[MaggieW]

I am on Suboxone for 4 days now. I'd been taking Vicoprofen for 5 mos., 1.5-3 pills per day. I'm on 1 Sub per day, 1/2 every 12 hours or 1/4 pill every 6 hours. They also gave me Flexerill 10mg 3 times per day, but I do not take it as it gives me a very rapid heartbeat. I have a prescription for Xanax 1/2 mg twice per day. I've been told by my doctor to STAY ON my Xanax, but I see here that people are saying that Xanax is deadly when combined with Suboxone! Why would he say to stay on it?

I'm also having side effects. These effects are shakes if I do not take my Suboxone on time, and also I woke up today feeling like I had a hangover and I had a nosebleed and a terrible headache. My face, hands and feet and lips were swollen, too. I drank a ton of water and took Advil for the headache. Today at the store, I had vision disturbances: It was like someone had put a pair of dark sunglasses on me, everything got very dim! I also itch (itching has subsided a little over the past few days) I had alot of muscle weakness and wasn't very lucid for the first three days. I almost passed out while driving! A touch of nausea. Today I did not take the Flexerill muscle relaxer because I thought it had something to do with my first 3 days of feeling lethargic, severe dizziness, anxiety, pure exhaustion, severe itching and blurred vision. I couldn't even carry on a decent conversation for the first 3 days without getting confused. I'd walk to the bathroom and get lost on the way! Today is much better but I have some numbness and tingling in my arms and legs and still some swelling.

Has anyone else has these experiences? I'm really worried. I really want to stay on the Sub but these side effects are terrible and you can look at my bloodshot eyes and see that I'm on something; I'm only taking the Xanax and Sub but I FEEL like I'm literally high and it feels very scary.

Also, coffee: Does anyone else get the jitters when drinking doffee on Sub?

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by MaggieW

I am on Suboxone for 4 days now. I'd been taking Vicoprofen for 5 mos., 1.5-3 pills per day. I'm on 1 Sub per day, 1/2 every 12 hours or 1/4 pill every 6 hours. They also gave me Flexerill 10mg 3 times per day, but I do not take it as it gives me a very rapid heartbeat. I have a prescription for Xanax 1/2 mg twice per day. I've been told by my doctor to STAY ON my Xanax, but I see here that people are saying that Xanax is deadly when combined with Suboxone! Why would he say to stay on it?

I'm also having side effects. These effects are shakes if I do not take my Suboxone on time, and also I woke up today feeling like I had a hangover and I had a nosebleed and a terrible headache. My face, hands and feet and lips were swollen, too. I drank a ton of water and took Advil for the headache. Today at the store, I had vision disturbances: It was like someone had put a pair of dark sunglasses on me, everything got very dim! I also itch (itching has subsided a little over the past few days) I had alot of muscle weakness and wasn't very lucid for the first three days. I almost passed out while driving! A touch of nausea. Today I did not take the Flexerill muscle relaxer because I thought it had something to do with my first 3 days of feeling lethargic, severe dizziness, anxiety, pure exhaustion, severe itching and blurred vision. I couldn't even carry on a decent conversation for the first 3 days without getting confused. I'd walk to the bathroom and get lost on the way! Today is much better but I have some numbness and tingling in my arms and legs and still some swelling.

Has anyone else has these experiences? I'm really worried. I really want to stay on the Sub but these side effects are terrible and you can look at my bloodshot eyes and see that I'm on something; I'm only taking the Xanax and Sub but I FEEL like I'm literally high and it feels very scary.

Also, coffee: Does anyone else get the jitters when drinking doffee on Sub?

Maggie .... first of all try to relax a little. You just asked a bunch of questions all crammed into one. Let's look at what we need to first and then move forward. Okay? But you will get answers here if you just go along with us through the process. Take a deep breath. You can ask some of the other girls if they have received the answers they need. Their are several people here who can give good advice.

Next your all over the place with the dose your your taking of suboxone the way I understand or don't understand your post. That needs to be taken the same time and same amount daily. And how much RX opiates are you taking each day? I see vicoprofen and flexerill but what doses and frequency on all your meds would really help if you wouldn't mind sharing that. It would be easiest to try and figure out some of the problems knowing all the doses.Give me some simple answers and I can answer more. God bless.

[MaggieW]

Originally Posted by Robert_325

Maggie .... first of all try to relax a little. You just asked a bunch of questions all crammed into one. Let's look at what we need to first and then move forward. Okay? But you will get answers here if you just go along with us through the process. Take a deep breath. You can ask some of the other girls if they have received the answers they need. Their are several people here who can give good advice.

Next your all over the place with the dose your your taking of suboxone the way I understand or don't understand your post. That needs to be taken the same time and same amount daily. And how much RX opiates are you taking each day? I see vicoprofen and flexerill but what doses and frequency on all your meds would really help if you wouldn't mind sharing that. It would be easiest to try and figure out some of the problems knowing all the doses.Give me some simple answers and I can answer more. God bless.

Thank you so very much for answering my posting! I really appreciate it. I apologize for being all over the place, I am very nervous and I guess it comes across in the way I posted. Thanks for taking your time out for me!

Here are my medications and my amounts, etc.:

I started taking Vicoprofen 7.5, 5 months ago, prescribed by my doctor. I was prescribed 5 pills per day but only needed between 1 1/2 to 3 pills per day so this is what I took. Around the same time, I was also prescribed Xanax, 1/2 mg, twice a day. I took these medications for the past 5 months. But I was fearing addiction so I asked to be switched to a non-narcotic a few days ago and this is when I was placed on the Suboxone and the Flexeril. I no longer take the Vicoprofen 7.5 at all.

I was told to stay on my Xanax, 1/2 mg pills. I presently take one in the morning and one before bedtime.

I was prescribed the Suboxone 8/2 (?) pills. I am to take one pill per day, of which I was originally told to take 1/2 the pill in the morning and the other half, 12 hours later. However, my doctor said that I can cut the daily pill in quarters and take one quarter of the pill every 6 hours which is what I am doing, now.

At the same time I was prescribed the Suboxone, I was also prescribed a muscle relaxer called Flexeril, 10mg. The directions are to take 1 pill 3 times daily, however they are very strong and I stopped taking them as my doctor said this would be okay to do. They seem to increase the dizziness and a few hours subsequent to taking the Flexeril my heart rate jumps up quite a bit. So I do not presently take the Flexeril, my last Flexeril pill was just about 24 hours ago.

So presently, I am taking 1/4 a Suboxone pill every 6 hours and I am taking 1/2 mg Xanax pills, one in the morning and one before bedtime.

Thanks again for responding to my post! Please let me know what you think about my side effects I mentioned in my previous one. Maggie

[LisaMarie1975]

First of all I would like to state that I am in no way a doctor but I do have quite a bit of experience with different medications and conditions so I may be able to offer some insight.

First, lets deal with the Xanax, it is an extremely strong drug used for anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders, the Xanax alone has many of the side effects that you are complaining about. I have only ever taken 1 dose of xanax when I was having bad panic attacks about 10 years ago, which was 1/4 of a .25 mg pill, and I pretty much slept the majority of 2 days.

The Suboxone, I can claim much more experience and knowledge with. I was an opiate drug addict for about 9 years, I took percocet and morphine everyday, in October of 2007, I started on Suboxone and it has given me my life back, so to me it's a wonderful drug. I too was given flexerel when I first started the subone to help with the muscle aches of withdrawl but I found too that it caused severe side effects so I stopped taking it after only a day.

It is important that you do not stop taking the Xanax all at once, because you have been taking it for 5 months, but I would talk to your doctor about stopping it and then gradually taper down until you can stop. I have known of 3 people who died because they mixed Xanax with Opiates so you need to start doing something about getting off them right away. I assume you need pain relief and I was told by my doctor that suboxone is a very good pain mediacation because it is not easily addictive like the other pain medicines out there so it is easier to stop when you no longer need it.

I hope this was helpful, if you want to ask me anything, my email address is
landerson112758@yahoo.com

[MaisieC]

Hi Maggie,

Sorry to pry, but it would help me to understand your situation better if you could let us know why you were put on these meds in the first place. I assume they put you on the Vicoprofin for pain, right? You started Xanax at the same time. Why? Was it prescribed by the same dr. who gave you the Vicoprofin? Or perhaps a different doctor? If it was two different doctors, did each one of them know what the other had given you?

So now for the present. You're taking the suboxone in order to get off the Vicoprofin without suffering withdrawal, correct? Is the plan to taper off the sub, or does your doctor plan to keep you on the sub long-term? I assume the dr. prescribed the Flexeril as a partial substitute for the Vicoprofin. But you're not taking the Flexeril, and you're doing OK in that regard?

It's a little bit hard for me to put all of this together. I don't think that combining Xanax with Vicoprofin OR suboxone seems like a great idea. But I understand your doctor doesn't want to yank you off the Xanax, because those withdrawals can be really hideous. So he's maybe tweaking things one at a time?

The shakes you get right before you take the suboxone could very well be withdrawal symptoms. That seems pretty straightforward to me. If you started feeling better when you stopped the Flexeril, then I think you can blame that Flexeril for some of your symptoms.

What you're left with is a possible bad reaction to the suboxone OR a bad interaction between the suboxone and the Xanax. There are people on this board who know a lot about suboxone and can tell you if those side effects are typical.

The big question mark I have about this is why Xanax? Xanax is short-acting and not great for long-term anxiety control. Depending on what you need it for, you might be better off switching to another benzo--maybe klonopin--that will have a longer-lasting effect throughout the day. Xanax works fast, but it also wears off fast, leaving you anxious again. Something like Lorazepam, for instance, would be better at keeping you at an even keel over the course of the day.

When I went through my suboxone therapy, my doctor gave me lorazepam to help with the anxiety related to withdrawal. He gave me a very small dose and told me to take it only at night. And I found I didn't really need it.

Some of the suboxone experts on the board will be able to help you once we understand exactly what's going on. Hang in there!