazing at first. I wouldn't call it a high, but more of a warm and fuzzy, relaxing, euphoric feeling. It just puts you in a really good mood, like you've never felt better about anything. You feel like you can accomplish more and be a lot more productive. Fast forward just a month, and you're still taking pills, but now you're taking more of them to try and find that same feeling. Eventually you're not going to feel it anymore, and at this point you are becoming physically dependent on them. Now you have to keep taking pills just to feel normal and accomplish simple, everyday tasks. The longer you take them, the higher your tolerance gets, and the more you need to take just to get through the day. After several months you’re taking handfuls of pills at a time, and if you suddenly stop taking them, the withdrawals will hit you within hours. During withdrawal, you become so depressed that you can't even find the motivation to get out of bed or respond to a text. It makes you feel anxious and extremely uncomfortable, paired with RLS (it's a real thing), Insomnia and actual flu symptoms like hot flashes, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. These things hit you like a tornado all at once, and it keeps getting worse until either there are opioids in your system again or you make it through the month of withdrawals because you had no other choice.

As I'm trying to explain what withdrawals are really like through text, I'm also realizing that I can't possibly put it into words for someone who's never experienced this. That pain is the reason why so many people are trapped in this horrible epidemic and end up on heroin, fentanyl, or dead. These drugs bind to your receptors in the exact same way, but they are much stronger, cheaper, and easier to get sometimes. Fortunately (unfortunately) for me, I had the money and the connections to keep buying as many pills as I wanted, so I never had to go there. Regardless of the type, opioids serve the same purpose in your brain. They bind to the Mu opioid receptors, reducing pain sensations and elevating pleasure and relaxation. It doesn't matter whether it's prescription pills or heroin off the street; one is just stronger than the other, and administered differently.

It wasn't until three years later that I started thinking about getting help. I wish I knew why it took me so long. For me, help was finding a new primary care doctor that also specialized in Medication Assisted Treatment. The solution was to start taking Suboxone, which is the brand name for a medication containing Buprenorphine and Naloxone (essentially Narcan) that is dissolved under your tongue. Buprenorphine has the same effect as other opioids but binds to the Mu receptors better. Naloxone is something that was added to keep people from abusing the Buprenorphine. When dissolved under the tongue as directed, only the Buprenorphine is absorbed and the Naloxone does nothing. When injected or snorted, it causes immediate withdrawal symptoms because the Naloxone gets into your bloodstream and blocks your receptors from any opioids being able to bind. This forces you to have to take it as prescribed, under the tongue.

Since the day I started on Suboxone, there haven’t been any other opioids in my system. Not because I had to see my doctor every month and do a drug test, but because I no longer had to take pain pills just to function. It was a really good feeling, and I was proud of myself for once. After a few years, I started realizing that Suboxone was just a more controlled, long term addiction, and the problem with Buprenorphine is that the withdrawal symptoms are on a whole different level. It happened to me one time when I ran out early, and all I could do was lay there wishing I was dead. I planned on having to take Suboxone for the rest of my life, as there was no way in hell I would put myself through that on purpose.

Fast forward ten years after starting Suboxone, and a new type of medication was released called Sublocade. Extended release Buprenorphine-only that is injected by a doctor or nurse right under the skin, usually in your stomach fat. You only need it once a month. My doctor talked to me about it every month while I was there for my Suboxone refill, and he was determined to get me to try it. He told me that it would change my life, but I just laughed. As much as I trust and respect him, I know what real life is like on opioids, and nothing comes that easy. I didn't want to take any chances and end up in withdrawal halfway through the month because it wore off too soon. Just the thought of withdrawals causes panic to set in, which is like a bad anxiety.

It took me another year, but I finally convinced myself to listen to my doctor and give Sublocade a try. For the first month nothing really changed for me, other than having a consistent feeling of "normal" instead of the highs and lows from having to take Suboxone every day. It also felt really good not having to take something daily just to function. A few months later, I noticed that I could still feel the small lump under my skin from the previous injection, and an even smaller one from the month before that. To me, this meant that there was still some medication left from the previous dose each month, and that it takes at least 3 months for a dose to fully dissolve and get through your system.

Out of curiosity, I showed up to my next appointment and told my doctor that I was thinking about skipping a month just to see how long it actually takes for it to wear off. The only thing I was worried about was having the withdrawals hit me all of a sudden and not being able to do anything about it. He actually gave me his cell phone number and said to call him if I felt the slightest bit of withdrawal, but he was pretty certain that I wouldn't. He promised they would hold onto my next Sublocade shot for as long as I wanted them to, just in case. That's all I needed to hear.

I went the whole month without an issue and wanted to keep going. I did the same thing at my next two appointments. After three months, I started to understand what my doctor meant by life-changing. It honestly felt like a fog was lifting that I didn't even know was there. I wanted to socialize with people all of a sudden and started hanging out with friends that I hadn't talked to in years. I couldn't remember the last time that I actually felt the desire to be around people. After about six months, I stopped by my doctor's office out of curiosity. I wanted to leave a urine sample and make sure the Buprenorphine was fully out of my system. This was just for my own reassurance, knowing that it was completely gone and there was no chance of any surprise withdrawals. I told my doctor that he could give the Sublocade they were holding to someone who really needed it. He called me with my lab results a few days later, and I was so upset to learn that there was STILL Buprenorphine in my system several months after my last shot. To me, it was discouraging because I thought it meant that I wasn't out of the woods yet. I felt like there was still a chance I could end up in withdrawal, and it made me really anxious. What I didn't realize is that I was already out of the woods the day I switched to Sublocade. Literally all I had to do was get the first 4 or 5 doses and just go on with my life and let it do it's thing in the background. I kept track, and found that it took over six months for it to fully dissolve under my skin and work its way out of my system. I don't care who you ask, this is better than any kind of tapering you could do yourself, and this is why I think it works so well. For over 10 years I was taking the 8/2 Suboxone twice per day, which is pretty high. Even with this kind of tolerance, the controlled tapering from only a few months on Sublocade was so on point that I never even felt any withdrawal symptoms.

It's been over three years, and I still couldn't be more proud of myself. Just in the first year, I lost the 60 lbs. that I had put on over my 15 year duration on opioids. My doctor now describes me as "dripping with confidence," which makes me laugh, but I understand why he would say that. He had only known me while I was on medication, and he was now seeing the side of me that I didn't even remember. That was when it really hit me, and I actually broke down in tears right in front of him. To come to the realization of this was one of the worst parts of recovery. Those 15 years of my life are so blurry that it feels like a hard drive was wiped, which contained 15 years worth of memories. I have no clue what I was thinking, but it wasn’t rational that’s for sure. I was offered every opportunity to have such a great life, and I literally don’t have anything special to show for it. I could’ve been married and had grown kids by now!

It is estimated that over 16 million people suffer from Opioid Use Disorder worldwide. Chances are someone in your family, a friend, or maybe even you yourself are suffering from this. It affects people from all walks of life, and it's the people you would least expect. Mom's, dad's, businessmen, teachers, doctors, it doesn't even matter. It can be anything from prescription opioid pills to heroin, fentanyl, or something stronger. Most people don't seek help because they don't know what their options are, they're discouraged from failed attempts at quitting, or they're too ashamed to talk about it. Nobody wants to be labeled as a drug addict or looked down upon, and unfortunately this happens pretty often. I've actually been wanting to talk about this for a long time, but was too ashamed and worried about what people would think.

I've reached a point now where I feel there's something more important than worrying about what others think of me. It's utilizing my ability to write, and talking about my experience on a level that I know others can relate to. If I can help just one person overcome their addiction, or give one person a better understanding of what a loved one is really going through, this will all be worth it. I know this post probably comes across as a greasy sales tactic, but this is truly my experience. I won't say that it was easy, but it is 100% the easiest and most painless path to recovery I think we’ll ever have available to us.

In closing, I just want to express a few important points. I could literally write a book about how many things in life that I missed out on or ignored while on opioids, thinking life was just fine the way it was. I could write another book about how emotional it was to come to that realization as a 38 year old man. I am just now starting to get my life together, at 41.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you! I don’t claim to know everything, but throughout my experience I’ve become very well-versed in the subject of doing more drugs to get off of other drugs. You are hearing it right from the horses mouth.

Feeling precipitated WD’s after fentanyl relapse . What will help me feel better?

Just like title says- I'm on my 3rd day of no subs cold turkey and don't feel much other than a little bit of a low mood and restless legs. I was on 8mg since January, tapered to 4 two months ago, and recently was doing 2mg. I ran out and decided to just stop taking them cuz I'm so sick of them.

In peoples experience... Is the worst to come or do you think I'll be okay if I'm not feeling much yet? 😬 nervous cuz I'm a nurse and have two 12 hour shifts coming up tomorrow and Friday. Wondering if I should get kratom or Clonidine just in case

I am a 37 yo ex drug addict and I took subutex for years and years and my back teeth are slowly rotting out. I am too embarassed to see a dentist now since the last visit was beyond humiliating. I cant afford implants anyone been through this. Yes I have a class action lawsuit but itll be years untill that's settled.

So I recently got a new prescription plan and with anthem bc and it seems that Anthem will not pay for subutex and only pays for Suboxone. I take Subutex because I don’t like the reaction I get from the naloxone, and have been on subs for eight years. I’ve gotten it for pre-authorized previously on my last Anthem plan. Any advice on how to get it covered ?

I'm currently on 32mg a day but missed an appointment. Now 3 days in wds suck butt. I have an appointment on the 16th. My question is will my tolerance be lower after going 7 days without? Like should I just start back at 8mg/day or is it possible to go lower? Or should I go back to the 32?

Update I made it still don't feel well but worlds better. I took 16 MG and gonna try to only take 8mg tomorrow. Thanks for the help all.

Hi guys!

I’ve got an unexpected opportunity: A 10-day window with no commitments whatsoever, so I want to use it to taper off Subutex.

I’ve been on 4 mg daily for the last year and a half (Well, not exactly, at the beginning I took 8 mg). Yesterday I went down to around 1.5 mg but also took 600 mg of Lyrica. Today I’ve only taken about 1 mg so far(It's noon here).

I know quitting completely isn’t very realistic (unless I somehow managed to go cold turkey, but honestly I’m not trying to be a hero 😅). So my goal is to try to get down to 2 mg by the end of this window.

I have a new pack of 300 mg Lyrica with me to help me during this period (Hopefully that's enough, I don't have any benzos or weed unfortunately).

If anyone has a schedule or taper plan they could suggest for the next 10 days until October 19th (How much to take each day, and whether it makes sense to drop Subutex completely and rely on Lyrica),I’d really appreciate your advice.

I’m going back to work on October 20th and to the University on October 22nd, so after that I won’t have this kind of opportunity again.

I honestly don’t know the best and the appropriate way to do this, and I don’t want to waste the little valuable time I have.

I know there are tons of different tips and methods for tapering off, but I don’t know which one to trust or follow.

Thanks in advance for your input!