i have been suffering from opiate addiction and have been on and off using oxycontin 80mg and heroin for the passed 2 years. yesterday i was placed on suboxone induction to help with withdrawals and it is working but only to a certain point. i feel like the relief im getting dosent last as long as it should and i dont really want to increase the dosage i am on 12 mgs total daily ( 8 mgs in the morning and 4mgs at night). even at this point i feel like the sub dosent work as well as it should because i still am experiencing moderate withdrawals and i would like to switch from suboxone to methadone. i was wondering how i would go about doing this ? i am not sure if the psychiatrist i went to yesterday can prescribe methadone or i would to go to a clinic who probably wont accept me because of my age. but i would be willing to give methadone a shot because i know people who it has worked wonderfully for. anyhelp would be greatly appreciated
Suboxone to methadone ?
Question posted by chris79 on 17 Sep 2009
Last updated on 3 June 2018 by 19colin80denzey
83 Answers
I would like to know what's the lowest people have been on the meth
hello, i too am on a taper from percocet 10/325, i thought about methadone and also subs, but dont want to jump from one opiate to the next. for fear of having to also taper off of that. with no support its very hard for me. i have no support at home, with work and a very demanding family and now caring for a 3 month old grandson, i cant get the rest that would help me with the withdrawls. i just hope this ride to hell stops real soon for me. and i hope that you find the best way for you to get off of these opiates. ive been on opiates for a broken jaw in 89, which the surgeon placed my bite back wrong so as the years went on my jaw got more and more tight and crooked, at times locking up and making cracking noises, in turn this all gave me massive heacdaches taking me to the er and on pain management.
the only thing that will help this all is surgery which my insurance and almost all trys to say its cosmetic, which mines is from an old break giving me headaches. and i dont have 9000$ lying around to pay for surgery. so yes i still have these headaches but am able to manage it with some ibu and ice packs and i sleep with a nite guard and use it during the day at home to help take the pressure off of my jaw muscle. now i take these pills just to keep the withdrawls away. im slowly gettng there but for me im always in a rush and its too slow. hopefully one day ill be on this site saying im finally off. take good care of yourself and in a good way be selfish, and put you first regardless of what anyone say or think, or youll be like me , just lingering and having the hardest time. goodluck, leanne
I was never on heroin Thank God but I have been on Suboxone for about 4 years... Everyday got better and better... I looked down on people who were leaving rehab and saying they were going to get on it... Now I know I was jealous I couldn't walk out the door that easy... From what I have seen from both withdrawals I would definitely say stick with the suboxone... I think u will b amazed before u r half way through... Sounds goofy but too true... Best Luck...
If all you are on is suboxone then CONGRATS!!! Do not switch to opiates especially methadone. My doctor told me to take more suboxone if i feel i need it... but trust me what you are going through is mostly mental. You can do this. Stay active and stay away from opiates. It is a breeze to stop taking suboxone compared to kicking methadone.
Noooooooooo!!! This is a very old post but methadone is worse than the opiates you were on, I can explain how to use Suboxone so you are successful in getting clean without pain but methadone is a lie straight from the pits of hell!!Sincerely,
been there
As a opioid user (on and off for many years), I have been on both the methadone treatment and suboxone treatment. It really depends on how serious you are about getting off opiods and staying off for good. I am not trying to sound 'better than' as I too am back into the opiods which for awhile make me feel my depression has dissapeared and I'm back in life full swing (a lie but works). Methadone IS addictive and I am proof of that, at least for me it was; I had my mother doll it out to me daily and always found excuses to get more - it gives you a high AND I have never detoxed off any opiods worse than I did off methadone. Suboxone, I got on when I was serious about getting off the opiods and it worked as far as releiving the crappy feeling of detox however did not give me a "high", as methadone did. Which at the time this was what I wanted. OFF FOR GOOD.
And, detoxing off the suboxone was pretty easy for me, I just cut back and used less and less until I was off completely. This was/is my experience with both medications. I hope this helps somewhat and please take care. We're all in this together. You are not alone. Peace and good luck
I am addicted to methadone I hate it ... I feel sorry for anyone that has to go through withdrawels its awefull painfull ..I dont know about any other State but iam on medicade and they DO NOT pay for my methadone ! I was put on loratabs for 12 years for my back pain i found out i have fibermagela ... I wanted off because the tabs stopped working and was taking more that was prescribed ... Its just one addicting drug for another Methadone is addicting and so is sub... God bless you if you have withdrawels the body pain is unbearable from any of it ! and its all addicting ... the only difference is the methadone and sub dont as far as i was told dose not deposit stright to the liver like tabs do !
I am also looking to get on suboxone for my addiction to pain killers for my severe back pain. I recently smoked H when I was out of my script just to not go through withdrawals as you know they are the worst a person can experience. I am so scared to discuss this with my doctor (soon to be ex doctor) BC of my decision to use H as a back up plan. I just took a UA and I know it's gonna come up positive for the H and he's gonna have no choice but to cut me off and I'm gonna be out in the dark again. I am truly lost and do not know what I'm gonna do next
Hi Cara,
You probably should have started your own question, but since you didn't, let me offer some advice here. Suboxone can and will work wonders to make wds go away and keep you fairly content to not have any other opiates. The issue may be the pain. Sub does kill a lot of pain, but only certain kinds of pain. And it doesn't do it like a fast acting opiate does. Sub needs to build up in you and then your body has to stabilize on it. The pain killing is not as obvious as with other opiates. Many people don't even realize Sub is killing pain until they stop taking it. And then suddenly the pain comes back. So this may be an issue whether or not Sub will kill your pain. Methadone is a better pain killer, but Sub is an easier drug to be on than Methadone. At least in the USA it is. In Canada, the UK, and Australia, and maybe other places too, you have to go pick up your Sub once a day or once every 2 or 3 days.
It seems only in the USA do the Docs give us a 30 day supply at a time. So if you're in the USA getting Sub should be as easy as going to a Sub Doc and getting a script. Being dirty for H shouldn't be an issue with a Sub Doc because Sub was originally meant for Heroin addicts. You just can't keep showing up with dirty urine.
So a lot depends on your pain. You should also know of something called Opioid Induced Hyperalgesia where opiates make us feel pain worse, rather than to relieve it. This happens to many people after a few years on any opiate, only Docs just discovered this phenomenon about 2 years ago.
If you can make due with Sub I think you're better off. But if you need a stronger pain killer Methadone may be better. Actually getting on Methadone is harder. Clinics won't help you unless you have an opiate addiction issue and you are illegally using opiates. If you always get them from a Doc they call you a medical problem, and they expect you to find help from private Docs.
Hope this helped.
Almost 3 years and nobody responded to ya unless I am missing something. I'm sure u have figured it out but just in case someone else may read this and wonder, from my experience I had to wait 36-48 hours for the methadone to work properly because of the suboxone and it's half life. After that transaction I went back to the nasty Nates (subs) and been clean for almost 90 days. Been on the subs for 9 months and relapsed 6 times. I think this is it for me though, I am on a great does ( 32 mgs. / 8 mgs. )
chris79 I see there are alot of methadone haters.Since suboxone has been on the market for opiate addiction,there is really NO numbers on sucess or failure.Where with methadone you can get the numbers anywhere on the sucess or failure.Myself I have been on methadone since 1997 and this has been a lifesaver.I have been asked over & over are you ever going to come off methadone,I answer not to-day.I have had no negatives with this medication,I have worked with many addicts that have come off methadone,they control their own dosages when coming off.And many of my friends have done very well and contiune to do so.With suboxone I see people paying this high priced drug,and not really knowing how long will I be able to afford this drug 1year,2,3?A close friend of mine went suboxone for 2years @ cost of $86 a week.He has a family of 4,the main reason he went on suboxone is it sounded better than"methadone"Anyway he ended up almost ...
broke and on methadone.Who needs all these headaches when we first clean up"can I afford it next week"The funny thing is suboxone & methadone do the same thing.Methadone has been used for addiction since the mid 60s,and know all the pros &cons.Suboxone hasn't been around long enough to know later effects.Yes I am A BIG SUPPORTER on METHADONE,it saved my life...
Methadone is a strong drug. If you are interested, at some point, to not be on any medication at all go with suboxone. I am on the latter medication and have been for a couple of years. The biggest issue with suboxone is the length of the withdrawal symptoms, they can last up to a month maybe a month and a few weeks. The best part of subs is they will taper you off them and can do it comfortably over a period of time. With methadone, that is another medication that is supposed to taper the patient off of but in my experience that rarely happens. Good luck to you on your road to recovery but remember to get a second opinion before making a concrete commitment. Each person is different I was started off on 8mg of suboxone three times a day and stayed that way for a year and a half. I have gone down and am doing pretty good considering. Good luck
IJWTS that, while methadone is a drag, some people here have really gone overboard: it's from the devil, Hitler invented it, etc. Get a grip, people! Yes it's not a good drug, and if I'd known ten years ago that I would be on it this long I def. would not have started, naively thought it'd help get me off of opiates. Luckily, I found a doc who gives me a scrip once a month so I don't have to do the clinic thing, which I did the first year. And I've never been on the high doses most ppl seem to be on (I take 35 mg/day). I want to stop, mainly bc it makes me so tired, plus I can't sleep at nite, it's a vicious cycle. And I'm thinkin' of going to suboxone. But please, stop perpetrating ridiculous myths aobut the drug, that's as bad as the moralistic docs and pharmacists who act like that about all opiates.
Hi, I too have been a heavy opiod addict for 20 some odd years and 2 years ago I reached out for help from a addictionologist who put me on methadone and I believe it was 10mg's 3'x a day. I tried so hard to make the methadone work for me, but honestly, I felt as if I'd never wake up every time I went to sleep and I was so sick & doped up I quit taking it and went straight back to old habits. October of 2011 I reached an all time low, reached out for help & this time I tried Suboxone and it has made all the difference in the world for me. I am on 8mg's up to 4x's a day and I haven't had any cravings or anything. The doctor first started me on 8mg's twice a day and felt it wasn't a high enough dose. I hope this helps you. Best of Luck & hang tough; you can do it.
I was on 280mgs of Methadone, It sucks being on methadone for 12 years
and had to go to jail and hospital for 3 month's of long lasting withdrawal !!! ~
I don't recommend Methadone to anyone who can possibly get help coming off the opiate there already on... I will never go back to Meth Its to hard to get off and it does not kill pain very well, AGAINST also.
Do not go on methadone, withdrawls are WICKED!!! No, I can't stress that enough, taper off the Subs and be done with it all! You will feel like a brand new person. Good luck and God bless.
Related topics
oxycontin, suboxone, opiate dependence, opiate withdrawal, heroin, methadone, addiction
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