Side effects of suboxone?

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ilovebikes07

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Hi can not see any recent threaRAB so I decided to post one. I am 47 a mother of two and have been battling addiction of one thing or another since I was 12. After 15 years I thought I could control opiates if I only took a low amount and not all the time. Well guess what? WRONG!

I started taking codeine for physical pain and at times emotional pain 8 years ago and took codeine pretty much everyday ranging from 60 mgs to 160mgs. This went on for 6 years and I believed I was still in control. I then lost my brother in a tragic accident. Well needless to say I upped the anty to cope with the emotional pain. Then last year my son was diagnosed with manic depression and I nearly lost him to drugs and suicidal behaviour. Then 6 months ago my dad dies from a three month battle with cancer.

So I was already nurabing myself with codeine and alcohol so why not take the morphine he left behind. So after taking up to 250mgs of codeine and 20 mgs of morphine a day I decided then about 8 weeks ago to try and stop. WRONG again! I couldnt I was hooked. I had not IV used in 15 years and all the cravings for that came back and I nearly lost my job and could see myself heading down a dead end street real quick.

To cut a long story short I am now on suboxone.

What I want to know is does anyone struggle with extreme fatigue and nausea after taking suzoxone for four weeks at 4mg a day -- they want me to go up to six as it is not holding off the cravings. But when I try I get really sick. I think it is maybe because I am on dothep an antidepressant that it makes the side affects worse. So I am caught between a rock and a hard place. If I stay on the 4mgs I still think about shooting up and taking morphine etc. Not as bad as before suboxone but. It would not be a problem except I have to work and I cant be falling asleep at work or getting anyone suspicious or I could lose my job. I know if I go up to six and hopefully eventually 8 I will feel alot better cravings wise. How long do these side affects last? Will they go after I have been on the subs longer? I hope someone can help cause I am about to throw the program away and take my chances I wont use again. I am cutting down the dothep but I have been on it since I was 16 so my body is not happy about that either. :dizzy:

I really need this to work. I want to be free from all this crap. Before I went on the subs i started looking around for herion that really scared me to think that I would do that again after so many years and knowing the hell I went through back then. If anyone has any advise or can share there experiences with suboxone and side affects please do. It also drops by blood pressure alot. Down to 106 over 60 now so dizzyness an issue too.

thanks:confused:
 
I would assume the dothap probably has something to do with it (I'm not swure what dothape is & have never taken it) but I'm no Dr. I've never really heard of anyone getting fatigued or nausea from taking suboxone alone especially 4mg's but everyones body is different and peoples bodys react to things differently. Did you tell your suboxone Dr that your on dothap and if so did he say anything about it and its reaction to suboxone? There are def. meRAB that you should not be taking if your on suboxone.

I have been on suboxone for about 3 1/2 years and can't wait to get off. I would recommend talking to your Dr about the corabination of the two and see what he has to say. As far as suboxone goes its also strange that after about a month of suboxne you still have cravings for opiates. I was going to say not to stay on suboxone long but if you stil have cravings for opiates you should stay on it.

Suboxone is very very hard to get off of even though most of the literature and what not that you hear says- "all you have to do is just taper slowly and the withdrawls arent that bad" wrong!!! This stuff is a nighmare to get off of (I've tried many times but have failed once I get down past 2mgs/day). The half life is so long so the withdrawls last for weeks even & can linguring for longer. One of my frienRAB was on suboxone for about 3 years & only took like 1 mg a day (its a very small amount to be on for that long) and tapered, started skipping days only taking the smallest amounts and said the withdrawls lasted almost 2 months!!! Now he said the worst part was the 1st 3-7 days but still, thats an awfully long time to be feeling withdrawls and I've heard that from a lot of ppl. I myself am on 4mgs/day and am tapering from taking 8mgs/day. Its very very difficult especially when you work as much as I do. I'm determined to get off this time and am willing to do whateve it takes to get off this stuff (I just want to be normal and I imagine you do too). Anyway good luck and ask your Dr about the corabo of taking the two meRAB. If you already have let us know what he said so we can offer you advice but yiour Dr is gong to be your best bet.
 
Yea I would def lower that anitdepressant your on (sounRAB like that might be teh root of your prob). I would highly recommend staying on suboxone since you still have cravings-basically get your life together and change your habits, frienRAB, etc. Once you have done that get then taper off suboxone. Suboxone saved me b/c it got meaway form the people, places, and triggers that made me use but I've been on it soooo long (almost 4 years coming up) that I just want off. This past Sat I dropped from 4mgs to 2mgs (took clonidine-blood pressure meRAB, and valium-valium is a tremendous help when weaning off suboxone but you have to make sure you only take it for a few days each time you lower your dose-you have to be very diciplined with it and then stop taking it after about 5 days after your last dose drop-thats the last thing you'd need is to get addicted to valium you know). I thank suboxone for getting my life back in order but to tell you the truth I never heve felt "normal while I've been on suboxone. Suboxone has givin me restless legs, anxiety, irritability, nervousness, and a bunch of other unpleasent feelings but at least it got me to stop using Heroin. I have a good job and I bet knowone I work with would have ever guessed I was a former Heroin addict so I will thank suboxone for making me a productive person in society again. Its just I feel like when a person is on suboxone you never really feel "normal". I will all of a sudden get hot flashes and get very restless and irritable towarRAB the end of the day. I tell my GF about it but she doesnt understand (she never touched drugs) and I feel bad when I get cold towarRAB her b/c is really teh suboxone making me feel/act that way.
Anyway def lower that dothep & hopefully that will ehlp you. Try not to get on too high of a suboxone dose b/c once you feel like your putting your life back together and you dont have cravings anymore I would recommend tapering off as soon as possible so your body isnt on it too long.
On a side note suboxne (at least for men) has some bad side effects. I t lowers guys testosterone levels/libido (not to be vulger or anything) and I really couldnt care less about "you know what". My GF thinks I'm not attracted to her but it has nothing to do with that, its the damn suboxone.
So good luck and the key it to be very diciplined and make sure you excercise, eat healthy, and stay positive! Sorry I wrote soooo much but suboxne has been in my life sooo long I just want to share my experiences with others. Good luck!!!
 
hello it sounRAB like you have been through alot in your life.life sucks who ever ask to come into this crappy place anyway.all i no is im tired of needing things to make it through the day. this pill or that pill.i shot coke for 10yrs and then tried herion for 4yrs with the coke so i wouldn't spend all my money on coke that worked at first but then i had a "h" habit.suboxone help me get off H the first time but then being an addict I stated taking if for pain,thats what i told myself. I stated at 8mg a day but about a yr later i stated feeling bad all the time After a few visit to the doctor i realized it was the suboxone so i started a tamper. I brake that 8mg pill into 6pcs and take 1 aday. i just cant seem to find the strength to go any lower. don't increase you dose. its hard to get off that stuff
 
Hey thanks for the reply. I was kind of feeling all alone with this stuff but reading everyones elses struggles makes me kind of feel better. I am abit concerned about getting off the subs if I stay on them but not taking them and the consequences of that scare me more. I am 47 and have struggled with addiction all my life the subs is giving me a chance at normality whatever that is? Dothep is another name of prothiadin which is a trycilic anti depressant. Its an old one been around alot of years. I have been on it since I was 16 and for the past 6 years on a high dose of 200mg. I am not sure what came first the depression or the addiction? I have discussed this with my sub doctor and she has asked me to try cut it down before increasing my sub dose. Apparently I am still craving because the dose is not high enough. Also it is hard to change your thought patterns after allowing them to rule you for so many years. For me its Stress take drugs, or pain take drugs. I know everyone has bad things happen to them but for some reason addicts often choose to run from the pain those experiences cause? I am thinking that the suboxone withdrawal would kind of be like the precipitated withdrawal they put me into to start with. Was only given subutex for one day and then the suboxone which put me into withdrawal. Not nice! I know from taking dothep with codeine and morphone it increases the effects of these and also alcohol. The downside is it also can increase the side effects. I am a cheap drunk as one drink is like having three:) I have cut down my dothep by 75mg in three weeks and I am starting to think that the symptoms I am experiencing are related to dothep withdrawal. Man why do we do this to ourselves. My biggest fear is I will start IV using again. I have not done this in 15 years and have so much to lose. I came so very close to doing this efore reaching out for help. Thanks again for the help.
 
Hello. I have been on Suboxone for 3 weeks now. The first appointment I had, that I had my first pill with me, they only had me take half (4mg). It was a little over an hour on our way home, and we had to pull over as I threw up. I didnt take the second dose later as they instructed. I talked to the DR the next morning and was advised to take 1/4 of the pill. I did. and after about an hour again, I threw up. But once i get sick, I feel better. I did have a bit of dizziness and felt a little dopey for a few days. I did not drive for almost a week. The vomiting has stopped now. I was having sweats in the night too. I just wanted you to know that the vomiting is normal from what my dr said. IF you know you are going to get sick on 4 mg, then who cares if you get sick on 6mg? thats how I felt and how i was able to move up in my dose. Because, you dont throw up the med, as its disolved under your tongue. The cravings got much less as well as the side effects. You may also want to see if there is a newer antidepressant that they can maybe switch you to that is similar to the one you are on. I take prozac with mine and they work well together.
well i hope things are getting better for you. but just know you are not alone with getting sick and it does get better.
 
Hey thanks so much for the reply. I feel more encouraged to keep going. I dealt with some really heavy stuff from my past with a councellor today and the subs kept me level. I didnt start craving like I usually do when the stress levels go up. I think that I am just going to hav to keep going with it and as I lower the anti depressant I shd start feeling better. I am assisting the nausea with maxolon which is helping. Sweats too hey? I still occassionally break out in a sweat about two hours after a dose. I would like to be able to control how much I take but I am on supervised dosing. I have 8 weeks to go then can start taking it away. I am so looking forward to that as having to go to the chemist everyday is a pain. I have just completed four weeks and I do feel more stable in general my mooRAB are way better. Trying to juggle an addiction to opiates and work fulltime is not easy. I am very lucky I still have my job as I came very close to losing it. Alot of people talk about how hard it is to get off but for now Im just going to concentrate on getting well and worry about that later. I'm going to try uping the dose next week again. I am still feeling a little shaky at times especially if I cant get to collect my dose on time. The higher dose gives you a longer window for dosing. Thanks and best of luck. We can do this!
 
hello you just told my story. I haven't felt rite since starting sub. 2yrs ago. now im down to 1/6 a pill a day but cant seem to go any lower.i must say that since i started this tamper from 1/4 apill aday my sex drive is higher but im still tired all the time.I hate needing such a little piece of pill to function.i think if i didnt have access to them id b ok. your right about sub. though its a life saver.I think they over perscibe it though which makes it harderto get off. well good luck on the life thing its pretty crappy
 
Hi thanks to everyone for your replys. I made the decision to stay on the 4mgs for now. I can honestly say that compared to my life 5 weeks ago I feel 100% better. I am back at work and cannot believe the difference. Five weeks ago I was wondering around not really knowing where I was or who the hell I was:dizzy: I was onb the verge of losing my job and my husband and I felt so depressed I considered ending it all. I had a few laughs at some of the comments. I know what you mean about not quite feeling the same. I too have had some issues with the getting irratable towarRAB dose time. As for the hot flashes I thought that was menopause:) Does anyone still get cold flashes:confused: I got plenty of these when I was withdrawing off morphine and codeine. Every now and then they come out of the blue. Could also be related to dose time I guess. Generally but I feel so much stronger. I am not going to worry too much about getting off them as yet and concentrate on getting well. I feel at 47 I have to do it this time. If I think too much about it I get scared that I will never overcome addiction. As for the valium I think I would not be disciplined enough? When I was in my 20's I had a 20 valium a day habit. They were the nastiest thing to come off. I had seizures and spent weeks in hospitial and then a further 6 months of muscle twitching and epileptic medication. When the time comes I will deal with it then. As for the other issue :D My libido has increased after taking the subs. Think that it might be because I am not smashed all the time;) Best of luck to you all and thanks for the support. Oh and I have managed to lower the antidepressant down to 125mgs from 200mgs so far so am pretty dam happy about that. Have been on those things for most of my life.
Stay strong:)
 
Good to hear your doing better than before. Liek I said susboxone and other meRAB effect everyone different but it sound like your doing a lot better. As for me I lowered my dosage again this past sat to 2mg's/day. I take the valium when I start feeling ichy and it takes those terrible feelings right away. I only take the valium for 5 days and then stop. Every time I've lowered my dose I stay on that dose for about 2-3 weeks (I only take the valium when I decrease the dosage for 5 days so I do't get a valium habit-I did reseach & found out its the least addictive of all the benzo's and the most effective for easing withdrawls for alcoholics and opiates. Anyway it seems to be working for me. I have such a better ioutlook on life since I have been tapering. I have tried tapering many times before but the withdrawl effects were too much for me to handle and I would always resort back to taking 8mgs/day.

My experience with suboxone and its effects are-restlessness, hot flashes, irritability, anxiousness, decresed motivation, and decreased libido. As I have been tapering my motivation and mood have def increased. I see a light at the end of the tunnel and I pray I make it though this nightmare. I have been told that its very difficult when you get lower than 2mg's/day. I plan on lowering to 1.5-1mg/day in about 2-3weeks. I'll let you guys know how it goes. Good luck to everyone.

Remeraber to only stay on suboxone for the shortest peroid of time for you to get your life back in order. Once you get away from teh people, places, and things that triggered you and you feel like you wont use again I would recommend starting your taper. The longer your on suboxone the harder it is to get off.
 
Suboxone really does work. If you have real physical pain and suffering with addiction. The Suboxone should help you in everyway. You need help taking to a counselor, while taking the Suboxone because you won't feel the high that you would with the other pills. But maybe if you change your ways/thoughts, in order, to get through the cravings. Just until the Suboxone is really working. The Suboxone works in the brain and if you try to take an opiate w/Suboxone, you would make a emergency trip to hosp. Givea CHANCE
 
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