Hello everyone. Hello Kells19. Suboxone by itself may at first cause a person to nod out. Some doctors prescribe other withdrawal medications, such as clonodine, to work in conjunction with the Suboxone. The clonodine can definitely cause one to nod.
My son was on suboxone for a few months. It's funny, this journey that I've taken over the last year. Suboxone is definitely a good drug to assist through withdrawals or short term detox. But it is not the miracle drug, guaranteed to keep one from going back to the opiates and heroin. Most opiate or heroin users are able to purchase the Suboxone on the street just to get them through until their next fix.
After about three months of the suboxone, I discovered my son was doing just that...using, then waiting the allotted time until withdrawals set in and taking the suboxone so he could not be so obvious. I was devastated and in denial. It seemed like the miracle drug to me. And I worked his program so well, I thought it was sure proof. Notice I said "I" worked his program.
The only sure proof way to find out and to satisfy your curiosity is a drug screen. Suboxone will come up negative for opiates on a drug screen. Heroin or Roxies or Oxys will not. That's black and white of it.
My suggestion to you is this, and it's only a suggestion. I've been down this road and this is what I've learned.
I would first and foremost find a recovery support group. Although you termed this as a "trust issue," more than likely it is much more. With an addict still in active addiction, there is no trust, so it's more like a self-esteem issue on your part. Addiction forces loved ones to question themselves. The addicts are very cunning and creative individuals. Our self-esteem becomes battered and we are not able to determine was is real and what is a lie.
A good sponsor and a good recovery group will help you to work through the healing process, with or without the addict. They will help you set boundaries and help you form an objective view of your situation. You won't have to do this on your own and wonder if what you are seeing or feeling is real. If a confrontation is necessary, they will help you set boundaries and stick to those boundaries, if you allow them to. It's like having a great big circle of sisters that know exactly what you're feeling and going through and that will embrace you and lift you up when you're unable to stand on your own two feet.
The black and white of the situation with the question of his nodding out is a drug test that you can purchase at CVS. Make sure it is random--just come home with one and tell him you are having trouble trusting him. If he is using, he will test positive for opiates. If he is only using Suboxone, he will NOT test positive for opiates or any other drug on the screen (unless suboxone is one of the tests). And you would need to watch him take the test too. Addicts have ways of manipulating the tests, i.e. toilet water, etc.
If he does test positive, then the ball is in your court...do you want to stay on the merry-go-round or do you want to move one. If you have a support system in place, that decision will be easier. In reality, whether he is using or not is not YOUR problem and is not about you. Whether you want to be with someone that is using is what you should be focused on.
Too often, loved ones base their decisions on the actions of addicts, myself included. As we heal, we find that only we have control of our lives and even then, God is ultimately the one that controls our destiny.
Today, I can wake up and say I'm going to be at peace with myself. The choices my son makes will not affect that. They are HIS choices and it is HIS journey. I am not God and I do not know what his future holds, nor do I have any control over his future. He chooses to continue to use and I choose to allow him to do just that. He's 21 now. He's living in abandoned houses and doing God knows what. I still love him, but I don't support his choices. He has choices each day that he's allowed to wake up, just as I do. All I can do is pray and trust that God will take care of him.
Hope this helps!
Hey floridian!
thanks for being more clear on suboxone issue.Didnt really work for my son at all.He is now on full blown methadone maintenaince and I wasnt thrilled about either "substitue" drug but each person is responsible for their own recovery.It may keep him out of prison for stealing to get his fix,using a bundle a day or so he said..My sons requirements now are not only getting his 'juice" everyday but to be 'working" a recovery program and finding a job in order to live with us untli he gets his own place. Good info on co-dependancy issues as I also attend Naranon ,great program and Narcotics anonymous.Recovery and abstinenece 2 different animals.good luck I will pray for your son and you also.peace.
MIKE F
today is the next step in the journey......paw
hello everyone not to sure if im doin this right its my first time on a blog or forum...any way i have been on suboxone for three years now on practically the same dose i did taper down alot the first year with no problem at all down to 3 mg...a whole 2mg in am and a half in pm. but im am goin to try and detox completely i am so tired of the side effects...i have no energy what so ever i can barely wake up in he am i dont hear my daughter cry when she wakes up i hvae difficulty doin the daily tasks of a mother of 2. i have so many friends but there all floating with the wind because i never answer my phone and i say no to any invites for anything...im so tired and weak that my body aches...i feel stiff like a 70 yr old woman but im only 24..i have a constant headache....nauses after i eat...this feeling of bein tired has gotten worse this passed year im sure it is combined with depression. i do feel sad and a lack of motivation no energy no appetite so im guessing im depressed but im not sure havent gone to the doc. i dont like talkingabout that stuff to them. so anyway if any one is expiriencing the same type of stuff please let me know just would like to know if its just me or really is the side effects. and any advice how to detox completely off the suboxone. thanks
I am so tired of suboxone. I want to get off but I tend to go up instead of down. Right now I'm taking 20 mg's a day. 1 and 1/2 8mg pills in the morning and one 8 mg pill at night. This week has kicked my ass. My best friend got caught shooting O.C. by his wife and tried to end it all by killing himself that night. Then today I wake up to see on Facebook that another friend died last night after 3 years clean of a Heroin OD. I CAN"T TAKE ANYMORE OF THIS SCENE. Suboxone doesn't make me feel clean anymore because I live my life around it. I agree so much with what mc505 is writing. The side effects suck. Why in the hell do these drugs have to make us feel this way. Suboxone was great at first but now is a ball and chain. I am contemplating switching to get onto perc's or tabs because they would be easier to get off. How do some of you other people get off the Sub. The only time I got off it completely was hell on earth and I wouldn't have made it through the 14 days of hell if I wasn't living in Scottsdale, Arizona where I could go hike Camel Back mountain 5 times a day to get my mind off of it. Anyways please people tell me how I can get off this cursed drug.
Hi!!!! I have been on Suboxone for three months 2.5 mg a day. I got on them because of an injury and became addicted to ultram.
My BIGGEST complaint is the sweating OMG it sucks!! and I chain smoke!! I don't know or understand how that happened! The only person that knows I take it is my husband. But it gets hard when you have to put it under your tongue and try and talk to people that don't know....pretty rediculous......anyway, I just wanted to know if anyone out there has a sweating issue and smoking more on this and how hard it might be for me to ween off of it at only taking 2.5 mg's a day??? Thx J oh ........and my joints are sore
Hi I have been on suboxone for 5 days now and VERY tired is this a side effect?
Will always ask for, and always give Help when needed.
I am on 6mg at night for 5 days now. when do you think i can get off the suboxone?
Hey June...as far as being tired...I assume you just stopped using opiates 5 days ago - good on you for taking the very difficult first step and admitting you have a problem (we all do here) and getting help. When I first stopped I was very tired too. I dont think it is as much of a suboxone side effect as it is the opiates detoxing from your body, and your body adjusting to not having opiates. Subs aren't miracle drugs. When we're doing oxy's or heroin we are definately not getting quality sleep. I don't think my mind really started to lift out of the fog for a few weeks, and I didn't want to do anything but lie around during that time.
As far as when you can get off - that is up to you and your doctor. You can stop using suboxone anytime and go cold turkey, but you will feel withdrawals from opiates and suboxone. If you're taking 6 mg and you work at it, I think you should be able to wean off them in about 6 - 8 months. Take your time and work it one day at a time. No matter what suboxone it better then the alternative
Best of luck on your journey into recovery
"The end of a bad chapter means I can begin writing a new one...One day at a time."
My name is Robert and I was a drug addict for about 14 years.My story is typical I started out smoking weed and on to other drugs.I used cocaine for years and then I moved to Florida,hurt my back and got a prescription for oxycodone.I was hooked in less than a month.This drug totally consumed my life it was all I could think of.I tried to quit countless times.I tried cold turkey,suboxone,methadone and I was in jail for 30 days and sill could not shake it.Everytime I quit I would start right back up where I left off usually using more than I had before.I lost evrything my car,house and wife and I still kept using its like you're in your own little world and you don't care whats happening around you.Your always thinking about how.when and where you are going to get more pills.My mom found a rehab in Clearwater Florida called Narconon which saved my life.It's a biophysical program which means it handles the physical aspect of addiction and then the mental and emotional components.They use a Far Infared Sauna along with vitamins and minerals to detox your body of all the drug residules you have accumulated while using drugs.The body stores drug residuals called matabolited in fat tissues and they stay there for 7-10 years when your body goes into random fat burning modes the residuals are released and this is a major cause of drug relapse.The Far Infared Sauna removes all of these matabolites and you don't get the cravings,dreams and thoughts for the drugs anymore.They did not put me on more drugs to get me off drugs.Thinking about that now it is insane what some rehabs do.The addict is addicted to heroin or oxys then put him on methadone ok now hes addicted to methadone.Alot of rehabs put them on psych drugs like xanax,paxil and sleep meds.Of course they can't sleep,they are depressed and have anxiety because they are on drugs which causes all these semptoms and more.Thank god I did not go somewhere that operates like that.After completing the sauna in about 30 days I was completely free of drugs and my mind was clear.I had not felt this good in years.I then started in the classroom doing life repair couses which tackle why you started using drugs in the first place,what kinf of people to surround yourself,how to confront and communicate better and lead a succesful and productive life.The whole program was awsome from start to finish.I liked it so much and I was so greatful I decided to stay at Narconon Florida and help others.If anyone needs help or you want to help someone I can help I've been through it.
Hi. I am taking 6mg every morn since 4-5-10. Felt great every day until 1-2:00 then the tiredness and lack of motivation started. I would go to bed early just to escape the horrible feeling. Today I took 1/2 of a 2mg. pill at around 3:00 an I feel great. No tiredness, motivated, and functioning like I did many years ago. Going to tell my Dr. Monday and hope he doesn't flip out for doing it on my own, BUT IT WORKED!