Suboxone: Methadone Detox Facts

Question: I was on suboxone and relapsed on heroin. how do i get back on my suboxone?

(Posted by: FatherTom on 2010-07-23 07:03:46)

I have been on suboxone (4mgs) for about a year and I recently relapsed. I have been using heroin like 3 to four to as many bags as I can use a day for the past 3 weeks. I want to get back on my suboxone but I do not know how to go about it. I am afraid if I tell the doctor I am seeing that he will stop prescribing me my suboxone then I will really be screwed. I just want to get back on my suboxone and stop using heroin. I have heard I should wait 12 to 24 hours before I take my first dose of suboxone but I dont know if that is accurate.I did relapse before about 5 months ago for about two weeks and I waited about eight hours and then took 8mg of suboxone and I was sick for about two days and it was a very hard road to get back on my subs. Someone with REAL knowledge please help me figure this out? I am already on suboxone. I just filled 10 8mg pills at the pharmacy but I do not know how to get "back on " the suboxone. I am afraid my doctor will refuse to treat me if he finds out I relapsed and thats why I do not want to refer to him cause he will not prescribe suboxone to me if he finds out I am using.

Posted by: badfishdive on 2010-07-23, 20:20:41

I was in this same situation a few months back, and I told my doc everything and I'm glad I did. If you feel that one or two relapses would cause your doc to stop treating you, then you need to find a better doctor. Relapses are just part of the recovery process, whether or not people want to accept it. I would advise to be honest with your doctor, and if they refuse to continue treating you then find a new one right away, because if you don't tell them and SOMEHOW they find out you lied, then you will lose their trust permanently. As for when to you get back on Suboxone, wait until you start to feel the beginning of withdrawals and take at most 2mg and see how you feel. I've never waited until moderation-severe withdrawal and it's always been okay. If the 2mg makes you feel better, than you're probably safe to take the other 2mg since your normal dose is only 4mg. If you're relapsing several times a year, perhaps you should increase your dose a bit. I was on 16mg for about 6 months, then dropped to 8mg for a year and now I've been on 6mg since January and it's holding me well. And whatever you do, don't listen to anything that "Lone " person has to say. He's one of those idiots affiliated with subsux.com, and those people know NOTHING about addiction and are in no position to tell anybody how they should go about recovery.

Posted by: Kat on 2010-07-23, 07:08:30

No doctor in his right mind will refuse to help someone who's trying to quit using heroin. You really should ask him. Besides, it is the only *legal* way to get Suboxone.

Posted by: Bonnie W on 2010-07-23, 07:18:06

Call a pharmacist from a strange phone anonymously and ask them their advice on this, they can tell you more than the doctor when it comes to how to use the medicine. good luck!

Posted by: Lone on 2010-07-23, 19:15:50

You wait to take the sub until you are in moderate to severe withdrawal. The longer you wait, the better it will work. Next, get off the sub before it burns you. subsux.com Edited to say, you can go to the suboxone website or call their support line to get this info. It is common knowledge you must be in moderate to severe withdrawal before taking suboxone. And you might want to listen to people who have actually gotten off of suboxone (like me) and know what that entails, instead of listening to people who are still sucking on that orange pill every day. The site subsux.com exists because sub IS so difficult to get off of. don;t believe me...call 10 rehabs and see if they will accept you when you want to get off suboxone. They won;t, because it is such a difficult and lengthy drug to detox from. There are only a few rehabs in the country who can successfully help someone off sub, and they aren't 30 days programs, but typically 3-6 MONTHS. The problem is, suboxone is a long lasting opioid and changes your brain in ways that short acting opiate's, like oxy, hydro, or heroin, can not. it is truly a horrid drug, and almost everyone who detoxes from it will agree. It's easy to say how good it is while you are still high on it, lol.

Posted by: Subpar on 2010-07-24, 07:51:02

Badfishdive is trying to kill you. You have already experienced precipitated w.d's once from taking sub too early. he might have gotten away with it, but he got lucky. Being in moderate to severe withdrawal is what the manufacturer states before taking Suboxone, and the reason is because sub contains Naloxone, an opiate blocker. taking sub early can cause BIG problems. And the folks at subsux.com have more experience than most doctors prescribing sub. Yo0u do realize they only ned to take an 8 hour online course to be able to prescribe it, and it is HIGHLY profitable. They can have 100 patients, and charge whatever they want. Most sub doctors will openly admit they are in it for the easy money. My own sub dr, a PhD said to me "this is so much easier than dealing with crazy people ". I suffered for about 14 months coming off sub, and without subsux.com would have never made it. Good luck to you!