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This is a combination of two medications, buprenorphine and naloxone used to treat opiate drug addiction and withdrawal. Buprenorphine binds to parts of the brain to lower the need for pain drugs and help with withdrawal signs, while naloxone helps prevent abuse of this drug.
Advice & Tips:
This a very good medicine for treating opiate addiction. Works especially well for me because I can't feel a thing from it except for the first dose. It takes away every bit of craving by adhering to those opiate receptors and not letting go for a long time. Yes it is a partial opiate agonist like any dope is - but I don't know of any opiate that reliably removes craving like this one. Methadone is slightly similar but sub is in a league of its own.
Suboxone is painfully expensive and in most places impossible to find. There is a vague set of rules that doctors who prescribe suboxone are required to adhere to. Mainly the doctor must do frequent urine tests (to make sure you are taking it and nothing else).
You must be in some sort of treatment at the same time as you're taking it. Most Suboxone doctors take advantage of this by requiring the patient to attend some sort of expensive counseling or treatment that the doctors then profit from.
Then there are the 12-step groups. Going to these blantantly religious cult meetings with my little paper and having it signed to bring back to the physician proved to be too much for me. I WOULD MUCH RATHER BE STRUNG OUT, ADDICTED, AND UNHEALTY than to attend these things. Demeaning, insulting, useless and mind-numbingly boring are a few words I would use to describe this process.
It's too bad that this useful medicine is not available or affordable for the vast majority of people who need it.
It's too bad that the hoops one must jump through to continue this therapy as long as is needed will wear one down so quickly.
Cost:
$50-99 monthly
Feb 1, 2011
(Started Oct 15, 2010)
Effectiveness
Slight
(for major depressive disorder)
Side effects
Mild
Adherence
Always
Burden
Somewhat hard to take
Dosage:
8 mg-2 mg
Daily
Advice & Tips:
This drug is helping with the pain from a broken heel 5 yrs ago. It is hard to have to pretend I am in a twelve-step program when I really am not. I would like to get off of this medicine some time in the near future.
Cost:
$50-99 monthly
0helpful marks
Mar 1, 2009
(Started Mar 01, 2009)
Effectiveness
Major
(for Stops craving for opiates but works for pain)
Effectiveness
Major
(for fibromyalgia)
Side effects
None
Adherence
Always
Burden
Not at all hard to take
Dosage:
3 x 8 mg-2 mg
Daily
Advice & Tips:
Although it is not FDA approved for pain, it works. I started taking it because I am a recovering opiate addict and low and behold it helped manage my fibro. pain significantly. The benefits are huge, I can go about my daily activities without severe pain where as before it was impossible.
The impact this medication has had on my life is great it is helping 2 afflictions w/ one type of medication.
I could not take Lyrica as it almost killed me. It put me in hospital and MD's had me diagnosed as possible heart, kidney or liver failure due to extreme swelling in lower extremities.
Cost:
< $25 monthly
1helpful mark
Feb 10, 2009
(Started Aug 15, 2007)
Effectiveness
Moderate
(for back pain)
Side effects
Mild
(constipation, decreased sex drive (libido))
Adherence
Always
Burden
Not at all hard to take
Dosage:
2 x 8 mg-2 mg
Daily
Cost:
$25-49 monthly
Side effects:
constipation, decreased sex drive (libido), decreased sex drive (libido)
0helpful marks
Last updated:
Showing 3 of 3 patient evaluations for Buprenorphine-Naloxone
