From Vicodin to Suboxone, help me get there

One more thing, my psychiatrist is the one who works with my pain doc, so I know he is licensed.

Kitty,
Thanks for clarifying the website issue. It sounds like they're Addictionologists there (specialists in Addiction Medicine), and yes, they're great to help wean off medications, but may or may not be good at treating CP in non-addicts. They usually don't look favorably upon narcotic medications, and because of the population they deal with, tend to shy away from them even if a person doesn't meet criteria for addiction. But that's their role. Some are good at treating CP using suboxone and methadone, as alternatives for addicts, since there are some addicts who also have CP, and that's a challenging population to deal with. That may be why many doctors who are certified don't announce it, because they don't want to treat other aspects of addiction. I've got some professional background in all of this, so that's the basis for my comments.

CP and depression do go hand in hand not only because of the losses we suffer, but because of the brain chemistry involved.

Breathe - I'm glad you've got doctors you can contact that are helping you through this. Sometimes I have to just think "this too shall pass". When I was quitting smoking and got cravings, I used that one a lot! LOL

You also picked a great name for yourself, so I have a hunch you may know something about using breathing to help you through a lot of things.

And Kitty - take care! I sure hope you all don't get the flu!

Hugs!

PaLady

Breathe,

Headaches are a common side effect that sometimes go away but sometimes it stays. The headaches are usually due to the naloxone in the Suboxone, as a very tiny amount does pass through the system and headaches is a side effect of naloxone. From others who I've heard this was a problem with usually either spit out the saliva while the suboxone is absorbing (since the main ingredient, the buprenorphine, gets absorbed under the tongue) the part your swallowing is the naloxone and it just passes through the system which isnt a big deal since naloxone cant be absorbed that way but somehow a small bit does find it's way in. And some people are very sensitive to the naloxone to the point where they have to switch to the Subutex which is Suboxone without naloxone. So if your headache continues I would try the spitting thing first and see if that helps.

The other side effects like the nausea and dizziness will usually subside like any other pain meds out there. Just remember to stick the same dose so you get stabalized because of it's half life, if you take diffrent doses everyday you'll always be up and down in how you feel. Suboxone has a very long half life of 37 hours but it's pain releif properties only last for 4-6 hours, so most people who take it for pain take smaller doses more often during the day. So subooxne is a very weird med in the pain department cause I was use to other pain meds where when they wore off you knew cause you started to feel the beginning of withdrawals, but with suboxone you dont feel that, you just notice your pain returning.

Also remember that buprenorphine has a VERY stong binding to the opiate receptors so taking other narcotics for pain on top of it will have absoutly no effect, and it can take up to a week or more after stopping Suboxone for it to work, some people have to wait a week or more after stopping Subooxne for their other pain meds to have any effect. The only way to knock buprenorphine off the receptors for an emergency is for them to give you the pain meds through IV and watch your breathing cause they have to give you much higher doses then usual til it knocks off the buprenorphine. Your doctor's office should of given you wallet card that explains this for emergencies, if not then you an get one from NAABT websight for free.

I know this is alot ot take in, as Suboxone is a very diffrent medication, but I think it's so awesome how it works. Also if you cant stand the taste then try it with a mint on top of your tongue like an altoid, some people swear by this, I have never tried it. Also remember NOT to smoke a half an hour before or after taking the suboxone (if you smoke, if not then ignore this lol). And rinse your mouth with very warm or as hot as you can stand without burning and rinse your mouth out, this opens up the veins to absorb the med better and to get the most benifet from it. And remember not to talk while it's absorbing (which I know is almost impossible with kids)and keep your head tilted forward a bit. Also some people cut the suboxone up or even crush it into powder to have it absorb faster (and dont worry, breaking up the Suboxone doesnt mess with the dosage at all).

Also about my son, he's been sleeping all day. The ER gave him phenergan for the nausea which most of us know how sleepy that makes people. Also I have been waking him up every 6 hours for Ibprofen which seems to be helping him quite a bit. I just feel so bad for my little guy, this flu must be really bad if it's keeping him down this much as usually he's climbing the walls. And as for me getting it, it will more then likely happen, I catch everything, I'm like a magenet for viruses. But in the mean time I'm trying really hard to wash my hands to spray everything down with lysol. And of course my daughter, my youngest, is convinced that he's being neglected cause I give her brother more attention, she says when she's sick I completly ignore her which I know is not true, she's very spoiled. I guess kids will be kids.

-Carmen

The SAMHSA database tracks any doctor with the "X" certification to prescribe, but since that's not required when doctors are prescribing it for pain vs addiction, it makes sense that it would be primarily addiction doctors and that they don't give any way to differentiate between the types of doctors.

Of course, if I wanted to switch to Suboxone, knowing that little tidbit would actually make me more inclined to weed my way through the SAMHSA database to find a pain doctor in my area because I'd be pleased that s/he took the initiative and completed the requirements for the certification, even though technically s/he didn't have to. But that's just me and my over-achiever appreciating self..