[luvlifemore]

Hi,
Anyone with experience with Suboxone please post. My friend has asked that I find out what a typical dose for him would be. I've heard the Dr.s dose is often too high. My friend is snorting at least 80 mg. Oxy per day for maintenance and binging some no doubt. He says he wants out, we'll see. Also curious what typical Dr. visits cost, length of time suggested on the Suboxone and what the transfer experience was like. Any info from those of you with experience would be helpful.
Thanks! LLM

[BSGjunkie]

Luvlifemore,

I'd run a search or take a few mins and read through some of the suboxone threads.

At 80mgs of oxy, your friend would be considered a light user. Everyone reacts differently to Sub, and that must be remembered.

The biggest thing to remember is his first dose of sub should be administered once he has started to feel the full onset of WD - usually 24 hours after his last dose. If he takes his first dose to soon, it'll put him into WD and he'll be hurting. When sub is administered for the first time, correctly, the user should only have to deal with the first stages of WD.

Once he is in WD, you'll want to start him out with 4mgs of sub. Wait 30-40 mins. If his symptoms have gone away its the proper dosage. If it hasn't give, him another 2-4mgs - thats continued until his symptoms are gone.

I would suspect 4mgs would be more then enough for your friend.

Many have found you don't want to stay on sub for longer then 15 days. He'll want to decrease his dosage after 5 to 7 days, and then quick by the 2nd week mark, but hopefully sooner. Many have no problem quitting after the first week.

He'll have some depression for a few months, and may wish to see a doctor for that. He can be honest with the doctors, as they know all too well the realities of life. The doctor will be glad to hear he's quit.

As far as finding a doctor for Sub, it can be tricky. Obviously suboxone.com offers a list of all the doctors - but many are full. You'll need to start calling each doctor to see if they have openings, if thats the route you want to go. Most have an upfront fee of 4 or 5 hundred dollars with each visit after costing a 100-150. Depending on his insurance, they may cover it. The subscription to suboxone its self is expensive. Most insurance companies don't cover it. Call around to your local pharmacies and shop around. Most around about $7.50 a pill for 8mgs.

Junkie

[luvlifemore]

Dear Junkie,
Thanks very much for your reply. My friend made an appointment for Monday. Yay! When I asked this time - he did tell me that he is doing 2 or 3 80s per day (not 1). (Bet it's always three now, ever notice how people always minimize the amount they do?) Details...Details.[)]

Your post was really informative. I especially liked your suggestion to deal with the depression once off. In fact it's probably a big mistake not to. I imagine you were suggesting taking an anti-depressant. That is what we loved most about Oxy way back when. It was a happy drug at one time. That is still what I miss most a year later. But the opiates stop you from making your own seratonin and then you become REALLY depressed without more and more...
No more for me. Thanks again!

Anyone else have a suboxone experience to share?

[JBowski13]

In one month, I'll be on suboxone for a whole year. I know its going to be hell when I get off, but the idea of taking one pill (8mg) a day and being able to function like a normal person is great. The first visit is going to be an interview with a bunch of yes/no questions. They want his whole history of drugs and how often he takes them. They will write a script of 7 pills and have him get it and bring it back to the Doc. Then they'll find a correct dose for him. Make sure you go with him, because the first time of suboxone makes you feel kinda high. The whole day will last about 3 hours. Depending how long he wants him on it, the first few weeks the Doc will only write a script up to 7 days and probably bring him back in five days. The Doc wants to make sure he can trust your friend by seeing the correct amount of pills when he comes back for a visit.
Your friend is not a light user, he'll get on the program. I was 24 and using for 4 yrs everday. The fact that I looked like I was dying without pills for a day is an important part to be considered for sub. I have insurance and pay my $10 co-pay, and with suboxone I pay $40. I dont think there is one doctor that has the same game plan for sub. Obviously the less time your on it, getting off of it is less painfull. But I'm more comfortable taking sub once a day when I need it. When its time to get off, it will be a whole lot better then cold turkey or anything by myself.

[luvlifemore]

Bowski,
Thanks for writing. I'm all for whatever it takes to keep from this downward spiral on opiates. I realize that suboxone is an opiate too but it doesn't keep you in a state of wanting more and more and more right? His skin has become gray. He is a lunatic when he can't get any etc. etc. I hope he quits the suboxone in 2 weeks as Junkie suggests but if he can't...anything is better than this.
Know thyself and all that stuff.
So you take 8mg per day of Sub. How much of...whatever did you give up? What was it like to make the switch?

Junkie,
Since my friend is actually on more like 240mg of OC per day what do you think the Sub. dose would be? He is not into the nods. In fact the trouble is he has always wanted more energy not less. Thus experimenting with Adderol, Ritalin, Coke whatever. The withdrawls were never as bad as with opiates though.

Please keep shareing suboxone experiences. I am forwarding these posts to him.
LLM

[BSGjunkie]

I would guess he'll be sustained with 6-8mgs. Sub has a ceiling effect, and most don't see much of a difference after 8mgs. There are some on here who have been given up to 16, but I feel 'less is more' with sub. He wants to be on the lowestest sustainable dose. If he starts off at eight, he needs to get down quickly.

He will receive a new high from sub, and he may enjoy it - make sure he doesn't use it as his new drug of choice.

Junkie

[luvlifemore]

Junkie,
I forwarded my friend some posts from heroin-detox.com Sub. forum that state, like you do, that jumping off within two weeks is best. My friend called to say the Dr. that he is seeing Monday has his second appt. set for three weeks later! That can't be right! I read the first week was almost every day of tweaking the dose. I think he might need a different Dr. My friend says he can dose himself once he gets it but like you suggest, liking it too much is a real danger.

I can't believe the doctors don't read these sites. I got a copy of the Sub. clinical guide from SAMSA and it says long term has the best success. They aren't speaking of withdrawls. They are are speaking the patient's using Sub. while having counseling, meetings, moving in a different crowd, learning to enjoy sobriety instead of feeling deprived etc. Still - the Dr.s seem ignorant of the withdrawl issues. I have to not get my hopes too high.
LLM

[BSGjunkie]

If your friend is serious about doing it for a short amount of time, have him contact his doctor and have them refer him to a in or out patient detox clinic. They'll be able to get him in ASAP, and they'll give him enough to detox.

Most doctors will place patients on a mid term treatment program of 3-6 months, or longer - Sub isn't generally used for only detox. They feel those in need of sub, are those that have tried detox and need to be on maintenance.

If your friend decides he wants to be on maintenance, he needs to expect to be in required NA like meetings multiple days throughout the week.

When I first replied to your thread, I took it from the standpoint that your friend was going to obtain Sub from the street for detox (which is becoming more and more popular). If he decides to visit a doctor, I would HIGHLY recommend that he reads through heroin-detox (as you've already pointed him towards) - as its the only way he'll get a true grasp of what COULD happen if he pick maintenance.

Junkie