Please help! After surgery 3 years ago (broken neck/paralysis) C2-3 have been taking MS Contin, Vic?

If you stil have opiates left, and want to enjoy the superbowl do NOT try to take the subutex. You must be short acting opiate free for at least 24 hours before attempting to take subutex or you may risk something called precipitated withdrawal, i. E. Really bad withdrawal. I could be wrong on this part, but i am pretty sure ms-contin is long acting opiate and you actually should be in opiate withdrawal longer than 24 hours for long acting opiates. Now, you can take ms- contin or opiates once you are stabilized on subs, but most people say it blocks it, therfore the ms- contin won't work for pain relief. Many have written in when their pm dr prescribed on opiate on top of subutex, none of them seemed to get the relief from the opiates. That might not be true for everyone, but if it works, i hqve never read of anyone on this site saying it did.

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Subutex and suboxone are complicated meds and i try not to argue with professionals like drs and pharmacists, but it is the patients who are actually taking it and they are the ones stating the 2 don't work together. Please enjoy the superbowl. I am helping my boyfriend clean and dust his house, but would rather be enjoyin anything else on tv rather than cleaning, yech! sorry for typose, just considered your question an emergency and don't want you sick for superbowl, answered quickly while tking a smoke break. Patti

Hi acj,

No, you cannot take MsContin nor any other pain med with that much Subutex. And are we talking about Subutex or Suboxone? There is a difference. However, it's the Buprenorphine in both that makes you unable to use other pain meds. You could, if you were taking .5 mg to 1 mg a day. Then you could use other pain meds. But not 8 mg, and most especially not 8 mg BID. That's impossible. The Bupe will block the MsContin and quite likely you would wind up in horrible wds because MsContin is time released Morphine. I know this gets complicated, so just trust me.

Your Doc is also wrong on what a pain pill vacation is. It means staying off the pain pills, but without Subutex. Sub is not a short acting drug. It also seems to make your tolerance to reg pain meds go up, not down. It might be possible to take a pain pill vacation for 1 or 2 weeks using only 2 mg of Subutex. But that much may not stop the wds you will feel.

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I just read your 2nd post. It sounds like the Doc didn't give you much choice. Some people manage to find that 1 Doc in a million. But I don't have him neither. Now it sounds like you have Suboxone. Don't take any until you are feeling some nasty wds. I am sorry but this isn't going to be a great Super Bowel for you. And no beer. Actually, I do want you to watch the SB, it will take your mind off the pain and the wds. When you do start the Sub start with 2 mg. If after 1 hour you don't feel better take another 2 mg. Now wait 2 hours. If you still have intense wds take 2 to 4 mg again. No more now. Even this much may keep you awake all night. Sub makes some people sleepy, and others can't sleep.

Sub will take the wds away and should work some on your pain. I personally feel Subutex is better when there is pain involved. But other people find no difference. So try it. But do not take any other pain meds for at least 12 hours. You can't take pain meds and Sub close together. It's best to not mix them at all. But if you must mix them wait 12 hours. Good luck tomorrow.

Let us know what happens.