Suboxone is not the only answer

[tommm70]

I am seeing a common trend lately. When someone makes a post about wanting help, almost every time someone suggests Suboxone.
In my opinion, there is a common misconception that Suboxone is a magic pill to end addiction. It seems to be growing, and so are reports that coming of of Suboxone may be more difficult than the drug that put you on it.

I will not dispute the fact that while on it, and under the right guidance of support from therapy and family, it can work.

But how many posts do we see where people say they get it from a friend, or get it from a loved one? Never once talking about how therapy, counseling, life changing behaviors are a must for success.

I suffered a very long time because of Subutex, and it pains me to see so many turing to this thinking it is the only option they have. The FAQ in the health pages is dead on folks. This stuff affects you for a very, very long time when you are finished. Whether it be down to a sliver a day, or jumping off at 1mg a day. it just doesn't matter. Sure a sliver might make it a bit better, but if you were on this for a year, it won't matter. You are going to have a WD battle. A LONG WD battle.

A doctors care, counseling and a support program are the ONLY way a Suboxone/Subutex program is going to work.

And the cost may be more than you are willing to pay. Will someone in Sub. withdrawal go back to the opiate of choice to avoid WDs? I may have if I did not have counseling and change my triggers.

The bottom line is before you tell someone who is new here to jump to Suboxone before anything else, is just not right. This drug company has a lot of people fooled, and I was one of em.
I am more determined than ever to show a pill is not necessarily the first or only option to beat addiction. That pill presents a battle all of its own.

[leeisgettingclean]

this is a old but good post!

[ILoveLukey]

Ok, now I have been sufficiently scared to death. I was feeling pretty good for past 2 months being on Sub. I read some wonderful success stories on the Sub site and was optomistic.No more. Now I feel like I have failed by going that route after reading all of this and I am very depressed. I was so d*** proud of myself all this time. Now I feel like it is the worst decision I have ever made and that I will never be able to get off of it without going thru pure hell.  To all who wished my sister well with her brain surgery, I can't thank you enough for your prayers, THEY WORKED!  she is now doing very well and may be coming home soon already. These past two days have been some of the worst of my life. And coming home from the hospital and reading this post just made them even worse. I probably shouldn't have read it right now.

[s10sittnondubs]

My cousin is fighting a heroin and oxy addiction right now.  He was in the marines a sgt. in fact in Afghanistan.  His platoon that he was platoon sergeant in was the first to touch ground in Afghanistan besides the recon guys.  He messed around with it over there and it was just to much to handle for him back in the states.  He always talks about how bad he wishes he could do it all over again.  I hope that you and your husband can find the right help, suboxone did help my cousin tremendously but when he thought he was fine and decided to quit taking it after the doctor said he should stay on it on a lower dose for a little longer, he relapsed.  Heroin is a nasty drug but the opiates in it are the same thing that a lot of people on this site are struggling with, the amount I took a day was probably close to what a lot of people using heroin do dosage wise.  There is help out there if you want to find it.  I wish you the best of luck in finding it and keep posting on here.

[road2recovery]

omg......I am so sorry...But at least he is being honest with you...I know nothing about herion, but there are some here that do hang on and they will help
I will make a new post for you
r2r

[mommy52713]

I am so sorry i cant imagine what you are going through. Try and support him he need's it more now than ever.I know you must feel betrayed but as an addict it isn't alway's easy to be honest.THis is the drug talking and not your husband. Does he really want to be clean or is he just out? this will make all the difference.

[jayln81]

well, thank you for all your time and help but i just found out its not pills, he is kicking heroin:(  thats just wonderfull. he seen that i was on here and said that i cant help him if he is not giving me the right info and then out came the word heroin.  wtf.  now what?

[s10sittnondubs]

I don't think I'd of let him have the alcohol, if it really is willing and wants to get off of one drug then why not all.  It may not seem clear to him right now but tell him if he can make it just a little longer it will be all over with for good!  The rewards are so much greater being clean than having to worry about where your next high comes from.  I understand trying to play middle man with the devil and it never turns out good, but it can work, if he wants to quit pills then there is something inside of him that doesn't want this and that is why he wants to use.  Just talk not about how he might feel, get his mind off of that even if it doesn't take his mind off and he gets irritated maybe he will realize that you are only trying to help.  We need someone there to help us through this time, even if we say we don't.

[tommm70]

Is he going through WD because he wants to, or only because he is out of pills? Do you have any addicton centers in your area? you may want to contact one. It sounds like he is in crisis, and needs more help than you can give. I know many of us have done it, including myself. But mixing opiates and alcohol can be dangerous. If he goes out and gets more pills, he will be back at square one.
This is what I was saying before with the mind being taken over by addiction. He wants it, no matter what the cost. this is not his fault, it is just part of what is happening.

Seek professional help, it is really important at this point.

[jayln81]

He already has the alcohol, he says that it helps but he wants to get more pills.  He has had one glass of whiskey and he says that he feels a little better.  This is rediculous.

[road2recovery]

He wants to get more pills? or alcohol??  DON"T let him...He is going to have to go through this, and he has you for support...More pills will just prolong it...
hang in there
r2r

[suboxoneaddict]

All you need is sub (sing to the beatles song)
I am so glad tht this topic is being discussed. As many of you know, I am at the end of a three year run on sub and while it has helped \, the things that changed me most were meetings, support groups, working the steps, going to therapy, making tough choices based on my needs not my wants. For the first year I only skirted the occasional support group etc and I didn't get anywhere until I stopped all drugs and alcohol and started working the 12 steps. Now after three years getting off sub is a herculean task. Did I tell you that I detoxed off of sub once before in 2003 after injecting bupenorphine into my body for four months to get off methadone. In the end the sub detox was absolutely, mindnumbingly horrible and to this day I don't know exactly how I did it. It wasn't enough though to get me to refrain from going back on and now I have to do it again. This time though I am doing it much more slowly but I still anticipate a lot of misery yet I will do it if it is the last thing I do.
Personally I think that 21 days on sub is too much. Ideally a sub detox should last three to six days depending on whaat you are detoxing from. That was the way they did it at this hospital that I went to four times in the nineties and I saw it work over and over, where people had minimal w/d's compared to the 21 day and longer therapies. Back then, they gave you four 1mg injections a day over three to four days, never more. Isnt it funny how the new drug that some company promotes as a cure always ends up being worse. When Heroin was introduced it was advertised as the cure for morphine addiction. Can you imagine how overjoyed people must have been at first only to be crushed under the weight of heroin addiction. Anyway i am getting distracted

[jayln81]

oh my god he wants to go get more!!!  I dont know what to do with this!!!!  I told him that he needs to just deal with it and maybe the sicker he feels the more he will want to never do this again.  He said that I have never felt what he is feeling.  Is this tapering or giving in?

[jayln81]

Well he just told me that he has been taking these for over a month upto 4 pills a day!  I thought he was only taking them for a few weeks at 1 a day.  I no longer go to meetings, I felt they were cultish if you will.  I have been able to manage and battle my personal demons with out meetings.  I did post a question yesterday about help with my husband.  I believe it is on the second page today.  Is there anything I can do to help him with all this vomitting?  Or is this just nature taking its course?  I told him that I have been on here asking for help and I have been reading some of the suggestions written in here including the Thomas recipe.  He is drinking whiskey right now he says that it makes him feel better?  I dont know how he can drink that stuff while he has flu like symptoms.  EWWWW!

[tommm70]

Opiate WD is not life threatening. Make sure he stays hydrated. Which means try and stay away from alcohol. gatorade, crackers, even ice chips if necessary. the worst will be over in about 4 more days.
What about counseling? I read your profile, and you have been through a lot yourself. Do you still go to meetings? opiate addiction is as much a battle of the mind as it is the body. Even when the physical symptoms subside, the cravings may still be there. It is not difficult to succumb to cravings. So just keep supporting him through this flu like stage. it will get better.
keep posting, and keep giving updates!
you may want to start your own thread on the page as well. there are so many great people with real life experience with what you are going through. Get as much info as you can, and I wish you luck.

[jayln81]

He is going through WD from oxy 80's.  I read the Thomas recipe and am working on finding a barbituate.  He has been a full 24 hours without and he is very sick. He is drinking whiskey now and throwing up.  He is hungery but cant eat.  This is so scary for me.

[tommm70]

I am going to PM you. Is he going through WD from Sub? or a full opiate?
There is a great article in the health pages called the Thomas recipe. WD is gonna be tough and uncomfortable no matter what, but there are some things to make it a bit easier.
I can't recommend hot baths enough! Check out that article, let us know if you have any questions, and please keep posting.

[sickcookie]

Thank you for a great post it was very needed as this forum has gone sub crazy.So thank you for keeping it real ,there are lots on it but very very few off ,.We got ourselves in this mess and we are the only ones who can get us out .

[road2recovery]

Good post...Thanks for being honest!!  I think that we need more people that have taken that route to also say if they would do it again or not too....I know everyone is different, but it is just opinons...It also helps hundreds that are lurking and reading....And hurrying up to jump on sub, without trying hard first....

thanks for sharing
r2r

[s10sittnondubs]

I will be 100% completely honest with you.  I do not wan't this to offend anyone or think that their sobriety is fake because it is not.  As I said its all in the eye of the beholder and how you act on your triggers and tempting thoughts/situations.  I would not go back on sub if I relapsed.  Personally.  That is me not anyone else.  I know what going back on it would do, it would help me get my life together but then again I would have to face the physical w/d's which is what I always thought I couldn't make it through.....alive for that matter I thought physical w/d's from opiates could kill you, but we all know this isn't true.  I would not go back on it just because if you have the support, and counseling, and faith of other people then who needs another drug to get off a drug.  You are just prolonging the inevitable.  My 2 cents, and I don't want to offend anyone its just the truth from my side of the story.

[jayln81]

I am new today to this site and trying to find out all I can from others who have battled the opiate addiction.  I had posted a question reguarding my husband who is really sick right now and I was just wondering if you could offer any ideas for me as I try to stay supportive.  Today is his first day in a few weeks without and I just wanted to know what to expect through the night and tomorrow, I know that everyone is different but if I could just maybe get an idea of what to expect and how to help him cope.  How tough do I really need to be because I dont want to become a co-dependent but I dont want to be cold hearted either.  I dont know, I am lost, angry, scared and heart broken over his selfish decision.  He just started taking them to get high and now here we are.  thanks

[LONESOME]

Can I ask if you would do it again (go on sub)?

[s10sittnondubs]

I was on suboxone for 8 months.  I only suggest it if the said person has relapsed numerous amounts of times as I did.  I couldn't even make it day to day without something and when I did try c/t and something even presented it self I took the easy way out.  Suboxone helped me get my life back with first a support/recovery group that taught us the ropes of AA and NA.  Then I went to NA and AA.  All these things helped me realize what I needed to do in situations or times that would make me want to use or if something was presented to me.  I had to relapse again after all that to hit rock bottom and realize that even if I did make the w/d's start by using they would just come again ang again until I quit c/t.  It is the realization that oneself must make.  That is my view on it being from both sides, and having the expeirience.

[GoingToMakeIt]

This entire post is a good one. Good points are made. Hopefully sub will not be recommended as a first choice option. It has a place but it too has a dark side.

[addictedme]

My only question would  be to those that say they quit and relapsed many times. What did you do to stay quit in between quitting and relapsing.