Suboxone and Pain: What Users Say

• joe...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• October 7, 2020

For Opioid Use Disorder "I just recently quit Suboxone cold turkey from 24 mg. I was on Subs for over 6 years. I'm now in week three and I can still barely sleep. Still, my legs and back are in constant pain, and the only relief I get is to have hot baths. My advice is to quit whatever you're on instead of switching to a long-acting opiate. It takes so much longer to get off, and the withdrawals are pretty much the same but just prolonged. I can't wait to feel normal again!!! Worst experience ever, but I've been through so much the last few weeks I'll never touch an opiate again. Time to get on with life."

• Cha...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• May 19, 2020

For Opioid Use Disorder "I recall the beginning, when I foolishly became addicted to pain relievers-and I mean ignorantly. Don't get me wrong-I loved the feeling, I just didn't know that they were physically addicting. After about 8 months of pain relievers, I heard about Suboxone. It was great! Now, speed ahead 13 years later, it sucks. I imagine that since I've been on this for so long, it's likely I'll stay on it for life. God forbid I lose my insurance! But what I really want to say-what makes this really bad, is that now I'm on a generic version and it is GARBAGE! Made by 'Alvogen', it is NOTHING like the name brand Suboxone. I'm in pain, I feel lousy, sluggish, and it is making my life hell. My next appointment is in two weeks and I'm going to complain. Only thing is-I've heard Suboxone is off the market now. If so, I guess I'm screwed either way... :("

• -x-...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 10, 2017

For Opioid Use Disorder "Suboxone are opiate-based meds, a substitute for heroin and other opioids, and therefore addictive. Besides helping with withdrawal, it also made the cravings go away. Like this, you can put some distance between your addiction years and your new, clean life. Getting off Suboxone is also not easy, but nothing compared to heroin kicking. Doctors are supposed to help you lower your dosage. In the end, I took a quarter of a 2mg/0.5mg pill every day, until one day I felt like not taking it anymore. There is no wonder cure for opiate addiction (duh!), there will always be pain and discomfort, the only thing you can try is to minimize that! After 9 years of heroin and 3.9 years on Suboxone, I finally managed to get off. I definitely recommend it!"

• DGa...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 30, 2019

For Opioid Use Disorder "Suboxone saved my life. I was an intravenous drug user and was highly addicted to opiates. Luckily, I decided to try Suboxone before it was too late. I was on it for 3 months the first time around with minimal withdrawals, but also I was less dependent on opiates at the time. After relapsing, I took it a second time. The second time, however, I was on it for 3 years and utilized a long-term taper plan. While I was on it, I did feel good at times and was able to refrain from using other opiates. It was much harder to kick after taking it for a longer amount of time! Withdrawals lasted about 2 months for me. Leg pains, diarrhea, and insomnia were the worst for me. In the end, Suboxone helped me get my life back!"

• Mar...
• January 29, 2016

For Opioid Use Disorder "I started Suboxone on Monday at 1 pm after 26 hours of clean time. The first 24 hours was rough but nowhere near a cold turkey experience. I stayed with a friend for support. Maybe got 3 hours of sleep. The second 24 hours was marginally better. Stayed with a friend again. Near no sleep. The 3rd 24 hours was better still. I was still hurting but made it with little to no sleep at a friend's. Today, the 4th 24 hours I'm pretty much okay. A real miracle. I got some work done and socialized a bit even. It's 12:30 am now. Sleep isn't an option yet. So I hope that helps. By the way, I am on 2-8 mg tabs per day. Oh, drink LOTS of fluids. Good luck. You can do it!"

• Sam...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 15, 2013

For Opioid Use Disorder "I have been clean now for 114 days. Before Suboxone, I had given up on everything. Myself, my kids, and my husband. When I first used Suboxone, I started with 4 mg. I had a horrible reaction to it. Everything was slow motion, I was vomiting, sweating, nodding in and out, aches and pains everywhere. The scariest part was the hard time breathing. It's like I forgot to breathe. My clinic doctor had never seen or heard of a reaction like that. I refused to give up, though, after 5-7 days, I had finally felt like me (before my addiction took over). I have had some side effects, but minor ones. I finally have my family back!"

• kic...
• January 20, 2016

For Opioid Use Disorder "Been an addict for 5 years. Was so difficult to get off because of the pain of withdrawal and medical issues. Suboxone absolutely works for the pain I endure with having a herniated disc. I also suffer from kidney stone disease and migraines. Suboxone doesn't help with that, and nothing else will because Suboxone blocks it. I'm put in a difficult situation. I don't want to relapse, but the last time I had a stone and couldn't take any pain meds, the pain was so much I passed out. I sometimes feel I traded one addiction for another."

• Tes...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 30, 2018

For Opioid Use Disorder "Suboxone took my opiate addiction away. Has saved my life. I now am having knee replacement. In much pain. Suboxone helps somewhat. I would like pain management. Until surgery and recovery. I would then go back to Suboxone. Hard to get opiates from any doctor right now. It is a wonderful drug. People say it doesn't work. You have to want to be clean."

• coa...
• June 12, 2008

For Opioid Use Disorder "I have been on Suboxone for three and a half months now. I did write on here when I first started this treatment from using Oxy's. I just want to tell everyone that I feel like a million dollars. I have my family, friends, and life back. I can function like a normal person again. I do have pain every day (that's why I was on Oxy's), but I go to the rheumatologist this month to straighten out my problem, actually, we just found out what is wrong with me: arthritis (spondylitis). This is the best treatment out there!"

• Bil...
• July 11, 2016

For Opioid Use Disorder "This drug was a monster for me. I took it to get off opiate pain medication through the VA. My legs and feet swelled to enormous proportions, and the pain was terrific. The VA uses veterans as guinea pigs. Stay away."

• you...
• April 14, 2009

For Opioid Use Disorder "This medication has saved my life. I have mental clarity for the first time in years, and all of the 'aches and pains' have gone away. Occasional user of Percocet and Vicodin as a teenager, not addicted until prescribed by a physician. I have irritable bowel syndrome, and it seemed to cure my problems, along with keeping me high (and broke). I would recommend this medication to anyone who is tired of chasing that high. It works, but you have to be ready to give up the high. The first few days were horrible for me, but it definitely gets better!"

• Mag...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 10, 2021

For Opioid Use Disorder "Bupe is fine for when you first get sober, but it does nothing but hurt you the longer you use it. It made me feel so much more pain and aches and did not help my cravings. I have less pain and cravings now off it. It was extremely hard to get off. It's not as intense as heroin withdrawal, but it lasts weeks, if not a month. I had to be within 20 feet of a toilet for 2 months after I stopped and almost had diarrhea in my pants multiple times. Plus, you need to be in full withdrawal in order to start it, which is horrible and scares a lot of people away from it. You cannot get emergency pain meds if you're on bupe, it will not work. The government needs to wake up and make methadone widely available to everyone. It works better, and it's proven to help with pain also. If you are in a place where you can get methadone, do that instead. I have been off all opioids for almost 5 years and am thankful for bupe, but it's practically useless and shouldn't be used except for occasional acute pain."

• Bre...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 16, 2021

For Opioid Use Disorder "I started Suboxone after being on tramadol for 4-5 years. The only way I was able to continue working, it worked better for me than hydrocodone. I went to the clinic on the advice of a friend after he gave me one and I broke it into fourths. So I finally went to get my own and I continue my half a pill a day now for four months. When I went last month, I had 12 pills, so I thought I had enough to last until December 14, which was my next appointment. I ran out around Thursday, I believe, because I was stressed as I heard the word cancer a week ago. Long story short, my foot got cramps while driving, and by the time I was called to talk to the medication doctor, my entire body was spasming. I was begging them to call EMS, they told me I had to. Then EMS scraped down, and both got in driving up front. I screamed in agony and they did nothing, like I was a junkie and no better for me. I've never felt such pain, I called on God. Somehow I got to the doctor, and they eased and they did nothing, waiting to draw blood. Then fear of moving it started again."

• Anonymous
• December 13, 2010

For Opioid Use Disorder "You are all inspiring. Two years clean today thanks to Suboxone. It started when I was 22. I had 3 ruptured discs and basically, over the next 5 years, became completely dependent on pills. The last year I was using, my life revolved around pills and fear of going without. I became another person. My life was a lie. I reached my breaking point, and I found Suboxone, started at 12 mgs. It's been two years, and now I am at 2 mgs, going off next month. Suboxone gave me the time to heal. I just got married and can't wait to have a baby. My back is still painful, but nothing like the pain I was living in with pills."

• Anonymous
• July 31, 2009

For Opioid Use Disorder "Kind of a pain trying to get it to dissolve under the tongue, but well worth it. No withdrawal getting off oxycodone."