jeannie,,
you asked about
suboxone and i'd like to share our experience with you. it really worked wonders, but my son needed more than just suboxone.
heroin use creates more and more opiate-receptors in the brain, and there is literally no way around that, which probably explains the intensity of the cravings for heroin. suboxone works very well in filling those receptors! we know a ton of young people who have moved past heroin with the aid of suboxone.
in helping my son overcome chronic relapsing, we got him on suboxone at his request, and next will be the naltrexone implant. there is a method to this madness, and in doing it in sequence, but to find a doc. go to the suboxone website and enter your zip code. since suboxone is made from an opiate base, i was skeptical and opposed to it at first... basically under-educated. but my son was wasted most of the time, i mean sooo messed up from heroin running his life that i knew in my heart any substitute for heroin was better than watching his young life waste away along with all that potential. for my son (and many of his friends), suboxone worked so well as long as he took it, but he also reinforced his sobriety by going to meetings because he LOVES that environment and the sense of "belonging" there with people "just like him."
evenso, heroin often wins out, and pills are self-fed, so suboxone can be stopped at will, which he often did, going from suboxone to heroin, back to suboxone, and continued this cycle for over a year. analyzing it himself, he came to the conclusion that heroin had truly altered his brain chemistry, so much so, that the relapsing wasn't even a choice anymore... his brain acted on auto-pilot when he put down the suboxone, and he'd relapse again.
to get the naltrexone implant, you don't have to go through "rapid-detox," though i'm sure it's helpful. you can get the implant by itself, but you have to be off suboxone for about 10 days, heroin about 4 days, etc. some clinics require 3 weeks. if traces of opiates are in your system when the implant is put in, it can induce a horrible withdrawl that can last up to 48 hours. but this whole challenge can be well worth it. you want to go clean for the procedure.
to get clean, my son moved to another state, got away from the heroin-triggers & people associated with it, tapered off the suboxone with the help of an anti-anxiety, and is scheduled to get his first implant next week. even if he should relapse while the naltrexone implant is still active, there will be no effect, no euphoria, etc., because the naltrexone blocks opiate receptors 100% for heroin users (unlike the partial block it provides alcoholics). so even if he relapses, without the desired effect, users stop using. but you HAVE to continue replacing the implant every 2 months (for at least a year) so that you don't relapse when it wears off... a relapse with your "usual" dose of heroin after a long stint on naltrexone can kill you, and there are enough fatal overdoses after naltrexone therapy to prove it.
this is also why they don't recommend naltrexone PILLS, because it's so easy to stop taking them & then relapse again. that's the logic behind the implant.
you can also get naltrexone in the form of a shot that lasts for 30 days. the brand name for that is "vivitrol." if you decide to go with
vivitrol shots or the naltrexone implant, you should continue it for at least a year, but longer is better, so you can focus on your recovery without cravings and pour yourself into therapy and/or 12-step groups like AA or NA where people just like you love each other back to life again with a common struggle & purpose, in a community so big and supportive that this is often the glue that really sticks for addicts. the most unlikely addicts we know have recovered once they "found themselves" in AA and have gone on to help others struggling just like they did. some of the most amazing, non-judgmental, and helpful people we've ever met come from the world of recovering addicts, and they are people just like you.
you've already taken a HUGE first step by asking about medication for you and your husband. you're facing in the right direction. if you want to email me, please do. though i can't claim to have any set answers on this challenge you're facing, i can at least pass on to you some encouragement and even some short-cuts that might save weeks of googling & research. best wishes... you're on the right path
Heroin Addict In Need of Help 
Please Read Jamie!!! 
My experience w/ getting help 
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