It all started after the birth of her daughter.
She was prescribed a handful of pain pills to help her through the recovery.
But these meds did more than just stop her pain. They gave her the energy she needed to take care of her family. And so it started…
One pill a day grew to two, then three. And soon her doctor would not write her as many as she felt she needed. Now she was actually having pain. She noticed pain about 2 hours after she took a pill. Deep pain inside her muscles and down to her bones.
She noticed growing anxiety. She worried about the next pill. How would she find it? How would she pay for it? How could she hide this from her husband?
This story is all too true and all too common.
But there is help out there.
How to Use Suboxone/Subutex to Stop Pain Pills
Buprenorphine is the generic term for the medications Suboxone and Subutex and Zubsolv.
Buprenorphine is a partial opiate agonist. Which means it acts like an opiate in some ways and binds to certain receptors on the brain that contribute to withdrawal and cravings. If given the choice, the brain will bind with buprenorpine over typical opiates such as pain pills.
Suboxone and Subutex are long acting medications. So they stay in your system a while. You can take it once a day. But many people prefer to split the dose 2 to 3 times a day.
When you take Suboxone or Subutex instead of pain pills, many people claim to feel “normal” for the first time in years. I believe this is because they are no longer controlled by the ups and downs of opiate withdrawal. (Withdrawal which may start as early as 1 to 2 hours from the last dose)
Suboxone/Subutex works well for people when they are no longer looking to get high but are trying to get back to some type of normal life. A life no longer controlled by pills.
Because of the way Suboxone works, it should only be started when you are already in withdrawal. It varies on the person, but normal 24-72 hours without opiates should do the trick.
There are different ways to dose Suboxone. If you have tried these medications off the street and they made you feel sick, it is possible your dose was wrong or that you took it too soon (in other words, you weren’t in enough withdrawal).
How long should you take Suboxone?
This is the million dollar question. And like most things, it depends.
There are people that had success with low dose suboxone or subutex and were able to wean off fairly quickly. There are other patients that have stayed on medications for years and are just now tapering off. And there are patients that plan to stay on treatment for the unforeseeable future.
Everyone’s story is different and treatment should be patient specific and not population specific.
Obviously it would be great if no one needed medication and everyone could be happy and healthy without the need for a doctor. But this just isn’t reality. So we do the best we can with what we have. Wether it’s diabetes or addiction, treatment varies.
The good news is that if you struggle with opiate addiction, there is help available.
Medication assisted treatment with Suboxone or Subutex is not the answer for everyone but it may be the answer for you. And it just might save your life.
Talk to your doctor.
Good luck and God Bless.
p.s.
This article is not intended as medical advice. Please talk to your doctor.
p.p.s.
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