Buprenorphine and Nausea: What Users Say (Page 3)

• dar...
• November 4, 2013

For Opioid Use Disorder "Up until just a week ago, I was taking 20 x 12/500 over-the-counter painkillers every morning in one go! I've been addicted to codeine for about 10 years. I woke up one morning and decided to call my doctor and finally admit to my addiction. She referred me to my local support agency. The doctor there put me on one daily 8 mg buprenorphine tablet. I haven't looked back since. Although they do make you drowsy and a bit nauseous, it soon wears off. If you are fed up with the embarrassment of forever finding a chemist to buy your painkillers, then bite the bullet and get help, honestly, you'll never look back! Good luck."

• Ner...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 30, 2023

Buprenorphine for Opiate Dependence - Maintenance "I have had a nightmare experience with this medication from the start and stayed on it for months longer than I should have. I had an opiate addiction and have been clean on Suboxone maintenance for over 10 years. I wanted to not be a slave to this medication and these doctors, so I jumped at the chance to try this new medication that had so many positive reviews. The 300 mg injection made me so overwhelmingly nauseous I had to take off from work the day I got the injection. For about a week, everything was okay withdrawal-wise, but mentally my motivation was completely gone. Then the profuse sweating of my hands and feet, as well as crippling anxiety. So I went from being stable and content to a blubbery, crying, depressed mess. Once I went to 100 mg, I was supplementing it with 2 mg of subs on week one, then 6 on week three and 8 on week four, so now what’s the point of the injection? I’m almost taking as much as I was originally, which was 12 mg. Long story short, I’m getting off the injection, thank God."

• Plu...
• March 8, 2018

Buprenorphine for Pain "I have been on Percocet 10/325 for a couple of years now for back pain. Well, I decided to tell my pain med doctor that I wanted to get off them because you hear so many horror stories about this drug. Plus, it would sometimes make me sick and my head feel foggy, but it worked wonders for pain. So, the doctor put me on the BUTRANS patch 10mcg plus 5mg Percocet. I had the patch on for 4 days, and my pain in my back was terrible! I never felt this much pain before, plus it was making me sick. So, I called the doctor, and of course can’t get me in for another 2 weeks. So, I have been taking the Percocet but sometimes take 2, which I know is not good because of the acetaminophen in them. The doctor called me in some nausea meds, which help a lot when taking Percocet. Not sure about the patch because I took it off. I am thinking about putting another one on and just getting through the pain. Does anyone know if you say you want off the percs, but other meds are not working, will the doctor put you back on percs?"

• Liz...
• July 11, 2018

Buprenorphine for Opiate Dependence - Maintenance "I got my first Sublocade injection about three weeks ago. The injection was pretty painful, but the pain only lasted for about 15 minutes. I felt great the first several days, but I started feeling like I was going through withdrawals on day 4-no energy, headache, nausea, stomach cramps, and hot flashes. My doctor called in some strips so I could take one a day, and that has helped a little. However, I still feel like I need to take two 8 mg strips a day to feel “normal.” I was taking 24 mg per day for the past 6 months before getting the shot. After thinking about it a lot, I have decided not to get the second injection. I was doing great on 24 mg a day, so I’m going to go back to Suboxone. I don’t want to spend another month feeling like crap. Hopefully, the shot will work for others, but it wasn’t for me. It seems to work well for those who have been on a low dose of Suboxone (8 mg or less per day)."

• Cac...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 2, 2016

Buprenorphine for Chronic Pain "First I will say that I've read about the expense. Walmart charged $250 for 60 films (1 month), and I took Nucynta for years at $1600 a month, so pricewise, it is one of the cheap ones. With that said, I have CPS (chronic pain syndrome), spasmodic torticollis (cervical dystonia), DDD (degenerative disc disease), bulging and herniated cervical discs, carpal tunnel, and chronic migraines. I've tried Tylenol, T3, ibuprofen, Norco, Vicodin, Percocet, Flexeril, Skelaxin, baclofen, Zanaflex (BEST muscle relaxer), Opana, Nucynta (worked the best for a few years vs months before drug tolerance). Currently on Nucynta and Belbuca, lowering one, upping the other. Pain is worse but tolerable. Nausea is my worst issue. I'm not at a high enough dose for relief yet."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 22, 2016

Buprenorphine for Chronic Pain "My doc gave me this to try for my low back pain. I could barely open the package, and the thing didn't stick in my mouth. Awful experience, and it made me nauseous. When I called the company, they didn't listen. Going back to try something that works."

• Dav...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 8, 2019

Buprenorphine for Opiate Dependence - Maintenance "Just got the Sublocade injection an hour ago. Not going to sugarcoat it though... when the medication is being injected into your belly, it’s going to sting pretty badly, but it does subside about 20 seconds afterward. Currently, I feel slightly nauseous, but overall I feel pretty good. I didn't take a Suboxone today, and I don't feel the desire to do so now. So far, so good. I’ll give periodic updates every so often. Good vibes and good luck!"

• Ste...
• October 17, 2021

Buprenorphine for Chronic Pain "My doctor switched me to Belbuca 150 mg cut in half, so 75 mg twice a day. Took about 3 days to help, so I switched to 150 mg in the morning and 75 mg at night. It seems to have gotten worse. It wears off in the morning after about 3-4 hours and I have some side effects like nausea, loss of appetite, and headaches. I’m on day 10 and I’m getting no relief at all. I have a serious back condition and I need to replace my right hip again because it never healed correctly. The Belbuca does nothing for my hip. I was on Hydrocodone 10/325, and if I took 3 and a half a day, I received more relief than Belbuca ever did. I’m so frustrated because I have no life now. The only thing that I think is good about this product is that you feel calm, but that can’t replace pain relief."

• Nic...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 12, 2022

Buprenorphine for Chronic Pain "Started Belbuca in April 2020 for chronic pain. My neck C4, C5, and C6 are herniated and bulging. In pain and still trying not to have surgery on my neck. The fact that I had 3 back surgeries from 2016, I’m rodded, caged, and infused from L3 to L5, now my L2 is now herniated/bulged. Water therapy and physical therapy for that also. I have rheumatoid arthritis as well. Since I have been on Belbuca, the brain fog is still there. I now suffer from migraines 15 days or more out of the month. I have swelling all over my body, constant sore throat, and I get upper respiratory infections and am nauseous all day after taking them twice a day. I never had migraines before I started taking Belbuca. They have added more meds for migraines and I get Botox for the migraines too. Also, I am on nausea meds. I forget things so easily. I have insomnia and might sleep 2 to 4 hours if I’m lucky. I am sweating out of nowhere. The pain barely eases up. I have been sicker on this med than I have ever been in my life."

• Lau...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 23, 2020

For Pain "This buprenorphine medication didn't help with pain at all, instead, it made me very nauseated, vomiting, extremely sleepy, and shaky. I stopped it and went back to a low dosage of oxycodone, which helps much better with pain with almost no side effects for me."

• Ann...
• October 5, 2019

For Chronic Pain "I have multiple genetic conditions that cause chronic pain. I was on Norco 10 mg for 5(ish) years, then got switched to Percocet 7.5 mg for 8 months. I got so tired of planning my days around medication dosing, so I asked my pain management doctor about giving me something XR so that I wasn’t taking a pill, having it kick in after an hour, work for 3-4 hours, and wearing off. I honestly thought they were going to give XR Oxy or hydrocodone, but my PM really surprised me when she said Butrans/Buprenorphine. She gave me 10 mcg/hr Buprenorphine patches. I didn’t expect much out of it and really thought it was going to be a joke. The first 36 hours were bad, but after that I am getting good pain relief. The only side effects I have are headache and a little nausea. Anyway, my pain has gone from an 8-9 daily down to 3-4. I do still have “flares” and need breakthrough meds at times, but I’m only taking maybe 2 pills per week. I would definitely recommend."

• car...
• September 20, 2010

Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder "I've been on Suboxone since November 2009, it was the best thing that has ever happened to me. My boyfriend and I became addicted to painkillers together. I had only been taking them for about a year and a half, but my tolerance went through the roof. Last summer, I was taking about 20 pills a day, and I had enough, so I took myself to rehab, and I have been on Suboxone since. I couldn't believe this happened to me, but it can happen to anyone! Just recently, I found out I am pregnant and am very excited. I had the option of detoxing off of Suboxone or switching to Subutex. I wasn't sure, so my primary doctor told me Subutex. So, I chose Subutex, but I cannot stand the taste of it, and being sick every day due to the pregnancy makes it even worse to dissolve."

• Shl...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 17, 2020

Buprenorphine for Opiate Dependence - Maintenance "I am on my 6th day since my 1st 300 mg injection of Sublocade. I am starting to feel much better now, but I do have to supplement 4 mg per day of Suboxone to ease the withdrawal symptoms, and yes, I have been in withdrawal. I was previously a 10-year user of Suboxone, 8 mg per day straight for the last 6 months. I have had some side effects: headache, nausea, bad anxiety, but I believe it is going to work with time, possibly get me off altogether. Feeling better with time."

• Amm...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 18, 2020

For Chronic Pain "I’ve taken Belbuca for chronic back pain. I started at 150 mcg and stopped at 450 mg a day. It never helped my pain. It did make me sick to my stomach and caused serious issues with breathing, as well as insomnia. I would never suggest this to anyone. I have learned since that it is Sublocade, also known as Medicare used to treat opioid addiction."

• tim...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 14, 2022

Buprenorphine for Chronic Pain "I started at a low dose of 75 mcg. Did nothing. Increased to 150 mcg. Did more. Nothing. Went to 300 mcg. I am now bone-on-bone, and my facet joint pain is now unbearable in the mornings and takes me several hours to get up and walking. Then my nausea sets in. I'm weak, tired all the time. I am facing surgery on my pinched nerves in my elbow and carpal tunnel wrist with not much feeling in my hands. I have COPD stage 3, coughing, hacking. My left hip hurts so bad I can't cough standing up, or I'll fall right over from the pain, my left hip pinched sciatic nerve. I need medication increased ASAP."

• Jim...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 5, 2022

For Chronic Pain "I started buprenorphine over 3 months ago. I was praying to God for this medication to work for me. I tried both the transdermal method, but the medication did not last 7 days, 5 days at best. I then switched to the buccal method even though there is a dental warning on this product. This method is a real pain in the neck. You have to dedicate 30 minutes of time twice a day for the medication to dissolve. They don’t stay in place, and you are left with a ball of slime in your mouth. I personally experienced several side effects, including, but not limited to the following: severe headaches, nausea and vomiting, stomach pain. This medication did not help with my pain. I will go back to oxycodone. At least I have some quality of life while taking it."

• Fib...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 19, 2023

For Chronic Pain "I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 18 years ago, and I tried different pain pills, but nothing really helps for me. Buprenorphine 8 mg sublingual is the only one that reduced my pain by 75%. In my experience, the only bad side effect is the nausea and vomiting that I had at the beginning. It took some time for my body to get used to it."

• But...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 6, 2022

Buprenorphine for Chronic Pain "My doctor died, and the new doctor decided to put me on this medication. It does not control my pain, and it also makes me nauseous and sleepy. It is very upsetting when I tried to tell the new doctor about this after being on it for over a week with no relief."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 4, 2021

For Chronic Pain "Worst med I have ever been prescribed! Too many side effects. Personally experienced itching, nausea, vomiting, blurry vision, neuropathy in hands and feet, loss of coordination, and dizziness. I was prescribed ondansetron and baclofen for nausea, vomiting, and for spasms just to continue to take the buprenorphine. Initial Rx 8 mg 4x per day titrated down to 2 mg, then 1 mg when side effects began. Off buprenorphine, side effects clearing with the notable exception of the neuropathy! No more need for ondansetron or baclofen, no nausea, vomiting, or spasms. Back on Morphine IR 15 mg 3x per day. Not working well for severe to extreme chronic pain due to near-fatal MVA cervical and lumbar damage. Need to be back on MS Contin. This worked before for pain management. (The opioid epidemic and CDC recommendations did not take into account the non-abuser of opioids and who benefitted from them) caused these medical problems! For me, buprenorphine was not good. I think Rx needs to be individualized."

• Pat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 23, 2021

For Chronic Pain "The Butrans patches did very little for chronic spinal injury pain, caused instant serious nausea and stomach pain, dry mouth, rash/blisters under patches, from the very first patch. The nausea and stomach pain intensified up a tract from stomach to the front of my throat with each increase of dosage. At 15 mcg, the pain/nausea became surges of intensified pain right up to the front of my throat. Pain doctor kept going up on dosage, despite me writing and telling him of problems. Results: one of the surges was so intensified that I ended up in the ER and had a heart attack from this medicine! The very first patch was instantly a problem, and it only got worse. Thankfully, I am alive. I am being titrated down on another opioid. Buprenorphine has some serious documented side effects regarding the heart. I am one of the statistics. It is dangerous. Beware."

• ell...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 11, 2015

Buprenorphine for Chronic Pain "Butrans causes depression, anxiety, dizziness, nausea. Do not get on this medication."

• Sal...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 10, 2020

For Opioid Use Disorder "Buprenorphine definitely cured my opioid dependence. However, now I can’t stop taking the buprenorphine without getting violently ill."

• Vom...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 8, 2025

For Chronic Pain "Given it to me for pain - makes me very nauseous and violently vomiting. Zero stars."