subutex "wonder drug"

A relatively new opiate agonist/antagonist is proofing invaluable in treating heroin addicted patients in Australia.Subutex seems too be extremely effective in 94.6% of addicts, not only making it impossible to use any form of opiates but providing a slight "high" to the patient.Being a synthetic substance unlike methadone, Subutex has a long half life and needs too be administered 1 in every 3 days.Most addicts, once they choose so can be free of subutex reletively quickley.In most cases patients will have reduced there dose over an extended period and then just stop.
It is reccomended that follow up consults continue.

Thats wonderful news for all of us Heroin Addicted regulars of ATS

I would be interested in reading your source for that information. Could you please post a link or list the reference? I must be missing something, because buprenorphine hydrochloride (Subutex) started stand-alone and multi-drug clinical trials in the early 1990's, and it has been in reasonably widespread use in Australia since 2000. It was USFDA approved as Subtutex, and in combinaton with naloxone hydrochloride as Suboxone, in 2002.

Postings or threads i placed yesterday were concerning my own pharmacy and only it.
The only negetive side too bupronorphine seems to be the fact that some patients try to inject it,other than that.......so good so far.

For Specture,

You're correct. This drug has been around for several years.

A quick "google" brings up many responses. Here's a couple with lots of links.

www.fda.gov...

www.drugs.com...

A word of caution. As will most drugs Buprenorphine has its draw backs.

CAUTIONS:
Buprenorphine overdoses can lead to dangerous opiate-overdose symptoms. There is some evidence that addiction and habituation can be a problem for some users.

From www.erowid.org...

There are also many drugs that interact with Buprenorphine, such as diazepam and lorazepam.

Other side effects include sweating, sleeping difficulties, nausea and mood swings.

Although this is an effective drug, it's use needs to be carefully monitored.

My questions were aimed to help me guage how much information was to be gained from continuing discussion in this thread. It doesn't look like very much, so I didn't pursue the conversation. My first clue was seeing "wonder drug" attached to any drug name without a question mark on the end.

My cousin who resides at my house has been using subutex for about 3 months. about 6 days ago he quit. he is constantly under my supervision, the only thing i allow him to do is smoke marijuana, as i do believe it helps in the easing of opiod withdrawals.

towards the end he was on a 1mg dose. then the last 2 days 0.5

my point is he is suffering terribly and is in constant pain.

his symptoms are as follows.

intense and frequent vomiting (this has eased significantly)
headaches (i believe caused by dehydration)
dry and sore throat, loud painfull sounding coughing.
stomach cramps and convultions
yellowinsh skin ( yellowness has become less intense)
liquid Diarrhea
consumes liquid but almost not eating. (yesterday he managed to eat one egg and and drink a few tea's, and alot of water)
sometimes waking up soaked in sweat

i have taken him to the medical centre 3 times.

he was prescribed drugs such as buscopan(stomach pains), pramin(nausea), non prescription pain killers, and another one for stomach (non prescription)

seeing no improvement in his situation i asked the doctor to give him a blood test. the result was that all his organs are fine.

can any of the medical experts on this board tell me what the hell is wrong, and what to do?

Indeed.

My ex, the mother of my child is a recovering addict and is using Subutex. Previously (she has tried to give up 3 times now) the Subutex is fine for controlling the withdrawal as long as you use it. As soon as you stop, no matter what dose you where on before hand, you will get the Opiate withdrawal. I have seen her unable to move due to the withdrawal symptoms.

Now she is trying again, after effing up once more, and is having a whole host of health problems which I can only relate to the use of Subutex., such as Headaches, insomnia, dizzyness, mood swings.

Needless to say, it stops you using heroin whilst you are on it, but willpower and some degree of personal discomfort are still required.

Ashlar...may I be so bold as to ask why he's not doing this under complete medical supervision?

With all due respect, you're not a medical professional, correct? Should there not be someone else involved to monitor his wellbeing, etc?

He's quitting under a very, very short period of time; sadly he is likely to suffer side effects, some of which will be very uncomfortable for him.

Just genuinely concerned.

well, he obtained the subutex illegally, and he does not have a prescription.

getting hold of doctors who prescribe the stuff is near impossible.

if i take him to the hospital they will put him on the methadone program (something he wants to avoid) but if he gets any worst i will drag him there.

but we are looking for a solution that doesnt involve opiates or addictive substances.

Originally posted by Ashlar
well, he obtained the subutex illegally, and he does not have a prescription.

getting hold of doctors who prescribe the stuff is near impossible.

if i take him to the hospital they will put him on the methadone program (something he wants to avoid) but if he gets any worst i will drag him there.

but we are looking for a solution that doesnt involve opiates or addictive substances.

Oh no - with all due respect Ash, you're not doing him any favours here at all.

He's obviously not really objective enough to really comment on what's good for him and what isn't; it just concerns me that although your intent is to help him (and kudos to you for that - it takes a strong friendship to help someone through this!), there's a risk here that you're both doing more harm than good.

He needs professional help. Have you tried to look for more holistically-minded rehab clinics?

Please, get professional help here. He might end up worse off than he started

Please, get professional help here. He might end up worse off than he started

I have taken your advice, this step was to be my next step anyways.

I have taken him to see a doctor who has the power to prescribe subutex.
(rare)

in 3 hours the doc will recieve a reply from the department of health, which will clear him to begin taking subutex (legally and with prescription).

the subutex will no doubt cure the illnesses and the pain.

but has he "sold his soul"?

is he now a slave to this new form of opiate which is even harder to quit?

Originally posted by Ashlar
My cousin who resides at my house has been using subutex for about 3 months. about 6 days ago he quit. he is constantly under my supervision, the only thing i allow him to do is smoke marijuana, as i do believe it helps in the easing of opiod withdrawals.

towards the end he was on a 1mg dose. then the last 2 days 0.5

my point is he is suffering terribly and is in constant pain.

his symptoms are as follows.

intense and frequent vomiting (this has eased significantly)
headaches (i believe caused by dehydration)
dry and sore throat, loud painfull sounding coughing.
stomach cramps and convultions
yellowinsh skin ( yellowness has become less intense)
liquid Diarrhea
consumes liquid but almost not eating. (yesterday he managed to eat one egg and and drink a few tea's, and alot of water)
sometimes waking up soaked in sweat

i have taken him to the medical centre 3 times.

he was prescribed drugs such as buscopan(stomach pains), pramin(nausea), non prescription pain killers, and another one for stomach (non prescription)

seeing no improvement in his situation i asked the doctor to give him a blood test. the result was that all his organs are fine.

can any of the medical experts on this board tell me what the hell is wrong, and what to do?

I am not a doctor nor do I play one on t.v. but it sounds like your cousin is going through classic withdrawl symptoms. I have to take a load of Morph., Oxycontin, and Vailum everyday due to four lower lumbar operations and I have been through just what you are describing. 'Sounds like this drug may be habit forming? but if it is, it may help those who take other forms of Morphine just to keep from getting sick. I would seek the advise of a PROPERLY trained doctor to help him get over this. I know firsthand that addiction to this stuff is not pleasent and the side effects area b!T(h. Good luck.

sorry for failing to update:

he has now been legally using subutex for a week. he is using 1.2mg per day. a very low dose. however he is now very healthy, the only thing he suffers is mild headaches, a side effect of the drug.

we have to travel 25-30 minutes drive to the clinic and back each day +waiting for him to wait in line to get dosed. on top of that they charge him 10$ per day/ per dose. that was the same price he was paying when he would get it off the street! (10$ per mg). they have a strict policy of not giving any take away doses, so in order to stay sane and healthy, one must attend the clinic every day, which they dont make easy with their unusual hours (closed from 1pm-4pm everyday! weekends only open in the morning!)

sorry im having a bitch, (thats because im the one who drives him everyday) but im just so pissed off at this system that makes it so difficult for one to get better. I feel for these poor souls who are trying to turn their lives around and are being knocked back every step of the way.

here is thanks to you for helping your cousin through this tough time, and here is sending you positive vibes to keep thigns on track for him.

M@

thanks for your kind words of support

First off I gotta say this doesn't sound like a wonder cure at all. The only upside of this versus heroin is it's a bit cheaper, you know what doseage you are getting, and you aren't gonna go to prison over it. BUT just like every other wonder cure it effectivelly leashes you to one geographic location (those drives to the clinic at oh dark thirty are no fun even if they are short), and is more addictive than the actual drug.

Now for my rant... speaking as a former heroin addict please please never mess with opiates kids. Unlike other drugs you never ever ever get over your addiction, you will spend the rest of your days either being a slave to the methadone or this new stuff clinic or even worse trying to stave off the sleepless nights and the horrible dreams on your own. When I quit I thought the worst was over then the sleeplessness and agitation didn't go away. So I went to the methadone clinic who let me up my dosage whenever I wanted and were always glad to see me except when I said I wanted to drop my dosage. Well long story short after 4 months of methadone treatment when I quit it was worse than the original withdrawals. THERE IS NO CURE so don't do it.

Sugar you are right. I'm skeptical of this. A lot of dangerosu drugs were originally used as cures for problems and to get you off other drugs. It's soon just gonna become a cheap replacement for heroin.

Ashlar, contrary to what a previous poster replied with, i think you are doing great and doing the right thing. Sometimes people don't need to be a medical proffessional, they just need to care.

Caring is what an recovering addict needs as well as time.

Unfortunately, heroin addicts who don't have the benefit of medical attention will have a much higher rate of recurring addiction and/or disability (and yes, death) resulting from inadequate or incorrect rehabilitation methods.

Sometimes, we really do need medical professionals to intervene, if only to provide the physiological requirements.

Having said that...compassion and caring are two vital elements which are often missed or neglected. To beat any addiction, you need to find out what's at the root - and there isn't a drug on earth able to do that.

It's a multi-disciplinary requirement, and we need more of the caring, compassionate methods.