[Robert_325]

I don't know enough about Sue's medical history to say that it won't kill her and you don't either. You're basing your opinion on your personal history. I understand where you're coming from but I still maintain that giving advice that is best for the masses is the way to go on a drug forum. I won't be responsible for hurting anyone. This is serious telling people what meds to take and that it won't hurt them. God bless.

[rhonilu]

My doctor told me that mixing the two medications can cause pulmonary edema and can be fatal. I think that's why I have been so short of breath lately.

[tired2]

Originally Posted by rhonilu

My doctor told me that mixing the two medications can cause pulmonary edema and can be fatal. I think that's why I have been so short of breath lately.

I'm not going to say it is alright to mix the two but I was taking Sub and Klonopin at the same time and was fine but I had no choice or I would have had some very nasty benxo w/d.Taking the two drugs together well that would depend on you madical history.
Pam

[butterflylover]

Hi there. I am writing this because my boyfriend is on Suboxone and has been doing really well....however he recently went to the Dr. and got Xanax, I am not sure what dose he is taking, but he says it cures his anxiety, but he is a TOTALLY different person when he is on it, he nods out, can't remember anything and he thinks he is perfectly fine. I am a recovering meth addict and have been sober for 3 years, but he tells me I am blowing this out of proportion I am wondering if it is ok for him to be combining these 2 together. Congrats to all of you on this forum!!!

[rob_bladen]

Hi, butterflylover!

I have not posted on this thread in months, but your posting to this thread appeared in my email box and I feel compelled to reply. I am an opiate addict and alcoholic. I have also suffered from an intense panic disorder complicated by what used to be called 'free-floating' anxiety since childhood. Depression has never played a role in my panic or anxiety/agoraphobic neurosis.

Because of the anxiety-type diagnoses, along with therapy I have used, off-and-on, one benzodiazepine (which is what Xanax is which you likely know) or another since college. Four years of severe, intractable and around-the-clock chronic pain complicated the anxiety stuff, and 'cemented' my opiate addiction.

I have been free of illicit use of opiates for ten years, the first eight of those years on an excessive 300 mg q.d. dose of methadone. The last 2 years I've been on Suboxone 24 mg q.d. This is a far, far, far better solution; suboxone manages any danger of craving opiates, yet its ceiling effect means I can't take more and more of the drug to achieve a high, and for most people the high of suboxone lasts only a few days to a few months after induction. Methadone, like most powerful opiates in the DEA's Schedule of the most powerful narcotics (Schedule II, aka CII which means 'controlled' substance on the Schedule II list) has no ceiling effect associated with it just like all the other goodies on the schedule, e.g., morphine, oxycodone, hydromorphone, fentanyl, etc.

That ceiling effect is a good thing of course because even though I was able to function in a professional career on methadone and get on with my life after the chronic pain ended, I could easily nod off in meetings, and a nap every afternoon was essential. BUT WORST OF ALL: Because the clinics available to my locale were indiscriminate in their dose-increase policies, my addiction was active the entire eight years, because I knew a higher dose would make me higher!

Suboxone, at least for me and everyone else I know on the drug, appears to have little if any impact on my cognitive functioning in life, and I have no craving, no desire to increase my dose.

Because I use my real name on this site I shall not divulge the name of the facility through which I receive my Suboxone and other psychiatric medications. If you wish to know, then you may write me at rob_bladen@yahoo.com. But it is a world-famous ivy league teaching-hospital here in the U.S. and enjoys (deservedly) a reputation as prestigious as that of the Mayo Clinic. After nearly 30 years of personal experience coping with this illness, I can tell you that the program I am part of is the most progressive, selfless, competent facility I have ever been a part of. This is undoubtedly due in large measure to the Chief of Psychiatry and other psychiatrists and folks that run the program with this physician.

There are at least 300 of us in the program. While I don't know the statistics in the matter, it appears that nearly half of us are currently on one benzodiazepine or another to good affect.

When I was being treated for my disabling chronic pain, I was prescribed oxycontin, Xanax, Neurontin, Ambien, and Dilaudid every month during those years. In the 1990's, (I cannot speak about the most current methods of dealing with chronic pain), when I was suffering this pain, that was a very typical approach. One of the potentially dangerous side effects of using benzodiazepines along with narcotics is that the patient is ingesting two central nervous system (CNS) depressants concurrently, thus increasing the side-effects typical of CNS depressants... lethargy, somnolence, etc. However, chronic pain frequently brings on despair and depression for the patient, thus the use of anxiolytics and/or antidepressants in combination with analgesics.

My point is that narcotics are commonly prescribed along with tranquilizers for a variety of complaints.

NOW TO YOUR CONCERN DIRECTLY!: The chief psychiatrist of my program, and several of the other docs involved, have all stated on separate occasions that the concern over using buprenorphine (the opiate in Suboxone) with Xanax or other benzodiazepines stems from verified but VERY isolated reports from Europe in which fatalities occurred upon the simultaneous illicit IV administration of buprenorphine and benzodiazepines. I am not a physician, nor do I have all the facts, but I believe this has not occurred in the US, nor has it occurred among patients taking their CORRECTLY PRESCRIBED doses of benzodiazepines and buprenorphine through the correct and intended SUBLINGUAL route.

For what it is worth to you, each day I take 2 mg. of clonazepam (Klonopin). This dose is similar to roughly 1-2 mg. of alprazolam (Xanax).

If your boyfriend is nodding, forgetting, undergoing alarming personality changes with the recent addition of Xanax to his Suboxone, he is being prescribed more Xanax than is safe for him.

Again, I'm not a physician; however, it is a well documented side-effect of Xanax and all the other benzodiazepines that memory loss is often a side effect, especially if the dose is too high. Some induce this more than the others. In fact midazolam (Versed) is often used in preoperative asesthesia not just because it sedates, but because it is especially effective in inducing amnesia.

Further, Xanax is, in my opinion and I am sure most competent physicians would share it, the worst choice of tranquillizer for a Suboxone patient. It's half-life is shorter than, say, Valium or Klonopin, tolerance tends to develop more quickly to it than other benzos, and it tends to be the worst of the benzos to withdraw from.

Have a heart-to-heart with your boyfriend, do some research yourself on the different benzos available, and find out what his Xanax dose is. Many addicts are susceptible to poly-substance abuse, and perhaps he is simply abusing his Xanax and taking doses that exceed the prescription. But if he must be on an anxiolytic, use all your wiles (!) to convince his doctor to switch him to clonazepam or oxazepam; the latter drug is about the mildest-- and still effective-- benzodiazepine.

Hope this helps, and I beg your pardon for my seemingly endless reply. Let me know if I can help.

Best,
Rob Bladen

[chet5409]

Originally Posted by Frances Gail

I just started taking Suboxone for combination pain relief and to help get off of other pain meds. The biggest problem I'm having right now is it is very difficult to start urinating--not painful, I'm just not urinating nearly as much as I normally do. It isn't changed in color. I also am very constipated. Anybody else with similar problems.

HI i also take suboxone for pain I've been on it for about 7 months and the urinating for me went away btw i am a male so i don't know if you are male or female , but if you are a male i also had a problem with the stream it would come out like a shower but that too went away as for the constipation it gets better try a mild laxative but ask your Dr 1st.. hope this was helpful..

[chet5409]

Originally Posted by butterflylover

hi there. I am writing this because my boyfriend is on suboxone and has been doing really well....however he recently went to the dr. And got xanax, i am not sure what dose he is taking, but he says it cures his anxiety, but he is a totally different person when he is on it, he nods out, can't remember anything and he thinks he is perfectly fine. I am a recovering meth addict and have been sober for 3 years, but he tells me i am blowing this out of proportion i am wondering if it is ok for him to be combining these 2 together. Congrats to all of you on this forum!!!:d

please be carful with your recovery i've seen to many time people worrying about someone they love and lose themselve myself included .. Pray for him and tell his doctor about it.. But take care of you

[jonnyboy13]

Originally Posted by rob_bladen

Hi, butterflylover!


I have been free of illicit use of opiates for ten years, the first eight of those years on an excessive 300 mg q.d. dose of methadone. The last 2 years I've been on Suboxone 24 mg q.d. This is a far, far, far better solution; suboxone manages any danger of craving opiates, yet its ceiling effect means I can't take more and more of the drug to achieve a high, and for most people the high of suboxone lasts only a few days to a few months after induction. Methadone, like most powerful opiates in the DEA's Schedule of the most powerful narcotics (Schedule II, aka CII which means 'controlled' substance on the Schedule II list) has no ceiling effect associated with it just like all the other goodies on the schedule, e.g., morphine, oxycodone, hydromorphone, fentanyl, etc.

Best,
Rob Bladen

Although everyone may react differently to any medication, The quote noted here comes as a big surprise to me. After years of opiate abuse due to a chronic pain problem caused by nerve damage to my legs, I was fortunate to have a methadone clinic open in my state. Being one of the first clients, I have over 15 consecutive years of near perfect history on maintenance. It gave me my life back. My dosage, once it reached effectiveness, remains approx. 140mg. daily. After about five years I met another client that had access to a nearly unlimited free supply of 40mg. methadone diskets. For several months, I accepted his offers to abuse this med. It became obvious to me shortly that regardless how many of these I took in addition to my daily dose (up to perhaps 400-500mgs. extra), I did not get an increased affect. My associate and many others, over the years, have revealed to me that it was the same for them also. To wrap this up, I have personally never met anyone that felt methadone had a similar "no ceiling" effect as the other potent opiates. This is only the experiences I've had, not an attempt to pass judgement on my fellow writer. Sincerely, Jon

[till33]

if you are use too taking them and do not misuse them than there wil be no trouble..i also take suboxone and 2 mg of ativan a day..the only reasons this is told is because when people misuse the two you are in danger of falling asleep and stop breathing while you are asleep

[x hype]

SUBOXONE MAY NOT BE THE MIRACLE DRUG. i had problems with opiate addiction for 5 years. finally with the proper desire, i aimed to quit. i began taking suboxone and it did keep me from feeling most withdrawall symptoms. my first problem with suboxone was bad headaches which i used as an excuse to relapse several times. i got back on and my dose was decreased from 8mg to 4mg twice daily. headaches were less but still present along with sweating and loss of appetite. so i figured what the hell? just taper off it. Bad idea. i was on for a month and tapered off in a week. 3 days after my last dose, i was hit with a full blown panic attack and have had bad anxiety ever since. The doctor said i went off the meds too fast and that the panic attack was a form of withdrawal. When off of suboxone i had absolutely no other withdrawal symptoms!! No fatique, no diareha, no cramps, just bad anxiety!! i started back on the suboxone. its been a few days with no panic attacks but i still feel anxiety. [U]I AM NOW VERY SUSPICIOUS OF SUBOXONE. [U] Although it helped somewhat, i dont think it is for everyone. I now wonder if i can benefit from anxiety treatment without being on suboxone. I will seek out a second opinion from a psychiatrist. I WONDER IF ANYONE ELSE HAS HAD ANXIETY PROBLEMS WITH SUBOXONE??

[StacieJean88]

It is dangerous to mix xanax with any kind of opiate i suppose. cuz opiates speen ur heart up and xanax slows it down. and if you take too much of each ur heart won't know what to do and it will just stop. I just wouldnt take so much xanax. maybe like a half a bar with 16mg of subs just to be safe. Be careful though.

[Robert_325]

It's not "playing it safe" to take half a bar with 16mg of suboxone. That mixture can cause respiratory depression ...... in other words you can stop breathing. That is a fact! Been doing this a long time. 16mg of suboxone itself is a ridiculous dose of sub to be taking by itself. God bless.

[brokebackben]

Hi, I am new here and happy to find this site..

I'll be starting suboxone next Friday.. My Dr wants me completely off any benzos (valium) and 24 hrs oxy free before we start.. I was taking 3- 5mg valium a day for over 5 yrs and now down to taking tiny pieces of the pill that would amount to less than 1/3 of 5 mg. The problem is I'm having difficulty stopping completely. As long as I have a little crumb in the morning it's not so bad. Sorry if I sound weak but was wondering if this is a common thing? The Oxy weaning hasn't started yet..That starts on Monday.
Thanks,
ben

[PeterRabbit2]

Originally Posted by brokebackben

Hi, I am new here and happy to find this site..

I'll be starting suboxone next Friday.. My Dr wants me completely off any benzos (valium) and 24 hrs oxy free before we start.. I was taking 3- 5mg valium a day for over 5 yrs and now down to taking tiny pieces of the pill that would amount to less than 1/3 of 5 mg. The problem is I'm having difficulty stopping completely. As long as I have a little crumb in the morning it's not so bad. Sorry if I sound weak but was wondering if this is a common thing? The Oxy weaning hasn't started yet..That starts on Monday.
Thanks,
ben

Welcome, Ben.

No, it's not at all uncommon to get down to 1mg or 2mg of Valium and just can't stop it. Valium is potent, even at less than 2mg/day it is at a pharmacologically significant dose. Hang in there, you're not weak...Quite the opposite! Try reducing the crumbs into even smaller crumbs. You could try asking for the 2mg Valium tablets and split those until they are but crumbs.

[brokebackben]

Thanks Peter,
Ya, I'll get there, I still have a bigger fish to fry.. Weaning down on the oxycontin before next Friday. That will take my mind off the valium crumbs for sure.

Have a great weekend!
ben

[Aeneid]

Originally Posted by StacieJean88

It is dangerous to mix xanax with any kind of opiate i suppose. cuz opiates speen ur heart up and xanax slows it down. and if you take too much of each ur heart won't know what to do and it will just stop. I just wouldnt take so much xanax. maybe like a half a bar with 16mg of subs just to be safe. Be careful though.

I am so sick and tired of seeing people who are not in the medical profession read the little pamphlet that comes with thier pills and turn into experts overnight. I am on 16mgs of suboxone a day plus 2 mgs Xanax. I have been on the subs for over a year and started at the 32mgs per day. Prior to that I had a bundle a day habit for years (go ahead a spout off some junkie druggie rhetoric I have heard it all a million times and it doesn't phase me any) My doctor and my psychotherapist had me on the subs and Xanax from the start. It's actually a fairly common combintation. Suboxone has the least effect of the nervous system and respiratory system out of any opiate derivative there is. The recorded death from suboxone and benzo's were incidents of injected suboxone. Basically if you haven't gone to medical school. You don't know a single thing you are talking about. I don't either. i do, however have the next thing to a fleet of doctors, therapists, caseworkers and everything else who I have questioned relentlessly. Bottom line from every single one of them. Suboxone and Benzo combos are VERY commonly prescribed, and if if you take what your told to take when you are told to take it. You won't "OMG die in your sleep from respeeratory deepreshun!!!" Myself and ALOT of other peole certainly haven't.

[Aeneid]

Originally Posted by Robert_325

It's not "playing it safe" to take half a bar with 16mg of suboxone. That mixture can cause respiratory depression ...... in other words you can stop breathing. That is a fact! Been doing this a long time. 16mg of suboxone itself is a ridiculous dose of sub to be taking by itself. God bless.

16mg is not at all ridiculous, I have been on that for over a year. If it is a fact how come Suboxone and Benzos are VERY commonly prescribed together?? You must not have been doing it for very long because every person I met in rehab who was on subs were on at least 16mg a day. Most of them were on a script of benzos and subs. I sat in that rehab for 80 days and another for 60 and it was the same story and same dose and same combos over and over and over again.

[Robert_325]

Aeneid ........ Taking 32mg of suboxone is drug abuse whether your dr told you to do it or not. Most opiate addicts don't need over 4-6mg of suboxone. That is a fact. Most sub drs are the ones who took a little 8 hour class that is a joke. Most have no idea what they are doing. It's been proven over and again but I won't argue with you.

The people here speak from experience. It's your choice who you choose to go with, but don't come here with ONE post expecting to straighten everyone out on how things REALLY are. As you mentioned, you don't know anything.

Lots of sub drs' advice ultimately results in countless people ending up here living horror stories. Your heroin use in the past is irrelevant to this subject. Couldn't care less what YOUR "fleet of drs" have to say either.

Go ahead and tell people it's perfectly okay to do what you do and if something happens to them it's on you buddy, no one else. I give advice based on what is best for the masses not you specifically. Some people do take benzos with subs successfully but it isn't recommended by those with real knowledge on the subject. God bless.

[ccddkkcc]

I could not find last board on narcotics addiction, but saw Robert on here and knew he posted on other board.

I have been taking vicoden/hydrocodone for several years for back and leg pain. I recently went to new doctor who wants to remove rods from my back from scolosis surgery I had years ago.

This doc does not know about my taking of the narcotics for past several years. I am scheduled for surgery Friday and want to know if this is a bad problem? I will stop taking today Monday, but will I be ok by Friday for surgery?

Thanks

[traci333]

I agree with you robert, my doc took me right off the xanax and a friend of mine who's sub doc prescribed him with the xanax had a seizure july 4th and was hospitalized.. what an idiot , this kid goes to doc and weighs himself and takes his own blood pressure then hands the doc cash and gets a script..why would the doc care what he was writing when he is getting cash and no records of it ..un real

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by ccddkkcc

I could not find last board on narcotics addiction, but saw Robert on here and knew he posted on other board.

I have been taking vicoden/hydrocodone for several years for back and leg pain. I recently went to new doctor who wants to remove rods from my back from scolosis surgery I had years ago.

This doc does not know about my taking of the narcotics for past several years. I am scheduled for surgery Friday and want to know if this is a bad problem? I will stop taking today Monday, but will I be ok by Friday for surgery?

Thanks

I don't know what kind of dose you've been taking all this time. But my honest advice is to be honest with the dr. Their job is to help you not to morally judge you.

You could be endangering yourself if you were on a high dose of meds for years and then the meds the dr gives you in good faith doesn't work properly. When all else fails the truth is the best policy. God bless.

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by traci333

I agree with you robert, my doc took me right off the xanax and a friend of mine who's sub doc prescribed him with the xanax had a seizure july 4th and was hospitalized.. what an idiot , this kid goes to doc and weighs himself and takes his own blood pressure then hands the doc cash and gets a script..why would the doc care what he was writing when he is getting cash and no records of it ..un real

The same thing happens often. People abuse drugs for years and think,"It's okay for me so it must be okay for everyone." Bad choice.

Most really qualified sub drs won't even dispense subs to a patient who is on benzos. THAT IS A FACT.

Some people who've used benzos for twenty years can get away with a small dose, but I will never give advice that anyone could read knowing they could be that person who suffers respiratory depression or whatever. It's not cool to mess with people's lives. God bless.

[jimi_blings]

Originally Posted by Sue

I am taking 16mg of suboxone a day. I am also taking 2mg of xanax daily. Now, I hear that this combo is dangerous? Anyone know why? I have never had any adverse reactions so I am curious. Any info on this topic would be apprecaited!

<>< Peace Sue

Suboxone is pescribed for people who are already addicted to opiates. If an acctive opiate addict takes ssuboxone, it won't do anything but keep them from withdrawaling. So, yes, that would be safe assuming that you're doing this through medically, not to get high. If someone who's not currently on opiates where to mix suboxone with benzos, there would be a slight chance for OD. A very slight chance because the suboxone is formulated to keep your opioid receptors full making it hard to abbuse.

[Robert_325]

[QUOTE=jimi_blings;290655]Suboxone is pescribed for people who are already addicted to opiates. If an acctive opiate addict takes ssuboxone, it won't do anything but keep them from withdrawaling. So, yes, that would be safe assuming that you're doing this through medically, not to get high. If someone who's not currently on opiates where to mix suboxone with benzos, there would be a slight chance for OD. A very slight chance because the suboxone is formulated to keep your opioid receptors full making it hard to abbuse.[/QUOT




This is what comes from the drugs.com "drug interaction checker". To sum it up it can cause CNS or respiratory depression causing one to stop breathing. Here is the drugs.com into.;....

Interactions between your selected drugs
alprazolam ↔ buprenorphine
Applies to: Xanax (alprazolam), Suboxone (buprenorphine/naloxone)

MONITOR: Central nervous system- and/or respiratory-depressant effects may be additively or synergistically increased in patients taking multiple drugs that cause these effects, especially in elderly or debilitated patients.

MANAGEMENT: During concomitant use of these drugs, patients should be monitored for potentially excessive or prolonged CNS and respiratory depression. Ambulatory patients should be counseled to avoid hazardous activities requiring mental alertness and motor coordination until they know how these agents affect them, and to notify their physician if they experience excessive or prolonged CNS effects that interfere with their normal activities.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

It doesn't say you will automatically die, it says the odds for problems with CNS and breathing depression are increased. Take it for what it's worth. God bless.


Read more: http://www.drugs.com/interactions-ch...#ixzz0xH8eAUvg

[methadonfriendly826]

robert 325 you are not a doctor ok. when i was on suboxone i needed atleast 16mg to keep from having withdrawals. everybody is different just because all you needed was 4 mg to feel better doesnt mean the next person needs just 4 mg. im getting pretty sick and tired of people thinking they are doctors or that the know more than the doctors because trust me robert you dont. So please stop giving me advice because your full of b/s

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by methadonfriendly826

robert 325 you are not a doctor ok. when i was on suboxone i needed atleast 16mg to keep from having withdrawals. everybody is different just because all you needed was 4 mg to feel better doesnt mean the next person needs just 4 mg. im getting pretty sick and tired of people thinking they are doctors or that the know more than the doctors because trust me robert you dont. So please stop giving me advice because your full of b/s

No one was speaking to you goofball! Buzz off! You're ignorant. I haven't spoken to you in months.

[PSsalgal]

All I can say is YES from personal experience which is why I do not want to use the suboxone and quit xanex. Hope this helps, PSsalgal

[redhead01]

Originally Posted by todd1

I'm on methadone now and want to get off. Im on about 40mg a day but i hate going to the clinic even though i have six take homes. I would like to try suboxone and you sound like you have had good experience with it. Is there a certain amoung of mg i have to be on before switching over? And how much suboxone is a good amount to start with. I am six feet and very muscular at 230 lbs. Will that affect me? I live a very productive life and run a company, so i can't be feeling ****py or incapacitated at all. Any help would be appreciated.

T

The Dosage needs to be determined by a qualified ,Dr. based on your using dose and how long you've been using. Search on line thru "addictionsurvivours.org" they have a search engine - just enter your zip, that was the one I found the "better" Doctors, they seem to really care or "suboxone treatment". Good Luck.
Red

[redhead01]

Originally Posted by redhead01

The Dosage needs to be determined by a qualified Dr. based on your using dose and how long you've been using. Search on line thru "addictionsurvivours.org" they have a search engine - just enter your zip, that was the one I found the "better" Doctors, they seem to really care or "suboxone treatment". Good Luck.
Red

Edited this. In the 1st sentence

[Psilocybe]

It can definately be dangerous to mix, but don't let doctors scare you too much. Consider how often they get sued. HOWEVER, if you're going to mix start with small amounts of each and SLOWLY work your way up. Give yourself a chance to notice any bad effects it may be having on you.

If you have tolerance to the drugs you're taking you don't have to worry nearly as much. I never was one to mix a lot but a buddy of mine did all the time. He eventually overdosed (though he survived), but consider what was in his system. He was drinking heavily all night, did at least a half ounce of coke, had a fair amount of benzos, and of course was smoking bud all night, not that that one really counts. Also, though it never showed up in the drug tests and he doesn't remember taking any, I know he had just picked up a bunch of 80 oxys, and I can pretty much guarantee he took some.

Make sure you never do something like that no matter what kind of tolerance you have.