Started my Suboxone treatment today

I am not an AA, NA fan, as I am atheist, but I go to an online support group called SMART Recovery. They are very helpful and much more rational to their methods, IMO, than 12 step programs. But, whatever helps is what matters!

And, yeah, try to keep the dose as low as you can without feeling significant cravings. Always good Subs advice.

 

Good luck, bro.

Have been pretty fucking high on subs, but the past year I have used them taper off binges and whatnot.

Aways have at least 16mg just in case I need to avoid the sickness.

 

etkearne - I'm going to check out this SMART Recovery...I'm actually on their site right now. I agree that NA's spiritual approach is one that I don't really agree with. I know that they say if you don't believe in god then believe in a higher power of some sort. Kind of hard to do if you aren't religious or believe in those sorts of things.

Thanks Chocolate - I feel great right now. Still taking the 8 mgs a day for now but eventually I will taper down. I have a feeling that I will be on these for a while though.

 

You dont have to be religious to be in NA, it says that they are a spiritual not religious program. I have no religious background whatsoever, and I am in the program. 10 months clean. for an addict the problem extends way beyond drugs. it is a problem with themselves on the inside. Drugs became a way to numb those feelings. Thats what the steps are for. Figuring out who you truly are and being able to deal with life on lifes terms. Im not trying to push this on anybody, just sharing my experience.

 

ya i go to an NA group on Sundays....its at a church but they do not pressure you in anyway and everyone is really nice and inviting. I like it alot. You should try one sometime if you dont like it you dont have to go back and sometimes...its just not the right group not necessarily that NA meetings suck. In my opinion. But whatever works for you and long as your staying clean and not back in the opiate madness. I still think about how i miss the buzz at times but its not worth losing my friends, girlfriend, and eventually going to prison over it. I have bigger plans than that, far bigger plans. Im sure everyone on here does.

 

I've been to a couple of NA meetings before. It's not that I didn't like them - its that I really just hate being in large groups of people. I'll probably end up going back to them soon though. I want to be sure that I never have to go through opiate addiction again.

 

Yeah I agree that being on Suboxone for more than two month is bad news bears... it gives you insane withdraws that last forever.

Also, I found this out recently from my brother who is on them too and his insurance doesn't cover it - See if you have a compounding pharmacy there. And before anyone gets on my case saying "THERE ARE NO SUCH THING AS GENERIC SUBOXONE!" - While that is true, compounding pharmacies (some) can make up suboxone and it's waaaay cheaper w.o insurance. It's about $3 to $4 a pill as opposed to like $9 (what I paid)

Also, I'm in NA. I am not religious at all and absolutely HATE "sharing my feelings" but I swear if you find the right group, it's kind of neat to talk to people who know exactly what you're going through and who don't raise their eyebrows when you say you sold your car at one point to pay for drugs, because they sold their car AND their house. It's just kind of cool.

 

Question about suboxone for myself. I am on HUGE doses of opiates-8 30mgs roxys and 5 40mgs opana daily. Yeah, 240 mgs and 200 mgs is a boatload of happy pills. When I run low at the end of the month it is quite difficult to function on 60-80 mgs of opana- but I can function.

I have to get off this stuff. Would love to go cold turkey but I don't think that's a great idea. Question is- before going on suboxine, how long do I have to be off the roxys/opana before it's safe to take the suboxone? Any other tips would be appreciated. Thank you

 

I take about 4mg every day and i like it. Im on probation for opiates(oxys) and know i couldnt go all of probation without using so i got prescribed to subs before i would fuck up and go to jail. I ust to get fucked up off subs but now they just make me feel normal and help the craving. Been taking them for about 3 months. All in all i would highly recommend suboxone. Just wish I could smoke some weeeeeed.

 

That is a good story. I am glad that it helped you stay out of trouble. More people should be responsible and do what you did to stay out of jail. Unfortunately, many don't, and, sadly, sometimes simply because of the high cost of Suboxone, and the sickening fact that few insurance policies actually pay for it. I am on state Medicaid insurance (I have a severe disability which I am sure you know about if you get on this site enough), and in order for them to pay for Suboxone, you need to go to the doctor every month (they don't pay for that though!), get urine screened monthly (don't pay for that!), AND be in constant therapy with a support group to boot! All of that shit adds up to the cost of seeing the doctor once every three months and just paying for the Suboxone myself. It is FUCKED up if you ask me.

 

I was on suboxone for about 3 years. When I started they hadn't come out with the film yet, so my dr put me on two 8mg pills a day to start. Everything is great until the dr starts pressuring you to get off them. Its not like methadone where you can stay on it for the rest of your life. So after being on it for 2 years I tried getting off the pills during the winter of 2009-2010. I cut myself down to about a half of one of the 2mg pills. My dr told me I would feel "kind of crappy" for a couple of days, then I would be fine. What an absolute load of bullshit that was. It was the never ending withdrawal. I eventually had to find another dr who was a lot more understanding. I switched to the film and got it to where I was only taking about 1/16 of a 2mg strip per day. When I stopped I felt shitty for a couple days, took a couple vicodins at the end of the 2nd day, then felt pretty good physically the next day. I figured I was all done, but suboxone withdrawal can be tricky. If fucks with your sleep for a good month and a half to two months after you stop. When you can't sleep you feel like garbage the next day and you're not sure if its from the suboxone or just lack of sleep. Fortunately my dr is very sympathetic and prescribed me adderall and klonopins. I found that the adderall helped give me energy to function during the day and the klonopins helped me to relax. I've been off the suboxone for about 3 months now and am functioning fairly normally. My sleep has returned to a somewhat normal level and I have no cravings at all for suboxone or any other opiate. If you're going to stay on suboxone for awhile (6 months or more) I would advise cutting down the dose as low as possible before stopping. Also having a dr who is liberal with the prescription pad never hurts.