Hi Everyone. I am sorry I haven't been on lately. I'm having such a hard time and now I'm noticing that the generic Subutex' s all act differently. I was on the little round white pill and that made me feel like I was going through withdrawal and I was sweating unbelievably. Now I have a different generic Subutex which looks like the real Subutex (oval and long) and I feel almost drugged out on 2 mg I can not think and I feel paranoid. Why did they have to change this when I'm already having problems tapering? I just took Lexapro which I was prescribed and thought maybe that was causing the side effects but now I don't think it was the Lexapro so I'm going to see if that makes me feel better. I feel like taking something for anxiety but sometimes if I do during the day I get nauseous. What a nightmare this is! :)
Has anyone noticed a difference between generic Subutex and regular Subutex?
Question posted by Larsy1966 on 9 Aug 2011
Last updated on 29 November 2012
5 Answers
there both the same i have been taking it for 4 years and tried both its just the price,.
As for me, I've found a huge difference in quality, or effective dose, between some generics and the name brand. I can't comment on this medication, but a pharmacist told me the difference in the amount of the "active ingredient" can be as much as 20%. That's a LOT of difference in my book. I'm glad you didn't notice a difference - you are very fortunate. Regards, EJ
The real "question" is; why in the hell did a doctor put you on an opioid agonist for being depressed?! From what i gather you are a opiate naive patient. This drug is used for either opiate dependence Or pain management! Not to make you "happy"... Im in no way trying to be rude. I really would like to know why or how this came about! Thanks..:)
Hi Prissy713 - I don't know if you realize this, but this question originated in Oct 2011. I doubt that you will get any clarification on your questions - but, you never know. Regards - ElizaJane
Hi Prissy, I thought that I responded to this question but it's not showing that I did. Yes, I was very naive. My psychiatrist still believes that people can have opiate receptor's that are not working properly or at all. I don't know. All I know is that if I knew what I know now I would have never touched this stuff. He told me that he had just the right medication (after years of trying almost every antidepressant). He also told me that I could stay on it for life and go off of it anytime without any problems. I remember going to my pharmacy and getting my first prescription and putting the pill under my tongue and how all of a sudden I felt better. I didn't have anxiety and I wasn't worrying about everything. After being on it for almost 8 months I did notice that I couldn't feel things like I did before.
I missed the feeling I got when I used to listen to music and if I drank a beer it just made me sick so I slowly tapered down and off without any problems and everything came back to me. I felt like my old self. I still didn't know or ever hear of anyone being addicted to this medication and I trusted my doctor. My Dad (who was my very best friend) got sick a little while after I stopped the medication. I had to help my mother take care of my Dad who had a very rare skin disease (merkel cell) and he also had multiple sclerosis so it was hard for him to get around without help especially as he got sicker and I just couldn't bare seeing such a proud man who barely ever complained go through what he did. I had to stay up sometimes at night just so I could turn him over because of a very painful procedure he had on his head which hurt so bad that he needed to turn every hour or so. I do not blame my dear Father for me going back on the meds. He did not like me to take meds but since I got off of them so easily before I just figured it helped kind of numb me so I could deal with everything without losing my mind. He was sick for 6 months before he passed away and it was the most horrific thing I have ever gone through. I stayed on the subs. I remember the day of his funeral and how after we watched him being put in the ground my 99 year old dear grandmother (his mother) started screaming "Richard" and then I lost it. I had high heels on that were stuck in the dirt and I fell to the ground screaming "Daddy, Daddy" over and over again. I think that's when I lost my mind. My husband picked me up and I was like a noodle and all my family and Dad's friends were all watching me. I was so sick that I didn't even care but I wanted everyone to go away. We got in the car and I told my husband I needed to stop home for 1 minute before going to the luncheon and I think that is when he knew. I needed my medication. I took it and was able to compose myself at the luncheon that my Dad planned. It was almost like a wedding reception. He made me promise to play all his favorite songs that I downloaded for him and he wanted everyone to eat well (the food was all Italian and out of this world) and to celebrate his life together. It was 2 years ago this past March and here I am stuck on this medication living like a hermit. I am down to 1 and 3/4 of a 2 mg. pill. I am trying so hard but this is so hard to get off of now. Laura
Oh Laura - you poor dear! I am so sorry about your dad. My heart goes out to you. I hope you can get back off the subs - amazing that a psychiatrist would prescribe them like that. Sounds like they did what you needed them to at the time though. I haven't met you (Hi!) but my heart really goes out to you. Please take care of yourself -- ElizaJane
if you think this is odd. do some reasearch... think about extremes. how about electric shock therapy.. giving sumone buprenorphine is quite a bit safer especialy when alot of antidepressants can send people into mania n hurt or kill themselves or others.
have you ever seen someone in misery cause there brain isnt spitting or uptaking the chemicals it needs to. things arent always cut and dry. theres a very large percent of depressed anxious people that get very little from "conventional" routes. and when your dealing with depression and anxiety to the point you have no life or thoughts of suicide... this drug was mad to save lives. whys it only gotta save junkies.
and honestly arent we all junkies some people have genetics that make natural dope.
its not perfect but nothing is. i say kudos to doc. but shame on him for not making it clear the iminent danger of a adiction
I Do! I have been on subutex for a few years-or so, I also took the generics a couple months until my insurance agreed to pay for the subutex name brand. The generics, are huge, they took so long to disolve, my mouth was full of liquid and I had to swallow. I did not feel any better, as someone stated before I felt worse. I went to get my rx and was told the name brand was no longer available. The generics from the makers and the pharmacists informed me yes the generics have 70% more fillers and binders, and that it is very true, they do not work as well, this maker is Roxane, so I am trying to get the Mildothian, who make smaller, more effective generics, so I have heard. I am just upset because I have been weening down and I don't want to go backwards and need more because these generics plain suck! The original makers of the Subutex should resell them with all of our concerns, and take in to consideration who takes them and more importantly is paying for them.
So yes long of the short is the generics are not as good, I could not break them down under my tongue, and it took forever before I literally had to swallow. Hope this helps, I am doing some additional research to try to help us and others to find the closets thing that keeps us comfortable without feeling worse, and no it is not in my head, it is almost like the generics are placebos!
cat
Cat, I am so sorry I didn't see this until now. I am also weening down so I know exactly how you feel/felt. I wonder if you were ever able to find a generic that worked for you. I am currently taking the Teva brand and it melts easily and works just as well as the subutex. I also tried the hi-tek which worked pretty good but took forever for the pill to melt just like the Roxanne did but the Roxanne barely worked for me and at the time I was taking it I was taking care of my mom's house and 4 animals that all need/needed medication daily and special food. I thought I was going to lose my mind. I wish now that I would have taken some of the old suboxone I had but I just thought I was having a hard time. If you do read this, I'd love to know how you are doing and if you got off of the subutex or are still weening. Sincerely, Laura
Thank you so much for your help! I'm kind of getting used to this generic brand but it feels much more powerful than anything I have taken since I tried to go off of subutex (nb) last October. I have not had the nb subutex since then. They took them all away from me and all I could find was some old suboxone which helped a little but I was still sick. Either those were too old or I can not tolerate the naloxone. I am going to ask my dr. to write a prescription for the nb subutex. I hope he will do it and not tell me this is all in my head. He thinks that being on 3-4 mgs a day is so easy to get off of and can't understand why I'm having so much trouble. One thing that I read is that vicodin or any pain killer may not work for me for 6 months to a year because of taking this medication. Do you think that is true? I read somewhere that someone used vicodin for their withdrawals and I know you will not agree with me but I never was addicted to anything.
I was put on subutex for depression and anxiety. If I would have known this would have happened I would have never touched the stuff. My life feels like its ruined. I am being controlled by a drug. I'm forgetting how it felt to feel (music), life. It's like my spirit for life is gone my zest for life. I don't know what to do anymore. Laura xx
Oh Larsy, I feel so bad for you. You are not wrong in what you think is happening, The difference between generics and patent meds is that they both use the same 'original medicine component', BUT, they use different subcomponents to get the medicine into your bloodstream. What you are used to in the original medication, is completely different chemicals than used in the generic, (otherwise there would be a lawsuit if they were exactly the same). They play around with different chemical components that allow you to absorb the original med. I hope that this makes sense, maybe Mazo can explain it better than I can. Also, believe it or not, the generics are allowed to have a 10% efficacy higher or lower than the original medication!!! That's why you felt like you were in withdrawal on one generic, and 'high' on the other one. If I were you, I would ask the doctor to put you on Subutex ONLY.
There is a box that they can check on the script, which allows NO substitutes. Also, I would ask the doctor for different script for anxiety, as they should not cause nausea. Good luck girl. Why do we have to go through all this sh*t as pain patients?? Sometimes I feel like a guinea pig!!
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subutex, opiate dependence, generic
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