Should I switch from Methadone to Suboxone?

It's hard for us to second guess why the doctor said that, because he's wrong, of course you can switch from methadone to suboxone, maybe he thinks that since you have scoliosis and pain the methadone is a better choice, since it works better for pain. I think maybe what's going on here is, methadone can be a racket for doctors, keeping patients on it forever, he doesn't want to eventually lose you as a patient if you successfully detox, he has his Mercedes Benz payment to make, methadone is a cash cow for many doctors.
or:
Maybe the doctor you saw isn't licensed to prescribe SubO, it takes special certification, and this guy certainly doesn't appear to know enough about the drug to give you correct advice.

If switching is what you want to do, go see another doctor, you can go to suboxone.com and get a list of doctors in your area certified to treat you.

Good luck
Cats

I agree that you will likely do well on suboxone but it is strongly suggested that one be at a 25-30mg dose of methadone prior to switching to buprenorphine. That is a fact. This recommendation is not from me, that comes from the naabt, The National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment. I would not jump off on suboxone being currently at 65mg of methadone. Certainly people have made the jump to suboxone at a higher dose than 25mg. I would never say that it's impossible to make the transition at a higher level, but it certainly is advised against doing so. Beyond that your actions are obviously up to you and your dr. I would remember what is suggested by the experts especially if I am concerned about W/D symptoms.

All of you are obviously totally unaware that Suboxone is an addicting opiate. You could get off of Methadone with Oxycontin, Heroin, Suboxone or any other opiate. They are all addicting. What is the point? You will have terrible withdrawal for 2-3 weeks when you try to stop the Suboxone...then what?...even at 1/4 of a milligram. These are the things no one tells you...not even the doctors. If you want to trade one addiction for another...then ok...have fun getting off of Suboxone and the cost of the dr. visits and the prescriptions are very costly. Don't expect to get off any time soon...it is more addicting than a traditional opiate...though not as bad as Methadone withdrawal.

It's quite presumptuous to assume no one knows anything about suboxone but yourself. There are lots of people who have been successful getting off opiates with buprenorphine and stopped it successfully as well. One does not have to experience adverse W/D symptoms following suboxone use if the taper is done properly. :cool:

Your doctor is wrong. You CAN get off of methadone using Sub--you just have to do it the right way. If you live in southern California, or possibly elsewhere where they have a FDA study using Sub to get people off of opioids--yes even methadone--that's the way to go because it will be free! If not, find a good pain or addiction specialist who is licensed to prescribe Sub then tell him/her what you want to do.

He/she will first get you to get down to 30 mg or below before making the switch to Suboxone. You have to do this because it's almost impossible to have a successful induction to Sub from methadone at the dose you are taking. You will then have to wait minimum 36 hours before switching over to Sub which means, yes, that you will have to go through methadone withdrawal during those 36 hours. If you don't wait the full 36 hours there is a strong likelihood you will have a precipitated withdrawal that is far worse than the withdrawal you will already be going through. (Can't explain the science of it here--it's too involved.)

What I did personally to avoid that 36-hour withdrawal period was switch to an equivalent dose of Vicodin, then took that for 10 days (2 weeks would be better) before getting inducted into Sub. That way I only had to go through 12 hours of withdrawal vs. 36 hours for one simple reason: Vicodin has a short half life. By that I mean it only stays in your system a day vs. methadone which stays for days. In other words, if you stopped taking your methadone dose today, you might not really feel withdrawal symptoms for 3 days vs. Vicodin which you would feel within a day.

Having said, that, it's not easy getting a doctor to prescribe Vicodin for the purpose of withdrawal pain. In fact, it's borderline illegal. So you have to have a sympathetic doctor who knows your goal, wants to help you achieve that goal with the least amount of discomfort which is to prescribe Vicodin in place of methadone for 10 days to 2 weeks. He/She should know the conversion rates and prescribe accordingly. Since I already had underlying pain (the reason I started taking pain meds in the first place) my pain doc did prescribe Vicodin for me for that reason for just the 10 days since he knew I'd be stopping the methadone right away.)

Keep in mind that you have to be at 30 mgs or below for awhile before you make the switch--either from methadone to Vicodin to Sub or directly from methadone to Suboxone.

I am now almost through with my Sub detox and I was on methadone for 10 months at 25 mg (so I was already at the right dose to make the switch.) I am now down to .25 mg .p/day of Sub (equals 1/4 of a 2 mg. pill) and may jump off where I am or taper down even more slowly. I'm getting mixed advice on this this subject so I'm still not sure.

Point is I am almost at the end here so it is clearly doable. Get a good doctor who knows what he is doing and who has SUCCESSFULLY gotten patients off of methadone using Suboxone. It may take some to research it but it's worth it.

If you decide to enroll in the FDA study here is a web site where you can call and get more info. This is one is a UCLA study but they probably can lead you to another study--hopefully near where you live.

http://www.uclaisap.org/html/clinical-research-center.html

Hope this helps. It will be worth it for you to do this--make being opioid-free your most important goal right now.

piper

First question.... Are you from Utah? I am. The doctors here told me I was like a diabetic and I should just accept the fact I need medication for the rest of my life. Completely unacceptable to me! I was also on tons of medication and wanted to get off. I can be done. I'll try to be short.
I was in a car accident and was put on pain medication. I was on the standard Lortab, Percocets, variety of muscle relaxers and doing massage, physical therapy and exercise with it. A few years went by and my tolerance grew, so I opted for the neck fusion. Hoping to eliminated the pills and further damage if injured again. Pain was still there...... After a few years of trying Oxycotin, Morphine, Ultracet, Flexeril etc. they put me on Methadone. At the time they put me on it, they had me on Lortab 10mg 6x's a day, Somas 3 times a day, Valium as needed and it seems like a few other things. Anyways, a few years went by with this CRAZY cocktail that was prescribed by a well know, admired physician.
This mentally started wearing on my pysche along with totally managing my pain and controlling my life. It was absolutely INSANE! Many times I went to my doctor for help getting off my meds. I tried cold turkey and ended up in the hospital. I also seeked other professional help and I was at a complete dead end. I am a 31 year old single mother with two daughters, and I was not going to submit to my death.
Finally after I finished building my last art gallery I moved to CA to seek help. When I moved there I was on all that medication but my methadone dose was up to 80 mg a day. Past experience had shown me YOU CANT COLD TURKEY with the methadone. I did finish my other prescriptions out and stopped those. I went through days of laying in bed really depressed, no energy, no appetite and lots of crying. I was still on the Methadone. So that was the "big" challenge and i was really scared. First because I had just moved to a new area, had no family no friends no support and had no idea what I was doing or what I was in for.
I looked online for the same type of doctor i had in Utah, so he could assist with the same training. After 3 doctors, 11 days and over $1000.00 I found one that took me seriously "i did not want to be on the medication" . He gave me 3 options. 1. Rapid Detox; a place you go for maybe 1-3 days, they put you out (sedate) and pretty much hook you up to some type of medication along with monitoring all you vitals etc. and strip it out of your body. Run around $15,000.00 (not to sure) The one I had heard most about was the Weisman Clinic in CA. 2. Go check into a rehab 3. On my own with the doctor prescribing me .5mg lower every 15 days. At the time I had really no money, no job and no one to care for my girls while I was gone. So I did it on my own.
I really wish I would have known then what I do now. It was a challenge and has changed my life FOREVER. But I am so happy to know that when I get a cold chill, or my nose starts to drip it's not because I need another dose of Methadone. The experience goes on for quite sometime. But I will spare you from the details. I know you want to know what you can do.
If you can choose to pay for an inpatient program, I think thats a good idea. Having support is SUPER important. Being around positive, knowledgeable, structured environment will help your success. They will help you understand what is going on with your body, mind and emotions (they do act seprate at tiimes). YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING and COMMITTED!
If you don't have the money and can only pay for the visits and scripts, do it anyway. But most importantly make sure you include the cost of a counselor/therapist that specializes in areas like this.
Then every 15 days take your dose down .50 mg every 15 days. Cost wise, get your prescriptions in the 10mg pills and then you can break them in 1/2. Make sure you have your doctor prescribe only the alotted amount. ***exp.*** your at 65mg. a day so take begin by taking the 5mg out. You would then be prescribed 90 pills for 15 days at 6 (60mg) a day. Then you'd see your doctor and go down another 1/2 pill (.50mg) in 15 days and so on..When you get to the end you can get the 5mg tablets and go to .25 mg (which I suggest) then alternate every other day, then every 3 days.....
I started with 80 mg in February of 08 and finished at .25 once a day for 14 days ending in June 08. And i went through 3 days of withdrawl. It really sucked, but I completely ran out of money to even see the doctor or fill another prescription.
This is just the way that I did it and I am off and sooooo happy. I don't EVER crave my pills. But I do see why I needed them in the first place. But I found ways to maintain my pain in a different way and I am good.
You can do it if you really want to. Im not going to lie and say it was/is easy. But in the end you will be so happy you have your life back and all the money that was going to medication.
If there is anything I can do to help, please ask.
Good Luck to you.
"Sat Nam"
Sarah

Frank here,
I have been on methadone on and off for over 40 years. It takes a long period of time to detox from meth but can be successfully done on shorter terms. I recently detoxed from Methadone and got on soboxone. You must wait until you're in withdrawal prior to taking the soboxone because of the inhibitors associated with it. I've been on soboxone now for months and it does everything prescribed, as far as wanting to use. It's very effective in this regard, reduces the cravings, urges, etc. However, unlike methadone it does not have the physical everyday pain relief. You'll experience every ache and pain your body produces, except withdrawal of course. So, if you're serious about quitting drugs and want to stay away from narcotics, this is a drug for you. You can't use any narcotics or you go into instant withdrawal due to the antagonist agent . I still like to use heroin, so I have to stop the soboxone for a couple days in order to do so. However, unlike Methadone this drug is very easy to come off of. You can successfully detox in a week or two without any discomfort. Being an old head, still using now and then, I find it a pain in the a== when I want to use, waiting for the inhibitors to were off. You can also go for a couple days without feeling really bad should you a miss dose or two. Yea, a real good drug for the serious minded wanting to throw away their drugs/habit for good. But you must weight the numbing effects (pain reducers) methadone gave you. This pill will give you everything else but that.
frank.

madison my god girl,what do you mean your not on a high dose 65mgs is alot,really! Thats 13 x5mgs a day. Sure you can get on Suboxone if you want,but why trade one drug for another,you will still get withdrawls from Suboxone,as it to is an opiate,your best bet is to tritrate down and off the Methadone.I just kicked a 5 year habit,It took me twice to do this,the second time I quit cold turkey,and yes I went through real hell on earth and am still feeling some effects,like insomnia.Lets just say the first 3 to 18 days is the worst,but after that if your strong enough,you will start to feel better and every day after that even better.I broke my neck thats howI got on this poison,I knew I had to quit when I started to eat them llike candy every day,and when I ran out of my script,I would literally scream until I got my new script.I am learning to live with the chronic pain,through bio-feed back techniques.Also ,you must take an array of vitamins and supplements,plus exercise is essential,and believe me that is something you won't want to do but must.If you and the Husband are serious,then you must quit,get the mindset and do it.Either cold turkey or tritrate down like 5mg a week,its totally up to you,you can be a drug abusing parent or you can be a clean and sober shining example to your kids,and dont think for one minute your kids dont know you have a drug problem and your husband too,believe me they know,if you dont think so then you are ion denial.I have been right where your at,and didn't think anyone knew about mydrug abusing ways,well funny thing,they all knew..Hope you make the right decisions and your husband also,I hope you do it today,take another look at your children then take a look at the bittle of pills...Good Luck..James Boles..