[htown190]

I've been taking 8mg/day of Suboxone for a month now. This morning I fractured my ankle and was given lortab for pain. I know if I take the lortab now it wouldnt help with the pain. About how long does it take for Suboxone to leave the body so I can take the lortab for pain relief. Thanks.

[Cats Meow]

I don't know, but why risk a relapse? Maybe it'd be smarter to take the pain instead? Just a suggestion.


Curiosity skilled the cat

[blast]

I agree, why bother taking the Lortab, you are taking a medication that is to help you threw your withdrawal of whatever you were addicted to, why not just throw that perscription away? I had a severe sprained ankle when I was 6 months pregnant. I fell down a flight of stairs, and talk about pain, but I didn't take a thing, not even tylenol. It only hurt really bad for about three or four days. Then it was something to tolerate.
I think you could do this, I pray you make the right choice. Good luck to you!

[Jalperi1]

quote:Originally posted by htown190

I've been taking 8mg/day of Suboxone for a month now. This morning I fractured my ankle and was given lortab for pain. I know if I take the lortab now it wouldnt help with the pain. About how long does it take for Suboxone to leave the body so I can take the lortab for pain relief. Thanks.

Suboxone stays in your system for 8 hrs. You should know that Suboxone is also given for pain. I would talk to your Dr. about taking a little more for the Suboxone, instead of the Lortab.

Jason A

[pjdz]

I too am on Suboxone and my Dr told me that if I would need medical attention where they would have to use an opiate. of course it would not work. so in my case if i get injuryed I have to call him and find out what to do. they are ways arround it he told me. and some one else told me it 24 hours with no sub however the sub stays in your system for 36 hours? ( i think) of course then you set your treatment back. I was lucky to have found a dr that knows how to work with the use of an opiate even while on the suboxone, but only in the event that i really really need to have the opiate. I dont think you should suffer [xx(] so call your dr that is treating you with the SUB and ask him/or her.

Pamela Dziedzic

[Rawoody]

Suboxone (Buprenorphine) has a half-life on average of 37 hours. So it'll be completely out of your system in about, oh, 24 days.

30 days @ 8 mg day = 32 mg total in system.

32 mg/37 hrs=576hrs for .000122 mg in system
576 hours /24 hrs = 24 days.

I might not always be right, but I'm never wrong.

[OutbackJack]

I hated Sub..I love methadone its my wonderdrug

[matthewb]

There have been studies that have shown that chemicals, drugs and such loge themselves in your fat tissues which means they stay in your body for way longer then any one can thing.

I am currently on a natural path system that is weaning mercury out of my body at minute amounts at a time. talk about feeling alive each day I just feel like a load has come off.

Matthew Baldwin
http://www.cchr.com/
Citizens Commission on Human Rights

[val8erie]

Hello. I am currently on Suboxone and have been for about 2 months. I had used it before (in between binges) so I was able to experiment with it a bit. If I stopped taking the Suboxone a day or two before using codons again, I was still able to get high. Not as high on the first day, but the next days after that it's like never have been on Suboxone to begin with. I had my 'last ha-rah' on Memorial Day weekend. Knowing I'd be starting Suboxone come that Tuesday, I swallowed more 10mg Percocet and Vicodins than I ever had over a 3-day period

Now I want to take some codons and even have an RX for 7.5 Percs. (I rolled my ankle last Tuesday (7/10) and was given 7.5 Vicodins to start off with--I gave them to my boyfriend, as I've been on Suboxone for 2 months straight...I think the longer you are on them, the longer they stay in your system = I would not have been able to catch any sort of buzz on them, especially on Vics). Does anyone know if my little theory true?

[Dave87666]

Suboxone has a long half life and stays in your system a while..You will NOT catch any "buzz" from the pills(as if they are even strong enough to give one anyway) about all you may get is sick because of the opiate BLOCKER in suboxone...If you take opiates while on suboxone you get pushed into precipitaed withdraws...Let me just tell you that I've been through it,and it sucks...So IMO its not even worth it,or the chance of relapse..

[ccmc]

Originally Posted by Dave87666

Suboxone has a long half life and stays in your system a while..You will NOT catch any "buzz" from the pills(as if they are even strong enough to give one anyway) about all you may get is sick because of the opiate BLOCKER in suboxone...If you take opiates while on suboxone you get pushed into precipitaed withdraws...Let me just tell you that I've been through it,and it sucks...So IMO its not even worth it,or the chance of relapse..

My friend has been on suboxone for a long time but is down to 4mg every morning. How long does that take to get out of your system if you need pain medication?

[spatt0120]

if you are taking suboxone and take an opiate, the opiate cannot attach itself to your opiate receptors. It does NOT cause you to go into withdrawl. THe only time you would go into withdrawl is if you are taking opiates (not on suboxone) and then you don't wait until you are sick to take suboxone. if you are on opiates and take suboxone, the suboxone will push the opiates out of your receptors and cause you to go into withdrawl. So taking opiates while you are on suboxone does NOT cause you to go into withdrawl because the opiate receptors are blocked and the opiate does nothing to you. everyone stop preaching, the person was just asking a simple question.

[SkillzMilwaukee15]

id just sell the loris man and just start banking and chill im on subs too they are nice enough for me

[jag111vip]

I know you posted back in sept. but I just wanted to let everyone know, just incase any one else is in my shoes.
My last dose of sub was on a sunday night, an 8mg broken down into tiny pieces. Probably 6 pieces. (a very small dose i was taking twice a day). Come the following friday morning 5 day later, i had a test and it was still there, when i thought it wouldn't be.
I don't know why, someone had told me that it would be 5 days. Now that i think about it, maybe it could have to do with how much fluid i did not drink during the days leading up to the test, or maybe I should have given it 6 days... If I ever chance it again, i'll post. hope this helps somebody.

[Saxobone]

While we are on the topic. Let me describe my situation. I have been a heroine addict for months, and got high for the last time 6 days ago on thursday. I had some 8 mg subs for emergencies.
Saturday i took one. Sunday I took 3 quarters. And monday I took less than a quarter of one in the morning. It is now tuesday, I am done with subs, and i am curious when the withdrawals are really going to kick in.

[Oc=devil420]

Originally Posted by Rawoody

Suboxone (Buprenorphine) has a half-life on average of 37 hours. So it'll be completely out of your system in about, oh, 24 days.

30 days @ 8 mg day = 32 mg total in system.

32 mg/37 hrs=576hrs for .000122 mg in system
576 hours /24 hrs = 24 days.

I might not always be right, but I'm never wrong.

...............................
hahaha thats bs man 24hr ur good to take pain meds in 24-48 hrs after no subs....i have come down from 3 8mg a day for the past 8 months and i had a slip up and in 24 hr i could feeel tabs...and oc, the half life may be long


got sick afet abt 4 months and got codine coff sizzzurp i drank sum abt 12 hrs after last sub and didnt feel it but then the next day abt 48 hrs the sizzzzzurp was kick in in ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it.......................... .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ...........................now its been 8 months and im down to one a day i waited like almost 24 hrs and did an oc and i felt it....but kinda weird....at first...................dont recomend it but dont suffer if ur hurthing and need pills jus cuz the subs

[Surfjeg]

There are other very effective, non addictive, non-opiate pain medications that will help with your ankle and you will not risk a relpse. Do not take the Lortab. Talk to your Dr. about other pain medications.

[eddiee7]

To all,

I want to stop taking suboxone now. I'm currently taking maybe 1 to 1.5 8-mg tablets a day for about 6 or 7 months. sometimes I go all day with just a half and then at night a quarter. Sometimes just one a day. I do not feel any different either way. My doctor says it's mostly in my head at this point and it would be fine if I wanted to just stop. At most I would feel a little crummy but nowhere near what people could go through when quitting vicodine or oxycontin. I am extremely active in the gym and I run 3-4 miles almost everyday. I just want to be done with the pills. I have not touched a pain killer for almost a year now and have no desire to do so. I was abusing vicodine by taking up to 10 to 12 5/500 a day for about 6 months. And sometimes, about 4-5 lortab a day. Not both at the same time. In the past I have never really had any major withdraws from opiates. My doctor says that may be due to the fact that I am in very good shape and working out and running helps me to handle getting the pills out of my system as opposed to an inactive person. He says that most of what I would have to deal with would be psychological and not physical. I just got a new job and I don't start until the 6th of March. By the way I noticed that it does not show up when getting drug tested as I had to drug test for my job and it did not come up. I thought all opiates would. At any rate, I want to be clean when I start this job. Could someone please tell me what I may experience. when coming off these wonder pills? Thank you all so much and best of luck for all those people out there who are in the same boat. This is my first time reaching out on line. I have no one to talk to about this so I could really use a friend to help me through this difficult time of my life.

[davie0723]

I have a quick question, I took an 8mg suboxone about 40 hours ago, it was the first one i have taken. At 48 hours will i be able to take an opiate dose? the opiate is weak (hydrocodone) but will i still feel the full effects seeing how ive only been on 1 pill. thanks

[syancey40]

Can you buy suboxone online?

[MiRPh]

I would like to address the main topic of this thread again since i've found no answer that is quite correct. First off, i am an RPh, and i do take Suboxone (~2mg/day for approximately 4 years). The kinetics of buprenorphine are extremely complex, and unfortunately are also very poorly studied at high doses since the typical dose was around .3mg when buprenorphine was first approved. The unfortunate truth is if you've been taking buprenorphine on the order of months to years it is unknown how long it stays in your body. The plasma half-life is ~37 hours on average after a single dose, but it is highly variable; this can increase to more than double in a regular user. Buprenorphine is highly fat-soluble so it is also absorbed into the fat and nervous system and also attaches itself to plasma proteins in the blood. Buprenorphine also has several active metabolites which have very sparse information available, and it is unknown how much they contribute to the overall effect and duration. Lastly, buprenorphine binds to neurons in the brain on the order of hours (which is a very long time in terms of neural binding), this also increases the length of time that it stays active. The main problem with all this is not minor injury requiring opioids, it's surgical anesthesia which very frequently involves an opioid component. It is absolutely essential that everybody that takes this medicine REGULARLY have some type of identification or bracelet that states you are taking it to avoid a paralyzed, awake, and very painful surgery if you were to wind up in the ER for some reason.

Speculation time; lets get to the heart of this thing. This drug builds up in your body BIG TIME. If you have a planned surgical procedure in the future always let the physician know you are taking Suboxone. Usually we assume a drug clears the body completely in 7 half-lives, but that doesn't apply to buprenorphine since it's a 3-compartment (or possibly more) system. It would take AT A MINIMUM 17 days for the drug to completely clear your system (this is a calculation i did for a class; i can't find the math to back it up, so you'll have to trust me on this (this also assumes 11% body fat, taking 4mg SL once daily for 6 months). Like i said this was for a class, so it's completely theoretical. In a practical sense, i had to discontinue Suboxone for 13 days, about a year ago. I had bloodwork done at this point, and i still had slightly over one-quarter of the steady-state concentration in my body (i have more than 11% body fat BTW). The steady state concentration can vary wildly, mine was approximately 6 times the single dose concentration, but it can be anywhere from 2 to 12 times depending on various metabolic factors and the duration of use. Buprenorphine has a ceiling effect at approximately 12mg single dose, meaning any larger of a dose will have no increased effect. This also means that taking an extra dose or two will not relieve pain very well in someone using Suboxone chronically. Last but not least, new research makes it appear as though buprenorphine causes Mu-opioid receptors to recede into the neural-membrane thus causing less activity from opioid analgesics (but they still suppress breathing), it is not known how long this effect may last. As a side note, the naloxone in the tablet is not absorbed into the body; it's only added to the tablet to deter injection. Be careful folks, trying to defeat Suboxone to get high is how smart people die. Best wishes and good luck.

For more reading refer to:

Onset, magnitude and duration of opioid blockade produced by buprenorphine and naltrexone in humans. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1999 Jul;145(2):162-74.
(but this mostly only addresses steady state after 1 week)

Relative bioavailability of different buprenorphine formulations under chronic dosing conditions. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2004 Apr 9;74(1):37-43.
(this is a very technical article, but does have some steady-state information)

Note: both of these studies were on very small populations, so it may not be very reliable, but it's the best information i can give.

[Jackal110]

I used to be addicted to heroin, oxycontin, and any other pain medication classified as opiate. After 2 years of addiction I enrolled myself in Suboxone treatment. I started taking 16mg per day. After 11 months of treatment my dose is now 2mg per day.

This month something went wrong with my prescription and I ran out of meds 2 days before my next refill (possibly the pharmacy's fault). I need to learn to count my pills each month when they are filled.

Regardless, I would like to share the withdraw symptoms I am experiencing. Stomach ache, cold and hot sweats, pins and needles, back ache. All of that with an additional laziness and slight depression.

I believe that my dose should be lowered to 1mg per day before I quit my meds. Mentally I am ready to quit my dependency on pills. However, physically, I can not handle these withdrawal symptoms. I have a very active life, and the way I feel when I'm not taking Suboxone just keeps me on my ass.

[chalumni]

Long half-life, approximately 36 hours.

[MiRPh]

I would agree Jackal. I noticed similar withdrawal effects, although they're nothing compared with the withdrawal from a short-acting opiate, they're really obnoxious. I find the diarrhea quite annoying, and what's more annoying is that loperimide does nothing to help (since it works through the Mu opioid receptors in the gut.) You can either move to 1mg per day or 2mg every-other-day, whichever you feel more comfortable with. I think most people who have been taking this medicine for a long period of time would agree that the last part of the taper is the most difficult. Just keep making the amount you're taking smaller and smaller, but not faster than you can tolerate. Eventually you'll get down to nothing, and at a minimum of discomfort (any time you get annoyed by the withdrawal, remember what it was like stopping any other opiate, kinda keeps things in perspective. Best wishes with your struggle; you'll get there.

[double F]

First let me say that I am not involved in the medical community in any way.

I just wanted to add some of my experiences in this discussion, because as someone who has been flip-flopping between Subs and OC's since January 08, I might be of some use.

The first time I stopped subs was when I got a script to percocets from my doctor and I wanted to get back on the painkiller-saddle for a few days. I had been on subs for almost 2 months at that point, and the Percs didn't have any effect until about 4 days after stopping subs. Even then something felt "missing", like I wasn't getting the full effect.

Then I stopped subs for a couple weeks and started trying OC's again. This is where things got interesting, because I basically started doing mini-OC benders, followed by short suboxone runs when I needed to take a break.

Every time I went on a little suboxone run, I would take a 1/4 to 1/2 a day for about 3 days. When I decided to do OC's again, I almost always felt them 100% if I waited 24-36 hours. That seems to be the magic number for short-term suboxone use.

For longer suboxone runs, it's very hard to predict when you're clear for an OC blast. The only thing I know to be true is, the longer you're on subs, the longer you should wait to do opiates. And yes, it can take as long as a week (or more) if your sub usage has gone into months.

I realize my style of sub-use is kind of pointless if I'm just using it a few days here and there to fight opiate withdrawl. But hey, that's addiction. I'd love to stay on subs long term but there's so many factors that make it difficult:
- it constipates me (worse than opiates do)
- they make me exhausted
- when OC's come around, it's very difficult to turn them down. It's like I subconsciously keep my Sub dosages very low, knowing that I can return to OC without having to wait too long. It's a ridiculous cycle.

[ryenamanda]

suboxones have a half life of around 48 hours