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Suboxone for benzo withdrawal


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I have been trying to find an addiction specialist but before I make an appointment. I ask them what protocol they use for taking people off of benzos. I have heard from a few now that they use suboxone. As soon as I hear that I day no thank you. I need to find someone who will do a slow taper and prescribe me Valium. Has anyone heard of Doctors using suboxone for benzo detox? Where do they come up with this?

 

Rob

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First time hearing that one. The way I found my doctor was research and chance. This only works if you have insurance though. I went on my ins website and looked up female internists in my area. There were several. After that I researched a bunch and read reviews in yelp. I found one everyone gave glowing reviews about and went to see her. They were right. I told her about ashton and slow tapering and she was fine with it. In fact she seemed impressed. She helped me taper for over 3 years. Now I like older female doctors. I'm a guy in my low 40's. I just seem to have much better luck with them. The male doctors I have gone to think they know everything and lack compassion. That's just my take on it though.
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This is crazy!

I used suboxone for ten weeks to get off opioids .... never heard of it being used for benzos.

It's horrible stuff!

 

I wish you luck finding a good doctor.  Unfortunately, I failed at this. 

I basically ended up with someone who would prescribe the tablets ..... but didn't have a clue about tapering ....

so I took care of my own titration taper at my own speed.

 

Wishing you well ....

Lizie

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There is a "benzo wise" dr list somewhere, they should be familiar w/ the valium protocol.  See I was in the debate 17 months ago when I was near the end of a very slow multi year taper of xanax.  At .25mg I became non functional similar to where I am now, I always wonder if I switched to valium or something to become stable, once I was off that would I be in the same boat now?  Some people get slammed weeks/months after they stop. 
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No. Suboxone is for opiate wd, not for benzos. That is crazy.

 

I agree. Subutex is a really nasty drug in its own right and can be difficult to get off of. I've never heard of this being used for benzodiazepine withdrawal, and if someone suggested it to me it would set off alarm bells.

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I was put on, and am still on, Suboxone when I went into IOP for opiate addiction.  I was also on 4mg of Klonopin a day, and they was weened off it in 45 days.  For me, Suboxone is a miracle drug.  I have quit benzos and opiates cold turkey at the same time, and I don't wish that hell on anybody.  The Suboxone DID NOT help the Klonopin withdrawal at all.  It does help with the opiate withdrawal and cravings. After 2 months of being off of Klonopin, my doctor added Deplin and baclofen.  Deplin has greatly helped my cognitive function and the lethargy that comes with benzo withdrawal.  I find baclofen to be a great drug as well.  It is a GABA B agonist while benzos are GABA A agonists.  Baclofen does not work nearly as well for anxiety as benzos do, is not addictive, and does not give you a buzz what so ever.  It helps with the post accute withdrawal symptoms from benzos and keeps the benzo cravings at bay.  The Suboxone, Deplin, and Baclofen combiniation has me content and happy.  I have suffered with extreme anxiety and depression since I can remember.  I am a good looking, intelligent young man that comes from a great family, and have no reason to have depression.  I know for a FACT that depression and anxiety are indeed brain disorders and they are real.  You just have to find the drugs that work for you.  I don't plan on staying on the Suboxone forever, and will SLOWLY ween that when I am ready, and am further along in my 12 step program.  Good luck to you all.  I highly recommend suboxone if you want off opiates.
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Ive had a heroin and methadone problem in the past and really I don't know why anyone would even consider using a strong opioid for anything other than that which makes it unavoidable.Even the relief of the horrors of Benzo withdrawal is no where near enough of a reason to start taking something like Suboxone.Ive not taken Suboxone while withdrawing fm Benzos b4 but I have been on quite a high dose of Methadone and while the Methadone kept the opiate w/d's away as it is supposed to, for me it done absolutely nothing to relieve the benzo w/d's.It's not worth it believe me.I know a lot of people will say benzo w/d's are worse than opiate w/d's but imo if you put the two side by side for the same amount of time, the opiate w/d's are a much much worse thing to endure.
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I went through opiate withdrawals 4 times and they are brutal but atleast they were gone in 7 days. The thing with benzo wd is the length of time, up to 2 years to be normal again. I might tend to agree that having opiate wd as long as benzo wd would be a deal breaker!
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My Dr has prescribed Butrans, buprenorphine patches, to help my benzo wd. I jumped off valium but I'm still suffering a lot. Opiates such as oxycodone do give transient relief from the horror of benzo wd but I think the patches are worth a try. I haven't actually tried one yet. They are the same ingredient as suboxone but a much lower dose. Bupe is a known antidepressant which could help with the mood issues.

 

How could anyone compare benzo wd with opiate wd? Even the worst opiate wd is a piece of cake compared to wd from long term benzo use. In Australia even the most hardcore opiate addicts no to avoid benzo's like the plague.

 

Why would people say negative things about suboxone? Its been a lifesaver for many people.

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How could anyone compare benzo wd with opiate wd? Even the worst opiate wd is a piece of cake compared to wd from long term benzo use. In Australia even the most hardcore opiate addicts no to avoid benzo's like the plague.

 

I have also known heroin addicts who think benzos are worse because the acute phase can go on so much longer, but let's not downplay the horrors of opiate withdrawal. It's horrible, it's much more physically painful than benzo w/d because your pain systems are directly targeted by narcotics, and there can be a PAWS associated with it that can go on for months or more. Opiate withdrawal is not "a walk in the park" compared to anything, and because opiates directly and insidiously rewire reward pathways, there's a significant number of people who fail to stay off after multiple withdrawals. I think it's possible for a lot of people to get off benzos and a year or two later find that they never really think about them -- someone who has developed a crippling dependence to narcotics is much more likely to be haunted by that memory for years or decades.

Why would people say negative things about suboxone? Its been a lifesaver for many people.

For me it's because it creates an absolutely ridiculous dependency which has a much more protracted and difficult withdrawal than many of the classical opiates, and because it's often prescribed at reckless doses for reckless periods of time. I don't hate subutex, I'm glad it exists and think it has a place in medicine -- but that's the same way I feel about benzos, barbiturates, fluorquinolones and many other things that I myself wouldn't take if I could avoid it.

 

It may be a weapon of last resort for opiate dependence; I'd never recommend anyone complicate their benzo w/d with it. It's a much stronger drug than benzos (in terms of binding affinity).

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Spengler,

              If your struggling with benzo wd but find opiates very helpful in surviving the process should one consider sub? As you know I'm taking low doses of oxycodone daily which seems to help but I don't want to continue indefinately. As I've always had a psychological addiction to opiates would low dose sub be a better bet than the oxy?

 

I've read about people who've taken sub for many years because they've already destroyed their bodies natural reward system through opiate use and it keeps them going. I fear I may have done the same thing as I've dabbled with opiates for many years now.

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Spengler,

              If your struggling with benzo wd but find opiates very helpful in surviving the process should one consider sub? As you know I'm taking low doses of oxycodone daily which seems to help but I don't want to continue indefinately. As I've always had a psychological addiction to opiates would low dose sub be a better bet than the oxy?

I'm afraid I'm just not in a position to have an opinion about this; taking opiates to deal with benzo detox isn't something I've done or would recommend, so I don't know how I'd react to it. Based on what I have read I don't know that I'd be any more comfortable with subs than oxy; I might be less likely to abuse it, but past a point, narcotics are narcotics, and being a partial agonist/antagonist doesn't change the equation too much for me.

 

I've read about people who've taken sub for many years because they've already destroyed their bodies natural reward system through opiate use and it keeps them going. I fear I may have done the same thing as I've dabbled with opiates for many years now.

 

I know people who used heroin or morphine heavily for relatively extended periods who seem to have regained calm happy normal after extended abstinence, so this isn't a fear I'd spend much energy exploring.

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I did the opposite, used benzos to combat opiate dependence. I would not recommend doing this or the opposite. I had to, there was no way I was coming off with out help. However, if you taper slowly off the benzos I think you can do with out any other meds.
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I just lost a friend to suboxane, he fell asleep with a chew in his mouth and choked on the spit, how crazy is that, I guess that happens with every drug though..
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I'm interested in the antidepressant potential of sub as well as the easing of benzo wd. The problem is bupe tends to increase anxiety and when your in benzo wd its not what you need.

 

Does anyone think that using sub could delay or prevent recovery from benzo's? Ashton said we're quite capable of recovering from benzo's while being treated with opioid analgesics. However I doubt she has firsthand experience.

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Does anyone think that using sub could delay or prevent recovery from benzo's?

 

I do.  Desperation led me down the wrong path more than once.  What I've found is that recovering from benzos is not so complicated as our symptoms might lead us to believe.

 

I never understood the marathon aspect of this recovery, until now.

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I was on 30mg per day OXY for a year in 2003 for a back injury.  The dr. knew how to taper it with methadone and it was not that bad.  It took 8 months and I'd trade of lifetime of methadone w/d for this shitty benzo withdrawal which is hell since without your mind you can't resist pain.  When the mind goes your power over pain is all done for! You can resist pain if you can think about something else.  The mind can ONLY process one thought at a time.  Benzo's effect that most powerful of human abilities in the most insidious way.

 

To answer your question opiates can't really help since they also cause anxiety on discontinuation.  Same trap - different drug.

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I also had a back surgery and was hooked on Norco for about 7 years. The pain was excruciating! I got up to a pretty high dose of the stuff self medicating. My tolerance was high enough that when I went to the ER once they gave me Dilaude and it barely touched me. I went ct off Norco about 5 times and I would gladly do it another 5 times to not deal with this benzo wd! Maybe it isn't always that way and I have ct off benzos before without many problems. Maybe I just didn't hit that point with painkillers?
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I did the opposite, used benzos to combat opiate dependence. I would not recommend doing this or the opposite. I had to, there was no way I was coming off with out help. However, if you taper slowly off the benzos I think you can do with out any other meds.

 

Totally agree.

 

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  • 2 months later...
My Suboxone dr said it's not for benzo withdrawal. This however is my 4th Suboxone dr. Finally found one who will help me get off it. I'm no doctor but would warn people to steer clear of Suboxone. I'm sorry about your friend Benzy.  :(
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My Suboxone dr said it's not for benzo withdrawal. This however is my 4th Suboxone dr. Finally found one who will help me get off it. I'm no doctor but would warn people to steer clear of Suboxone. I'm sorry about your friend Benzy.  :(

 

 

I agree with you, ChiMom .... stay clear of suboxone.

 

Glad you found someone who will help you get off it.  I had to do it on my own.

My suboxone doc was a rep .... total conflict of interest ....

 

Lizie

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Lizie,

Congrats for being able to do it on your own!!!  And for getting off benzo's! You are where I hope to be one day - med free! That's a wonderful accomplishment!  :)

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Thanks, ChiMom!

 

You will get there ....

 

I focused on one med at a time ..... tapering small amounts slowly.

 

It takes time but so worth the effort !!

 

I wish you well and let me know if you need any support ....

 

Lizie    :)

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