[ChoosingLife]

Hi everyone. I have a few questions for fellow Suboxone users.

I'm on day 4 of Suboxone @ 16 mgs./day. I am recovering from Vicodin that I have been off and on for 2 years, but the past year was pretty constant. (Back pain) I kept increasing the amount of pills I would take until I was taking around 20 ES pills a day for about 6 months and I decided that I have to go off of them.

My pain management doctor prescribed the Suboxone and my insurance won't pay for it. All I could afford out of pocket was 15 pills for the month which cost me $98.99. I figured I'd take the 2 8mg. tabs a day for 5 days as directed, but then I am going to cut down to 1 8mg. tab a day for 5 days after that, making it a 10 day "detox" with 15 pills.

Like I mentioned above, I am on day 4. Starting on day 2, I noticed that my muscles were twitching. The muscles in my legs, arms, neck, etc. They actually jerk. It gets worse as each day passes. Today started the actual muscle soreness along with the twitching. Which brings me to my questions:

1. Is the Suboxone causing the muscle twitches and soreness? Or is my body having Vicodin withdrawal breakthrough symptoms? Is this normal?

2. Sub makes me feel better, but I notice that sometimes I feel a little shaky & a bit lightheaded. I'm also feeling anxiety. Is this normal?

3. What's going to happen after I'm done with my Suboxone detox after day 10? Is my body going to WD from the Sub? Will my body be done WDing from the Vicodin? How will I feel? I am hoping that the Sub WD isn't too bad since I'm only taking it for 10 days, but I am scared and nervous.

Sorry this was so long, and thanks for any advice & answers to my questions that you can give me!

[SheLovesKoalas]

I would call your pain management doctor first and describe your symtoms to him.

I am recovering from years of opiate abuse and have been on sub's for 4 years. In the earliest part of taking sub's I had never taken more than 8mg a day, therefore I cannot comment on what your dosage could do to you.

However, I do know that the 2 times I took more than prescribed, I did have some reactions similar to yours. Not the aching though. That was more consistent with my trying to cold turkey off of the opiates........

NAABT.org ( Patient Doctor Connection Read what patients are saying )

The above site has been extremley helpful to myself and others who have taken/comtemplated taking suboxone!

Godspeed.

Janice

[ChoosingLife]

Thanks so much for your reply, Janice. I think I'll just continue to take less & less Sub since I can't afford to buy anymore. That way I can taper off slower than originally planned.

I can deal with the twitches and aches - it does feel like a mild version of what I went through when I'd try to quit cold turkey. I also noticed what feels like a low grade fever and my anxiety is pretty high. If it can remain this mild until the WDs are over, like I said, I can handle it.

[mpvt]

16mgs is way to high for a vicodin addiction.Try and bring it down to 8mgs and stay there for a few days to see how you are.Most patients on suboxone are on a dose of 4-12mgs a day.
Buprenorphene is 40 stronger than morphine and morphine is quite abit stronger than hydrocodone(vicodin).This will also enable you to stretch out your suboxone pills longer.Good luck to you......Dave

[ChoosingLife]

Thanks Dave, I'm glad that I read this before I popped my first 8mg. tab for the day under my tongue! I'm taking 4 mg.. right now as my first dose, and then will take 2 mgs. twice more today.

If I was taking too much for Vic addiction, why was I feeling Vic withdrawals? Perhaps it was lack of sleep - I went to bed at 5:30am that night, awoke at 7:30am not feeling tired, and then took a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. I felt somewhat out of it like I do when I have insomnia and don't sleep all night.

Did you experience a headache when you first started the Sub? I have had an awful one, but the way that it feels it might be the start of a sinus infection.

Oh, one more question! Does it matter if you spit or swallow out your saliva as the Sub melts? The first time I took it, I got horrible nausea, and read that it was from the Naloxone and that I can spit out the Sub saliva instead of swallowing it. Now I've been spitting every time. Is this a bad idea? Will the Sub work more effectively if I swallow the nasty spit? Thanks again Dave!

[SheLovesKoalas]

NAABT.org *should* answer most of your questions.......

As far as the "spitting" thing, I have always done that!! I have actually come to the point where the taste of sub's make me sick. I shudder when I taste it..... This coming from a woman who crushed oxy's between her teeth and ADORED the taste of it melting in my mouth! LOL!

I don't think the saliva holds the key to it getting in your system anyway. However, have you ever swallowed one? THAT made me soooo sick! Ya know, brainchild that I was, I thought, "Well, gee, if sublingually works, swallowing MUST work faster, right?"..................
Uh....no. LOL!

Good luck with your recovery!

Janice

[butchy yost]

you will definitely wd from the sub if you taper off that quickly, you should really try to get some more as you will be doing no good for your recovery(or your financial situation, for that matter) if you are incapacitated with the wd's.
also now that you are past the initial phase of adjusting to the sub, I would suggest not taking more than 2-4 mg/24 hrs. As dave mentioned the sub is very strong and a little bit goes a long way. My habit was at least 4-5 times worse than yours and I got down to 4 mgs/day after the first three days. 10 8mg tabs should be able to last you at least 20-40 days. I make my 30 pill script last about 2 1/2 mos...good luck

[butchy yost]

also, I think its ok to spit the saliva, just make sure you wait at least 3-5 minutes until after the tab has completely dissolved to get the max absorption. I always wait about 10 minutes and then swallow it, the less you take, the less you taste it.
Swallowing sub does work, but it is much less efficient than the sublingual route.

[tmafjf]

I was wondering if anyone knows the effects of using any kinds of opiates while on suboxone?

[mpvt]

The suboxone will block the euphoric effects of opiates.Be careful as you won't get high no matter how much you take but you can still overdose.So really your better off just taking the suboxone.Good luck....Dave

[binda]

Anybody
I have been posting on other threads and I have mustarded up enough nerve to make an appt to go and get suboxone. I'm now having second thoughts. Am I substituting one drug for another. I already have a horrible addiction problem. If I have to w/draw from that want that be just as bad as weaning off the oxy's. Confused

[mpvt]

You are not substituting one drug for another.This has been proven over and over again.The suboxone will kill your cravings and you will feel great.You won't be abusing the suboxone so right there you're not trading one drug for another.Believe me once you get on this med you are going to wish you got on it years ago.
Also when a addict gets stable on buprenorphene and or methadone and the brain and body are not suject to the rigors of addiction.Your brain begins to heal rather quickly allowing you to go back to work,or school or whatever you want to do.
Anything is better then dumping handfuls of opiate everyday.
You'll be pleasently surprised at how well your going to feel.It's normal also to have reservations but try and think of how your life was before the pills and then think of how much better it's going to be now that you've spent all this time abusing.Good luck and go through this,give yourself a chance.....Dave

[SheLovesKoalas]

Recovering from opiate addiction.

On Suboxone for 4 years.

Since being on Sub's I have NOT:

Lied.
Cheated.
Stole.
Begged.
Borrowed.
Traded in my jewelry for $.
Broke into my kids piggybank.
Become financially ruined from buying "street" opiates
Wondered where my next fix was coming from.
Wondered how I was going to pay for my next fix.
Taken drugs illegally.

The list above is just part of my active behavior.

Today, I am once again a productive part of society, a pretty good mom, and a lady who takes Sub so that I stay that way! 8)