ccluv726I seeked sub. Treatment myself. At 32 the back pain started, after birth of my son. I had buldging discs that progressed into ruptured, deg. Disc disese,annular tear, so on, etc. Dr started me on pain meds which by 38 was up to 8 oxycodone 30mg per day, soma, clonapin, etc. My dr retired, lost my ins., lost my meds, N lost my mind. I literaly almost died from pain n withdrawls. I went to sub. To fix my problem, so i thought. Now im viewed as a drug addict period. I didnt ask for any of this. I had dental surgery and was treating as though "addicts" like me couldnt have anything for pain. Thats wrong, unfair, and simply judgemental. Each case is different. I wasnt looking for a high, just something to get thru this surgery! How do u fix this type, ,"marked for life". Issue??
Suboxone - How if ever do I overcome the "marked for life", stigma attached to sub. use?
- Posted:
- 4 Jan 2012 by ccluv726
- Topics:
- suboxone, opiate dependence, pain, back pain
Responses (7)
Anonymous 4 Jan 2012
unfortunately and as sad as it is, wether its a legit reason for being on pain meds or not, we will always be tainted. the problem is here is that most these drs, nurses or pharmacies have no idea if our pain and history. at one time at my drs office i was getting poorly treated, and i know its because im prescribed pain meds, i not only turned her and the other receptionists in to my dr and other drs in the office, i told her to go to hell. that not all of us is drug seekers. find a clinic and dr you like, it may take some time, but you will find one.i also believe there is a number to call for complaints and mistreatment from anyone working the medical field. hang in there and try not to let their ignorance get to you,leanne
ARTIST6584 Jan 2012
Addiction is a life-long disease, so it has to be taken into consideration by any medical professional when treating us. It does not disappear when we stop the drugs. We are always at risk for a relapse - and any addictive substance can trigger that relapse.
The key I've found is complete openness with my primary care doctor. She knows my entire history, and knows my needs. I've been clean for over 8 years, and she knows I value my recovery. I do not behave in ways that would be suspect - I do not go to the ER for my problems (unless it is a true crisis, of course). I do not see other doctors, unless I've already discussed the issue with her and she agrees. She has come to trust me - and - if God forbid I needed an opiate pain reliever, she would know that I am going to handle it with absolute caution. (My husband would hold the bottle and dispense it to me as instructed.)
Thor283
4 Jan 2012
I must agree with you. To find a doctor as rare as the one you're describing almost makes me think it's a fantasy. I've been to many doc's in my long life and I have never seen 1 like this. You're more lucky than you know.
Anonymous 9 Jan 2012
count yourself lucky, very unusual to find such luck with a dr like that. lucky you
Mary6320094 Jan 2012
Hello ccluv, & welcome to the site. I don't believe you are marked for life! You had a problem, & are trying to fix it. You don't mention how long you have been on subs, but you can wean off of them too. Go to your profile, & click on the Friends. Type in Pattishane61 & when her profile come up, please read all she has to say. She was a drug addict who used suboxone, & successfully weaned off of it & lives a wonderful life now addiction free of everything. Her profile explains all you need to know about the weaning off suboxone. There is a normal life out there for you. Please don't give up hope... Mary632009
Jillynnie
ARTIST658
4 Jan 2012
What else do you believe suboxone used for, aside from addiction?
pattishan61
5 Jan 2012
Dear Artist, these comments are meant to add info, not to argue. Suboxone is being rx'ed for pain, it is used in other countries to treat cancer pain and chronic pain. Buprenorphine has also been used by vets for years to treat pain in animals. It often does help with fibromyalgia. It is used in Europe for depression. It is true it was developed as a tool to aid in recovery from opiate addiction and properly used, along with addiction therapy, can greatly improves a persons chances of remaining opiate free. I was only on lortab and perc 10's for a short time for fibromyalgia, but saw myself heading down a path I did NOT see ending well. I properly used the suboxone, did the therapy and tapered off fine, have been off for almost 15 months, no relapse, no problems and it did seem to reset my pain receptors, I have little pain now. What pain I do have can be taken care of with advil or Tylenol.
Jillynnie
Thor2834 Jan 2012
Hi ccluv,
I have one thing to add to what has been said so far. Don't tell any future doc's about your past, especially Suboxone. I'm not certain whether you still take it or not. If you do, and you get injured severely, or have surgery, and you must have pain meds then you must tell them because you will need doses due to the Buprenorphine in the Sub. This need for increased meds can last a long time after you're off Sub, and we're not sure how long. But that would be the only reason to tell anyone.
ARTIST658
4 Jan 2012
Dishonesty (by omission) with a doctor is NOT recommended by those of us working in the field of substance abuse treatment; in fact, we recommend just the opposite. When a person is holding back the truth of their addiction history, it's a red flag that they are wavering on their full commitment to recovery. Secrets do keep us sick - and when we fail to disclose something so significant to our primary care doctor, we're generally trying to keep the door open to the possibility of using again.
Thor283
4 Jan 2012
Congratulations Artist, you have just proven the point that this stigma is alive and well. Not one of us said we are taking this med for addiction. You assumed it, and that's the problem. Not you assuming it, but doctors assuming it. I never said someone with an opiate addiction should keep it to themselves. I mean all of us who are taking it for 1 of it's off label uses. I shouldn't have to tell someone who is actually employed in any medically related field that most drugs have off label uses and are prescribed for that reason. So my point stands firm. But someone such as yourself, who is an addict in recovery who can easily relapse, should always tell everyone in the medical field.
Robert_3256 Jan 2012
I don't think Artist was trying to judge anyone. She was offering an opinion from the eyes of a rehab professional. She is not a dr, doesn't claim to be, and only offered her professional perspective as someone who works with addicts in recovery. I know her well and she is very knowledgeable and helpful with addiction/recovery. However not even all medical professionals are aware of the off label uses for buprenorphine. It was also suggested to me by my personal dr that I use buprenorphine for my many autoimmune problems ... RA, Raynaud's Disease, Fibromyalgia and APS. The off label use for subs (buprenorphine) is not something that drug rehabilitation professionals are often familiar with as they work with addicts to direct them in getting clean.
pattishan61
6 Jan 2012
Hello all, I tried to phrase my response to not offend anyone and hope I did come across as just passing on what I know about subs being used in other areas. Admittedly, it is a complex medication and each person may vary as to how much pain relief it affords them. I don't know about you Robert, but it worked great for my pain. In my particular case, I underwent pretty intense therapy, and it did indeed help as much with me understanding how long term clinical depression and anxiety about past trauma that I could produce pain and a wish to take the easy way out in treating it. I had NO idea one of my counselors strongly suspected long term clinical depression in me, I did have anhedonia when first starting subs. I went for 3 hour group Adlerean therapy for 3 nights of the week for a few months and at first I dreaded the commitment to that schedule.
Robert_325
6 Jan 2012
Patti ... I just did it for a short time. Did get some pain relief but decided I just didn't want to go with the opiate option. Good thing about subs for pain therapy is there is no tolerance built up so one is not so likely to abuse them and continue to increase the doses.
I found some alternatives that worked for me including working on my physical condition. Being ill I had become quiet sedantary, gained quite a bit of weight, and I know all that contributed to the pain in my back and weight bearing joints. Lost over 100 lbs, going to the gym, working clearing the property my wife and I bought, just getting back into shape and using NSAIDS have worked pretty well for me.
Fentanylu...8 Jan 2012
I think the most important thing is to find a dr that truly cares about u and ur well being. I found one after much seeking that only schedules his patients ever 30 mins, he always wants to know what is going on in ur life since often times pain can be from stress.and/or other things and then he aligns ur entire body and makes sure everything is working properly. He's a DO and always reminds u to juice, fast, eat correctly, seek alternative meds if necessary, etc... He really was a Godsent to me, so find someone that u r comfortable with.
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Expand this post...
Needless to say they were both very wrong. At day 7 I made my first trip to the ER where they did CAT scans and blood work. After reviewing the results and and learning that I was on Suboxone for detoxing from opiates, the ER Doc literally called me a drug addict, in his heavy indian accent, and told me "to get out of his hospital", and that "I was nothing more than a common drug addict"! I was so embarrassed and so humiliated because he didn't say this to me in any private room. This was loudly stated to me while I was laying on a streacher in the ER hallway in front of about twenty different people. When I challenged him on this he said to stop talking, that he had nothing more to say to me, I was to be immediately discharged and not to come back to this hospital because they don't treat drug addicts there!! He said to "call a rehab facility and get help". So I went home feeling worst than I had ever felt and now with a nice $5000 bill to deal with. I continued to try to wait out the withdrawals at home until by day 9 I hadn't eaten or drank anything in almost four and a half days. I couldn't stop the vomiting and diareah and had become so incredibly weak it was all I could do to call 911. This time I insisted they take me to a diffent hospital. Unfortunately for me the different hospital was just another branch of that same hospital group. What do you think happened there? The exact same thing except that this time the Doc was much more polite in calling me a dug addict. All the while on both ER's I had been telling them please do not give me any narcotic medication for the pain, please just help me with some liquids and nutrition so I don't die. After a few hours of laying in the second ER I was finally able to convince one very kind nurse to feed me and rehydrate me Introviniously, before they kicked me out, again with a $5000 bill. This helped me get through the night. The next morning I received a call from my Suboxone Doc who then convinced me to slowly restart the Sub's till I stabilize. If you want you can click my Avatar and read my first post about that in more detail. This post is to concur with your feeling of how wrong some Doctors can be when judging us. We are not all junkies and addicts. There is a whole lot of us that ended up in this situation due to following our own Doctors advice. I AM NO DRUG SEEKER! In fact its just the opposite in my case as with many others. My doctors were so quick to prescribe this medications to me, now why aren't they around to back me up and help me get free from their advice?
Anyway, sorry for the rambling. I guess I just wanted you to know your not the only one being mis-judged and its so unfair. I truly hope we all can get through this and lead happy fulfilling Suboxone free lives.