I know someone that has recently decided she wants to be off the opiate based meds. That she has been on for about ten years. We would like to know if suboxone is a reasonable alternative for pain meds.
Will suboxone help chronic pain?
Question posted by Jynxa on 26 Sep 2010
Last updated on 12 May 2019 by Thor283
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
11 Answers
Thor283
12 May 2019
I have to say Yes. Subutex certainly does and Subutex is Suboxone minus the Naloxone. I've been using Subutex for chronic pain since 2004. It's not good for severe pain, such as a broken bone or a ruptured Gall Bladder. But for medium levels chronic pain it's fine. Trying to get off it is a nightmare cause it stays in the body a very long time but with chronic pain you may never get off it anyway. I take it for spinal stenosis and I have almost no pain at all. If Suboxone doesn't help as to try Subutex. Both have the same opiate in them which is Buprenorphine.
Kittenkean
12 May 2019
Buprenorphine/naloxone is available for use in two different forms, sublingual or in the cheek. Buprenorphine binds strongly to opioid receptors and acts as a pain reducing medication in the central nervous system (CNS). It binds to the u-opioid receptor with high affinity which produces the analgesic effects in the CNS.
It's a partial u agonist and it is a weak κ-opioid receptor antagonist. As the dose increases, its analgesic effects reach a plateau, and then it starts to act like an antagonist.As a partial agonist, it binds and activates the opioid receptors, but has only partial efficacy at the receptor relative to a full agonist, even at maximal receptor occupancy. well-suited to treat opioid dependence, as it produces milder effects on the opioid receptor with lower dependence and abuse potential. But for pain relief mildly effective compared to opioids. Has a ceiling effect.
Khloe3
8 July 2013
Yes
umumman
17 July 2012
I have taken suboxone since 2009 and it is perfect for pain killers. The doctors used to give me 175 Vicodin a month and i was Hooked! The sickness was horrible and I would miss work when I ran out. Suboxone gives me relief from the withdrawels and helps me cope with day to day activities perfectly. BUT: Suboxone is highly addictive, and the come down is almost worse then pain killers. Damned if you do, damned if you dont. Also, Suboxone does absolutely NOTHING for pain. That much I can assure you. Hope this helps. Chris
janie sue
13 June 2011
I need to know by a professional if Methadone is better for Chronic Spinal pain or if Suboxone can do it just as well or better. Methadone has a side effect that perhaps most Dr.'s don't realize it generally cause's the patient to turn to crack cocaine or speed like Chyrstle Meth please let me know asap as the meds are about to be changed
SWJUNKY
24 Jan 2011
For me it does not work as well as other opiates, as strong as it is it just does not quite do it. I am on it for Pain Management now and its okay, I do function and its a steady feeling, less of a roller coaster ride with 4-6 hour opiates. It also seems to be better on your brain I suppose because of the steady relief and the absent Mu receptor initiation. I guess it all depends on your level of pain. Everyone is different. Adding a small amount of a benzo, seems to help the pain tremendously, but if you have a low tolerance to pain pills this can be very dangerous. Talk to your doc. Hope this helps.
dmlady
26 Sep 2010
my doctor wanted to put me on methadone, however I have copd, and emphazyma from smoking and have a hard time breathing,and am on oxegen 2 liters since I quit I went from 5 liters down to 2 only at bedtime so the doc has to be careful on what I can take. my shrink took me off of trazodone prozac and serzone due to the fact that these meds build up and can also put one breathing in distress just so my pain doc can properly give me adequate pain relief.I have quit smoking and just to let those know who have breathing trouble methadone is one of the worst medications to be on. what is the safest strongest pain med I can take. at ths point I have been living in bed practically 24/7 only to get up and show my face or go to the dr.
I am 51 and have had guillian Barre syndrome since 23 and since it took 8 weeks to finally get a diagnose I am one of the few that cannot walk and am paralyzed and my feet feel like I am soaking in a pile of ambers. when I do try to walk I keep falling and have broken every bone in my body excluding my arms and legs, which is uncanny since those are the easiest bones to break,
I was on 80 mgs. of oxycontin and percocet for breakthrough for 12 yrs and had a life until in march I was admitted to the hospital right from my dr ffice for phemona, at that time I had just taken my meds so after I got to my room the nurse came around with my meds, I tld her It was not time for them. She said she would have to put refused and throw them out. so I told her I would take them. she set them on my tray and left. I was gonna put them in my drawer however i forgot at that minute and a nurse came in and made me take the( a different nurse) I was in the middle of eating my dinner and was not thinking and I went and chewed them with my food only to realize due to the taste of my food. I went into cardiac arrest and was given Narcof. however I did not want to get the first nurse in trouble since they have to watch you take them so I did not tell anyone. now its sept and have not been out of bed since I been home and I don't remember firing my pain doc of 12 yrs, I don't remember telling my doc I did not want to live and to let me go home so I can be pain free I was put on 24 hr watch for 7 days allergic to the patch and now I am on 5 mgs of perc a day and 15 mg of ms contin 3 times a day and I am in such pain I had to miss my 2 vacations for 3 weeks each. my pain doc wont take me back I was told the he was so upset i fired him. can anyone please help me find the right way to tell someone that what I was on was fine I just made a stupid mistake. none of the doctors will listen to me.I need my meds back!
thanks have a pain free day
dm
I was on 80 mgs. of oxycontin and percocet for breakthrough for 12 yrs and had a life until in march I was admitted to the hospital right from my dr ffice for phemona, at that time I had just taken my meds so after I got to my room the nurse came around with my meds, I tld her It was not time for them. She said she would have to put refused and throw them out. so I told her I would take them. she set them on my tray and left. I was gonna put them in my drawer however i forgot at that minute and a nurse came in and made me take the( a different nurse) I was in the middle of eating my dinner and was not thinking and I went and chewed them with my food only to realize due to the taste of my food. I went into cardiac arrest and was given Narcof. however I did not want to get the first nurse in trouble since they have to watch you take them so I did not tell anyone. now its sept and have not been out of bed since I been home and I don't remember firing my pain doc of 12 yrs, I don't remember telling my doc I did not want to live and to let me go home so I can be pain free I was put on 24 hr watch for 7 days allergic to the patch and now I am on 5 mgs of perc a day and 15 mg of ms contin 3 times a day and I am in such pain I had to miss my 2 vacations for 3 weeks each. my pain doc wont take me back I was told the he was so upset i fired him. can anyone please help me find the right way to tell someone that what I was on was fine I just made a stupid mistake. none of the doctors will listen to me.I need my meds back!
thanks have a pain free day
dm
Inactive
26 Sep 2010
Neither suboxone or subutex will help for chronic pain. The FDA has not approved it for that purpose. Although drs are allowed to prescribe it "off label" for pain.
I tried subutex, not only did it not help my pain but it also caused other unwa
nted, horrible issues on my state of health, physically and mentally.
Read my profile to get some insight on me and my situation.
I am a strong advocate of methadone for chronic pain. I have only been it treatment for 17 days. I was into my 14th day of withdrawal when I started As I look back I can't believe how far I've come. It's a surreal feeling. But by no means am I feeling or functioning like a normal human being. Getting stabilized on methadone is literally a very slow painful process. As I say to others, I have a very long road to travel but at least for the first time, I am on the right road.
I was in denial about my addiction. I always told my family I just have a high tolerance to narcotics. That's where the addiction rears it's ugly head. Methadone clinics don't treat pain, they only treat the disease of addiction. But in a round about way, your pain does get treated.
You must be willing to admit you are an addict to start a methadone treatment program. I remember the day when I first said, "I am an addict". Being able to say and admit it took an incredible load off me.
Help your friend make an honest educated decision. I researched methadone for weeks of countless hours before making my decision.
God Bless and Good Luck. Keep me posted. Sable
You must be willing to admit you are an addict to start a methadone treatment program. I remember the day when I first said, "I am an addict". Being able to say and admit it took an incredible load off me.
Help your friend make an honest educated decision. I researched methadone for weeks of countless hours before making my decision.
God Bless and Good Luck. Keep me posted. Sable
SWJUNKY
24 Jan 2011
Dude you have not been on Methadone long enough to be a strong advocate for it. This is a horrible chemical that contains no natural ingredients. It is absolutely hell to get off of, makes you gain tons of weight and ties you down, if you go to a clinic. I would take time release morphine or Opana over methadone anyday. It is an EVIL EVIL drug. you will find out eventually.
SWJUNKY
24 Jan 2011
Dude you have not been on Methadone long enough to be a strong advocate for it. This is a horrible chemical that contains no natural ingredients. It is absolutely hell to get off of, makes you gain tons of weight and ties you down, if you go to a clinic. I would take time release morphine or Opana over methadone anyday. It is an EVIL EVIL drug. you will find out eventually. When you do decide to get off you will want to get shorter acting opiates to combat the WD that is worse than any other opiate WD I have been through. Plus your still a junky, just going to a legal dealer. Same deal no $$ no dope, unless your in NY city. For me it took all the fun out of being an addict or junky. I d rather live the Pain Management
life over the BS they feed you at those clinics. Statistics say that if you stay on it for 5 years chances are you be on it the rest of your life. When I came off of it it took 6 months to stop experiencing WDs.
sunshine-spirit
26 Sep 2010
Hi.
This is my first post on this board but I've been reading it for months/years for info as I used to take percocets (10/325 - anywhere from 1 to 8 to 10 a day at most) and when I felt myself out of control I turned to suboxone. I was told by the dr's office that it would help with my chronic neck pain and that it would leave me 'clear headed' and produce no w/d symptoms once I stopped. I've been slowly tapering down for the past 6 months (been on for 9 total) and I stopped last Friday - took 2 pin head size pieces of an 8 mg pill on Monday - and none since that. Let me tell you what living hell I am in. I cannot sleep - have terrible chills, muscle cramps, lethargy & depression. From what I've researched the only thing that is harder to come off of is methadone. Suboxone IS STILL AN OPIATE and a longer acting/biding opiate at that which means it takes longer to clear your system.
My husband is a vet & he gives his animals buprenorphine (name of the synthetic opiate in subs) post surgery because of it's longer acting properties. If you look on wikipedia it will tell you that buprenorphine is 25 - 40 times more potent than morphine. If I could do this all over again I never would have started it. It didn't work on pain half as well as my percocets and I was told I may not feel better for months. I have a 4 year old and a 3 year old & I just can't keep up. The dr's that prescribe subs will lie to you or they are seriously misinformed. It's true that the acute withdrawal symptoms may not be as bad but it seems that they are less intense and more chronic. Also - ALL opiates will make you think you have more pain than you do. When they wear off you are stiff and have joint pain from the w/d itself so it becomes a vicious cycle.. Good luck but all I can say is if one ever intends to get clean don't use subs!!!
Inactive
26 Sep 2010
I have read many other posts of people who stopped suboxone and felt awful for a while. See is you can get something, either RX or natural to help with your particular set of withdrawal symptoms. Each person who wrote here has complained about a different symptom hanging with them, not the same for any two people. Google the Thomas recipe opiate withdrawal for a list of over the counter meds and supplements to help with the individual symptoms and make sure you get the article with Thomas's journal of how he felt each day after quitting opiates. Endorphins will help as well, so, if you can walk or do some other type of regular exercise, it will produce endorphins, these will regulate the eat/sleep/wake cycle, make you feel better mentally and physically, help reboot the part of the brain that has been offline during the percocet/subs cycle.
That is probably the most critical thing that helps people, but, I realize you feel terrible and also may have physical limitations that may prevent the exercise. Clonidine and some other RX's also help some people. I hope you get to feeling better soon, you are in my Prayers. I wish the doctors would listen to the actual patients on subs, mine actually has tried. It is one thing to be trained for it and then told by the drug rep what a miracle drug it is, and a totally different to have experience it firsthand. The doctors are misinformed. My counselors both were also told it was non addicting and a person could quit without any withdrawal. Go to YouTube.com and check out SuboxDoc's vids on suboxone. He is a psychiatrist and he answers many commons subs questions, has been on subs himself. He has some tapes for sale at his website that tell how to get off of it properly and they are not that expensive at all. Then put suboxone withdrawal or quitting suboxone in the search bar there and look over some of those videos for things that might help.
Inactive
26 Sep 2010
Personally, ( and I have been on it for 2 and 1/2 years ) it works well for my fibromyalgia, but, most who have been injured, or have some really painful condition, those who may need any major dental surgery, or surgery, will not get the relief they seek, and the opiates they take will be blocked until the suboxone wears off the receptor sites in the brain, in 3 to 8 days, before they can feel an opiate. So, please tell your friend to research this thoroughly, and make sure she will not need surgery after she gets on suboxone. Suboxone is used so someone can continue to work while they get off opiates, it does help heal the neurotransmitters in the brain somewhat, and it controls cravings for opiates.
People who take benzo tranquilizers, should NOT take suboxone, nor should they take muscle relaxers, drink alcohol, or take other sedating or hypnotic meds as this combo can cause them to stop breathing> She will have to go into withdrawal for at least 24 hours so that all other opiate will be off the receptor sites in the brain, if you take it too soon, and there is other opiate still in the brain, there will be Horrible, Horrible withdrawal, nausea, and she will feel extremely bad. But, if she takes it properly the first time, she will be withdrawal free in 20 to 45 minutes. Methadone ( it gets a really bad rap) is the better choice for someone who has real pain, but wants to get off opiates that work short term. If taken properly, which also means no sedating meds, alcohol, or benzos, it is safe. A person is given a small amount at first and then gradually this is increased and will control pain better than suboxone. There is something about the way the suboxone is taken into the body by tongue, that keeps it from being a better pain killer, but it does work completely for withdrawal symptoms and cravings.Pain management doctors should know both of these drugs well and she could seek a second opinion about this from a pain management doctor. There are some really good videos on YouTube.com about suboxone, SuboxDoc answers most of the most common questions, has a website, 1 800 number, forum, and tapes. You have to purchase the tapers. There is also a young man named Maple2609 on YouTube, who is quite young, but is right on the money about suboxone. Hope this helps.
christineATU
26 Sep 2010
I copied this directly from the "Drugs A to Z" information guide. At the very bottom it says it can be used for other purposes. I know people have been taking it for years, but I think it was meant more for short term use to help withdrawal from opiate addiction. However, I have heard it does help with pain. Since it is an opiate anyway, my personal opinion would be to check methadone as an option too. Regardless of which route you take, they both are opiates and difficult to come off of. But since this is a chronic pain issue, methadone (in my opinion) would probably control severe pain better then suboxone. I say this only because of the hundreds of posts I've read regarding both medications. Here is the info on Subs... I wish you the best and hope your friend finds the pain relief she needs. My very best wishes.
"Suboxone is used to treat opiate addiction".
Suboxone contains a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine is an opioid medication. Buprenorphine is similar to other opioids such as morphine, codeine, and heroin however, it produces less euphoric ("high") effects and therefore may be easier to stop taking.
Naloxone blocks the effects of opioids such as morphine, codeine, and heroin. If Suboxone is injected, naloxone will block the effects of buprenorphine and lead to withdrawal symptoms in a person with an opioid addiction. When administered under the tongue as directed, naloxone will not affect the actions of buprenorphine.
Suboxone may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.
Read more: https://www.drugs.com/suboxone.html
christineATU
26 Sep 2010
As it says, ... "produces less euphoric ("high")... therefore may be easier to stop taking." That indicates to me it was meant to be a shorter term medication. Not to treat chronic, life long pain. Don't get me wrong. It has literally saved thousands of lives. But its' MAIN purpose is to get people off opiates all together.
pittsburghguy15202
2 Feb 2012
dont do no methedone its the worst detox ever i had talked to people that stayed up 30 days after stopping taking it the suboxine with draw is light so try that before methodone
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