Suboxone – A Miracle Drug? « What Winners Do

Suboxone – A Miracle Drug?

Posted on December 4, 2009

I have no issues what so ever with pharmaceutical help for addiction such as Methadone or Suboxone. What I do take issue is with newspapers reporting that a drug like Suboxone is a miracle drug because now small town people won't have to go to the big city for treatment, they can get treatment on an outpatient basis from their own physicians.

While I understand that physicians must first become certified to be able to prescribe Suboxone, I'm just a little skeptical about the type of recovery program a patient will be expected to participate in while they are taking their Suboxone if it is being prescribed by their primary care physician.

If you have been keeping up with your local news at all, I'm sure you will agree that arrests involving possession of Suboxone is becoming more and more common (at least it's that way in Massachusetts). How is this Suboxone getting in the hands of people on the streets? Someone is given a prescription for it by their primary care physician, they go get it at the pharmacy, and then proceed to sell it to someone for some pretty good money.

Why is this? Because taking Suboxone does not require daily attendance to your doctors office. You get a prescription for it, right from the start, and have your medication at home. This is unlike a methadone program where for a while you have to go to the clinic to be given your daily dose under supervision.

I do understand that there are some positive aspects of being able to prescribe Suboxone to patients and have them be responsible for self dosing. Not everyone is near a treatment facility. If we want people to start recovery with the use pharmaceutical help, we can't make it impossible for them to get to it.

Being able to take your medication at home instead of staying in an inpatient facility makes treatment possible for those who cannot afford the inpatient facilities.

I guess my main concern is that people are going to see Suboxone as a quick fix kind of drug. If they are addicted to opiates, they can go to a doctor who is certified to prescribe Suboxone and they can get themselves enough of a supply to get through the acute withdrawal stages. But what happens after that?

If they are not actively pursuing recovery...they will go right back to opiates once their prescription for Suboxone runs out. Getting the drugs out of your system isn't the problem with most people it's keeping them out of your system that is the hard part.

So while I do agree that when coupled with a strong recovery program, Suboxone is a really good aid in helping someone stop their addiction. I think it's giving people the wrong idea to be calling this a miracle drug.

***UPDATE***
Since I have been learning more and more about Suboxone in the past couple of weeks I figured I would share an informational video about Suboxone which was created by our friend Ted.

Filed under: addiction recovery Leave a comment

Comments (134) Trackbacks (3) ( subscribe to comments on this post )

Erin
May 20th, 2008 - 20:24

I’m sorry Lewis. That sucks. It’s weird but my grandfather went into the hospital last night too. Strange right?

The whole thing with the economy is pretty scary but we’ll get through. We struggle to keep our bank account from going into the negative each pay period but we’re managing.

I’m sorry you’re down.

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Lewis
June 14th, 2008 - 17:40

hey,did u get my email? i didnt ignore u.

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Lewis
June 22nd, 2008 - 01:35

hey erin, theres someone on these blogs i can relate too,he live in the same area i do,now atleast,since i hail from nyvc. crazy huh?

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Lewis
June 22nd, 2008 - 01:36

oh by the way,its Ted!

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Lewis C.
July 7th, 2008 - 03:47

hey erin. long time no here from. howve you been? oh! great news! i quit smoking cigarettes. i was a pack a day smoker since i was 16,and im now 26. pretty cool huh? the last day i had one was june 8th,and never gonna look back. i used the patch for about 4 days,then smoked cigars,of which i didnt inhale. thats just for the habit part of it. now im completely smoke free and i feel great. i can taste and smell better already! whats new w/you????

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Lewis C.
August 7th, 2008 - 18:32

hey whereve u been?

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ginger
November 23rd, 2008 - 19:36

I am a methadone patient and my husband is a suboxone patient. I have been on methadone for to long but I hav also ben clean. It saved my life. I now need to get off the methadone but I am afraid that my mind will not go back to normal. You know how your endorphins stop working because of opiates and some peoples start back and some do not. Well I am thinking of detoxing but this scares me. The suboxone has been good for my husband. He has also been clean for a long time. I live in a small town though and I have to travel almost 3 hours one way to a clinic and he travels 1 and a half hours one way to go to the doctor. This is hard with working and having children. With both treatments we have been able to stay clean, hold down a job, return to college, and take care of our children. without the programs I would probably not be here and he the same. I thank God for the programs. I wish people would understand that the people that want to succeed on these programs will. The ones that do not are not ready yet. They will one day be ready. But do not punish the ones that are doing good on these programs because of the ones that do not. There are all kinds of drugs on the streets. Morphine and lortabs and other opiates are on the streets too and this being the fault of needing methadone clinics and suboxone doctors.

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Kira
January 10th, 2009 - 14:34

I have been addicted to heroin, used methadone to get off it, then got off methadone…5 years later got addicted to oxycontin – started suboxone. I wish to god they had, had suboxone back then. This really is a miracle drug. No side effects, no withdrawal and within 2 days i felt as normal as ever, no cravings, nothing! It truly is a mirable drug!

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Lewis C.
January 20th, 2009 - 02:13

hello erin. how the hell have u been? hows life? im ok. have had a bad couple weeks. but i got a quote for you,tell me what u think: “”if youre having a bad day, and nothing can seem to make it better,try this. the next time a sunrise steals your breath….. or a meadow of flowers leaves you speechless… remain that way. say nothing and listen as heaven whispers, “do you like it? i did it just for u.”

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Erin
January 20th, 2009 - 10:45

Hey Lewis
That is a nice quote. Yeah, my sobriety is doing good but I’ve also had a hard couple of weeks in my life. It happens right? I think I’m dealing with things ok. I’m actually pretty happy with the way I’ve put some of the things I’ve learned in recovery to actual use. Good to know I’ve built up some skills.

Well, I hope things get easier for you. Take care and keep in touch.

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Lewis C.
January 20th, 2009 - 12:47

yeah ive had a real bad month. terrible actually. do u have a facebook page?

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Lewis C.
April 7th, 2009 - 04:43

hello. i havent been on here in a while. how r u. im passing my time by learning a new language. french to be exact. i already speak italian fluently, so this will be my third language learned. its cool i like it.

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wondering in wva
April 24th, 2009 - 21:23

Okay, this is my first comment and I really have alot to say but I’ll keep it short.
My husband is on Suboxone and I really think it’s a “Mirical Pill”… for now.
I’m scared to death that when he gets off it he will still feel like he needs to… “have a fix”.
If there is anyone out there who has been on this med and it WORKED, please, feel free to tell me how.
Things like, how long you were on it and how you felt after you were after you were off of it.
I don’t ever want him to stop it (sad huh?)
I’ve had a time with him.
He’s a wonderful person and I love hm so much.
He loves me too but as you know, the addicion is very controling.
I’ve been there.
I went to rehab and detoxed and now I have my priorties right.
MY KIDS COME FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He’s just taking longer to get his priorties right.
Now, his job and family come first. I just hope it stays that way.
Any knowledge to this issue will be greatly appreciated!!!
Wondering

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Scott
May 4th, 2009 - 13:13

Hi / this is my first time posting her and I would just like to reiterate that suboxone is great and has helped me tremendously when everything else tried has failed. I currently am taking 8 mg daily , but my doctor will be reducing that to 6 mg daily next week. I encourage anyone who has an opiate addiction to consider trying it. I had been abusing pain pills for over 24 years and I had pretty much tried everything to stop , but to no avail. Good luck to all of you and please remember to just take it one day at a time. God Bless.

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Crstal
May 8th, 2009 - 13:40

Good luck my name is crystal i fell like sub saved my life, i was on hydrocodone and percocet for 7 yrs i have 3 kids and a fiance but i been taking it for 5 mths and ita truely a miricle drug if i had to stop it tody i wld be clean the rest of my life!!!!! good luck & keep faith NO Methadone thats just trading

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darrell
July 30th, 2009 - 16:37

hello..i have been on oxycontin sence it came out in 1996…my new doctor wrote me suboxone..is this stuff any good for pain?

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jon
August 1st, 2009 - 05:00

i have been taking suboxne for about 6 months and i have to say it saved my life my marriage and my relationship with my parents so if anybody is thinking about starting the med i highly recommend it. it really works no cravings no withdrawel no nothing just feeling good in just a few hours after starting the drug so to everyone with the opiate addiction this is your savior it will work and your life will never be better i mean i went from 25 to 30 hydros and percs a day to 3 a day of suboxone and it works!!!!!! i had a 5 year addiction

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GWC
August 9th, 2009 - 13:16

I was on suboxone for four years – gradually withrew down to 4 mg to get off (to go o/s). My problem is OTC paikillers (in OZ, some have 15 mg Codiene but you have to keep taking more and more until you almost die). Bupe withdrawls not that bad but should have taken more time with the smaller does (down to 2, 1 etc). Ended up drinking too much, back on OTC’s than Suboxne again – really saved my life this time. I think we are all different – some people may just have to stay on it longer. Agree re Methadone – NEVER!

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Jen
August 27th, 2009 - 12:29

I have been on Suboxone for only three weeks. I live in Ontario, Canada where you need to take the drug in front of your pharmicist and wait until it is dissolved before you leave. After only three weeks of doing so, I have been given the priviledge of taking my medication home for the weekend.
These meds absolutely saved my life and the quality of my childrens’ lives as I feel like my old self again and for anyone who’s tired of the lifestyle, I say, go for it. But you be willing to undergo the scrutiny and concern of health care providers as these meds can absolutely cause harm, more so than the piles of oxycontin that I had been on for almost 8 years. I don’t know about the States, but in Canada this is a very controlled drug….. although you always have people-drug dealers, bad seeds etc.. that will do anything for buck.

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Jen
September 2nd, 2009 - 16:55

Still goin strong on suboxone, lovin every minute that i don’t have to take those other bastard pills to survive. Talk about gratitude, I am grateful but i still have a long way to go…..

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Brock w
October 13th, 2009 - 20:11

Ive been on Suboxone for 14 months now. My life is much better now I enjoy being able to feel human once again. It’s also so nice to be able to have the chance to have some money or things that was once impossible! Another great thing about (SUB) is having the ability to go to work everyday for months at a time and not miss due to some fucked up nasty dopesick fake ass illness. I’m truly greatful for this new chance at life and I am looking forward to progress. The one thing I can stand is the damn price I take a 30 day scrip (8-mg) a day or less and even with the lame discount I still end up paying $168.00 per month and then $100.00 dollars each appointment which is standard. My doctor told me to look up some kind of gov program where they pay for your Suboxone for up to one year. Can anybody tell send me in the right direction? It would really help me out I can’t pay for my scrip, with my current income. Thanks Brock.

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shadow4852
November 2nd, 2009 - 05:08

Being familiar with both the methadone and suboxone programs, I would just like to vent a little and place blame where it really belongs.
Yes, we do hear more now days, about possession charges of suboxone and yes it is because the monthly prescription does allow for some to get on the streets. However, methadone is no different in the dangers and crimes it causes. I’m not downing either drug because they are both wonderful and I believe choosing one over the other is a personal choice reached after much thought on the part of the patient. Some addicts would rather drive a long distance on a daily basis to obtain methadone cheaper, whereas some prefer to spend more monthly to only have to make one visit. There is no right or wrong. As long as it works, it’s great.
The problem is, as usual, the government. They are constantly preaching about their war on drugs and how they are constantly searching for ways to help addicts to become respectable members of society. If this was true, then were would over half the money they collect for crimes and small violations come from. The government doesn’t want to cure the addict, they just want to pacify the unaddicted people in America enough to make them believe it.
For example, methadone isn’t really an expensive drug, but it becomes more expensive when an addict has to travel a ridiculous distance to obtain it in daily doses because by law, it isn’t allowed to be prescribed by a regular doctor to treat addiction. What a coincidence that there are only a limited number of methadone clinics, when even the government is constantly complaining of the large amount of addicts needing treatment. By making it only available only from a limited number of clinics, there is no way all addicts will get the treatment they need. This guarantees there will still be those who will continue to use illegal drugs or get other narcotics from doctors that will be the cause of more possession charges and criminal activities to provide all counties and large cities with income for the government. The addict’s mind has been studied by government for many years. It is no coincidence that by methadone being daily dosed and taken home for weekends, maybe weeks and occaisionally monthly take homes, and strictly governed will produce even more income. The typical addict who is to the point of needing methadone usually has no license, much less a car to travel the distance needed to obtain it. Not to mention, the funds needed. The only way to fund their methadone treatment, for many, is to sell some of their take homes. This means the dose they are given on the clinic visits is usually twice the amount they normally take. Don’t forget, the further the clinic is from the addicts home, the more take homes they usually get. Someone from Tennessee going to Gorgia will usually get monthly take homes quickly. On their clinic visit, they are given their daily dose. Because they are often selling half of their meds to fund the rest, they are in no shape to drive. This is why so many times, methadone is the cause of fatal car crashes. Anyone who has been a part of the world of addiction for any length of time knows several people who have died as the result of coming home from the clinic. If they’re lucky, they are just stopped by the law who position themselves in areas to stop them as they leave the clinics and are given tickets or arrested for being under the influence or having no license. There would be a lot fewer fatal wrecks if doctors could just prescribe patients a month’s supply of methadone. They wouldn’t have to take it until they got home. Even then, they wouldn’t be forced to take more than they normally would.
As for suboxone; it has become the backup to bring in the funds for towns and cities that methadone doesn’t. It’s supposed to be only for treating addiction. They allow any doctor who takes an eight hour class to prescribe it. They are allowed a certain number of patients on suboxone. Most of the doctors who prescribe it normally take all insurance, including Tenncare in Tennessee. However, they don’t accept these insurances when prescribing suboxone. They usually charge anywhere from 250.00 -360.00 per month. The pharmacy charges 8.00 per pill but will take insurance. Is is not odd that in the state of Tennessee a person with tenncare isn’t allowed to be seen by a doctor who doesn’t take tenncare. Only when prescribing suboxone is it allowed. I have called every single suboxone prescribing doctor in the state and none will accept my insurance for a suboxone visit. How it that helping addicts to get help. I’ll tell you, it helps just enough where most of them can get medicine but have to sell a certain amount just to come up with the money to go. If my husband didn’t work, I couldn’t do it either. I can’t use my insurance to get help for my addiction, but if I just want to continue using, I can use it at most all pain clinics and get 1,000-1,500 pills per month. It’s all a racket carefully formulated by the government to make money.
I know I’ve ranted on and on and I do apologize but I just get so angry when I think about it. Take oxycontin, for example. A pill that can cost as much as 25.00 each at the pharmacy. How is anyone, other than a celebrity supposed to be able to afford to take them. Thank God I never had to.
They have people on state insurance, who are usually unemployed, and drawing a 500.00 check for disability, it they’re lucky. They are prescribed $5,000 worth of medicine for a month and insurance doesn’t cover it. How do they think they’ll pay for it. They will have to sell part of them. This forms a circular form of income for the government. They have set up a win win situation, for themselves.
So, in closing, I have to say Fighting the war on drugs is a cover. They don’t want to fight it. How would they make all their money then? And, as addicts, even though we know what’s going on, we continue to play the game, because that’s who we are.
To Society, addicts are the most useless people in existence, being at the bottom of the totem pole. I’ll be the first to admit we do some bad things. But hold you heads up. We can only do what we can. Without all us worthless addicts, the world would all be broke and our officials wouldn’t be able to afford the nice suits they wear.

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Bennett
November 26th, 2009 - 18:49

Methadone and other drug maintenance protocols have earned their place in the sun. Although the writer isn’t qualified to comment on the efficacy of these regimes, I believe they cut down on drug related crime. Chemical Dependency treatment however, used to be about helping patients to recover from Chemical Dependency. Since the advent of Suboxone, Ricette Benchkser pharmaceuticals want Chemical Dependency Recovery service providers to adopt the Orwellian position of helping chemically dependent patients to successfully remain chemically dependent longer. Ricette Benchkser then suggest that Suboxone patients can somehow conform to 12-step principals where they are advised that they are powerless over alcohol and other drugs. Step 1 makes no qualifications concerning the contrary opinions and the advice of the pharmaceutical companies and the physicians who provided the substances required to cause the problem in the first place.

Extended Suboxone ambulatory detox is really less like detox and more like “trying to cut down”. “I’ll quit tomorrow”. CD patients have already tried that one before arriving at the treatment center.

The inclusion of Suboxone maintained patients within a 12-step abstinence based treatment model will fundamentally compromise the integrity of the peer group by undercutting the common task of adjusting to becoming clean. The alcoholic, cocaine, benzodiazepine and methamphetamine peer group members are left to wonder why their Opioid dependent peers are encouraged to remain on their drug of choice, antagonist properties notwithstanding. An Opiod followed by some kind of Naltarxone chaser? “Methadone with a shoe shine”?

The Medical Model appropriately charges the technologist with providing treatment for the patient. Recovery services however, are often more spiritual and less technological in nature. 12-step Chemical dependency counseling also involves a greater emphasis on peer support, patient compliance and responsibility. A Medical Model philosophy for a cancer patient can have an enabling effect when applied to an alcoholic.

Alcoholism and chemical dependency have been described as baffling, cunning, and powerful. While undoubtedly driven by psychosocial forces, chemical dependency is essentially biogenic in nature. Being among the most complex of diseases, the debate concerning its etiology and treatment rages on. Recovery, however, carries with it a spiritual component that has proven itself to respond favorably to a “moral psychology,” as proposed in the Big Book by William D. Silkworth, M.D. Discussions about clinical theory and treatment protocol are crucial. They define what we do as professionals. They help us to describe and to improve upon our skills. Discussions of this kind however, continually remind me to recognize the limitations of technological solutions for spiritual problems.

My advise – Get clean in a hospital based detox program followed by an in or out-patient 12-step oriented program followed by NA . Opiods Vs. Suboxone? “Changing deck chairs on the Titanic”.

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Mike
December 4th, 2009 - 15:26

Wow…lots or replies…good post!
well, with all drugs there is a learning curve and it is up to the physcian who is prescribing it how often that person should attend rehab, even on an outpatient basis.
It is always necessary that a person go inpatient for drug addiction…just needs to have that desire. I don’t think that Suboxone being the miracle drug that it is should be blamed for people in the suburbs abusing it. It is the nature of addiction.

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Magda
December 7th, 2009 - 02:54

I am an advocate for the improvement of Buprenorphine treatment. I have been involved with this so much, that I decided to go to college and earn my degree in Addiction Studies to help further the cause.

There is a strong need for support services that are geared towards people using Suboxone as part of their addiction recovery, and I feel at the very least an education course should be mandatory for anyone using this medication. Physicians are not always putting a patient’s best interest in the front of the line when they dole out prescriptions for Suboxone and tell the patient, “See ya next time you need a refill.” There is a matter of ethics and compassion being trampled on by cash only Suboxone clinics that these physicians set up aside of their general practices because they don’t want “dopers” around their other patients.

Sadly, I would guarantee not many people realize this even occurs. Well, it does and it occurs more than anyone realizes and it needs to stop! That is why I am fighting for better support services. Suboxone is an amazing asset to opiate addiction treatment, but it needs to have more thought involved in regards to educating and supporting patients.

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Ju
January 16th, 2010 - 10:37

Suboxone is an opiate that is more powerful than morphine!!!! I was on it a year and a half!! I felt great everyday I took it. It improved my mood and gave me energy. Only thing, how long could I continue to live like that? My feet and hands would swell and I had no desire for sex…lovely. I just wanted off of it so last week instead of weaning it out for another 6 months I just made the decision to quit. I was at 3/4 of 8 mg pill. Yes, the pain was terrible, I thought I’d lose my mind with anxiety. My heart was pumping out of my chest. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t focus on anything because my eyes were so diulated. This is my 6th day off the drug and I was finally able to get out of the bed, but I still feel really bad, horrible headaches, chills, severe anxiety..I’ve read where these symptoms in some people can go on for weeks or months. But if you want off it you have to just bite the bullet (preferrably a smaller bullet than I did), I just got fed up. It controlled my life just like the opiates. I had to have my suboxone every morning just to feel “normal”. My advise to anyone who is contemplating taking suboxone to help with withdrawals is to only take it for 1 to 2 weeks weaning down the entire time!!!! That’s what they do in rehabs and that is what these suboxone docs should be doing with patients “but” let’s face it, they are getting a lot of money from the pharmacuetical company to keep their patients on long term. It is all a HUGE LIE!!!!! You just trade one for another if you stay on it long term. I think it is beneficial for the first two weeks of detoxing off of other opiates but then stop using it and go to NA meetings or counseling. Believe me, this is no miracle drug, in fact I will go so far as to it is a wolf in sheeps clothing!!! THINK BEFORE YOU TRY THIS DRUG AND IF YOU DECIDE TO TAKE IT, DON’T STAY ON IT LONGER THAN 2 WEEKS OR YOU WILL BE RIGHT BACK INTO THE CYCLE OF ABUSE. Take it from someone who knows!!! And for sure get some antideppresants in your system before you come off of it or else you will feel like hanging yourself!! TO ME, IT IS A SERIOUSLY DANGEROUS DRUG AND THE PHARMACUETICAL COMPANIES KNOW ALL ABOUT IT’S SERIOUS ADDICTIVE PROPERTIES AND THE EXTREME LONG LASTING WITHDRAWALS THAT COME AFTER QUITTING… Good luck!!!

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Emily S
April 1st, 2010 - 14:03

I have been on Suboxone for almost 4 yrs. now. I had literally lost everything…home, car, savings etc. I had become addicted to pain pills. Suboxone saved my marriage, life, family etc. I do NOT feel high taking it, it just took care of the withdrawal. I also to go to meetings regularly & see a counselor. My family care physician prescribes it to me. I pee in a cup once a mth & we discuss what I am doing as far as sponsor, group etc. It saved my life & gave me my life back. I just feel normal again (like I did before becoming hooked on pain pills). I can function as a normal human being again! It has never given me a “high” or buzz! It just makes me feel normal! I am grateful. My Dr. believes some ppl need it for long term use & that addiction is a disease! I am charged the same $ as an office visit for anything else. I am so thankful that Suboxone has worked for me! I now hope that someday the stigma attached to addiction & addicts will be eventually lifted so that others won’t be ashamed to get help & admit that they are powerless to the evils of addiction! Good luck to everyone.

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Andy
May 2nd, 2010 - 18:42

I have been on vicodin for nearly 10 years taking 100mg of hydrocodone and 6600mg of Acitmenophen everyday, my doctor prescribed me suboxone and I have never felt better I have vicodins in my draw and dont even want them I would have never thought I would be able to do that. Suboxone changed the way I think. I am more focused on being successful and I am more focused on keeping away from the vicodin. It really did save my life.

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Julie
June 10th, 2010 - 16:51

I have been doing pills for 12 years. I went to the methadone clinic, and stood in line with the rest of the local addicts. I ended up getting pregnant while attending the clinic. They tried to get me to up my dosage during my pregnacy, I refused. I had it in my mind the higher the dosage, the more my unborn baby took in. I was determined not to have a baby born addicted to methadone. BOY, WAS I WRONG. The highest my dose ever went was to 55mg a day. Which, I was told most pregnant patients go up to 100-150mg of methadone a day. I thought my baby would be fine. Around three hours after being born, she started showing withdrawl symtoms. By the second day, she was in full blown withdrawl. She was screaming, and shaking, and nothing would calm her down. She was prescribed medication for a 10 day taper process, which lasted for 12 days. The third day they had to repeat due to such high scores. I felt like the biggest piece of crap alive. Here my baby lay hurting, and I caused it. I had to leave her at the hospital, when they discharged me. I came every day to see her sometimes spent the night at the hospital with her. I was furious. I still had to go to this methadone clinic to dose, while my baby lay in the hospital. A swore I would quit. I ended up walking away at 30mg, detoxed for two days, and started taking Suboxone. I now go to a private doctor to receive the medication. I am grateful for it, but now I realize I have traded one addiction for a more expensive one. I feel hopeless like I will never be able to function without it. I have recently lost my medical insurance, and am paying out of pocket for the suboxone. Within the past two weeks I have ran out, and could not afford to go back to get another prescription. I thought I could deal with in. After two days I ending up getting oxycotin just to function. I still had to go to work, I did not have the luxury of calling in. I thought I would loose my mind. I ended up taking my rent money, and going to the doctor to get another prescription of suboxone. WHEN WILL IT END! BTW My baby is 8mths, and healthy as a non-addicted baby.

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