Author: mayunholdup
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:33 am
Well, of course there is always a worry when having yourself or someone you know take another narcotic but adderall is very, very safe and could be used to get him through those very sleepy periods that you described. They have Adderall and Ritalin (a little different from adderall) in long-acting and extended release formulas which prevent any sort of abuse. They work by releasing certain amounts throughout the day, rather then taking everything at once.
Before thinking about obtaining another prescription I would highly reccommend you get a full blood panel done ASAP to check his liver functions, testosterone, vitamin levels, etc.
On a side note, $50 dollars a day is relatively low amount no matter where you live. In most parts of the country Oxycodone/OxyContin can sell for over a dollar per a milligram, and for someone with a high tolerance you would need at minimum 60mg to feel anything. Hydrocodone is grossly expensive as well, reaching prices of $6-$7 dollars per a pill. However, all bets are off if he has a good friend that has a family member with a boatload of unsupervised pain pills siting around the house, but the more the friend takes, the more he will become addicted and the less he will share the pills with anyone else.
Regardless, 32mg every 8 hours is WAY, WAY, WAY, WAY too much for a habit that size. I had a friend who was going through full-blown methadone withdrawal which can lost months and is more severe then basically any other type of withdrawal process out there and he did fine on 8mg a day.
I, myself had been an addict for 8 years, and an severe everyday addict for about three of those years. I would on average spend $100 dollars a day on pills, primarily hydrocodone but at least 2-3 times a week I was taking large amounts of oxycontin, methadone, and morphine. The last few months of my addiction I was doing a few days a day of very, very potent black tar heroin and I only started out between 16-24MG a day and I would high all day long. I was almost as high as I was on black tar heroin, except it would last all day long.
Most of us here are in no way medical professionals, however I can say definitely that we know our stuff, and it seems like we’re all in agreement that the person treating your son has no idea what they are doing where it comes to Suboxone. It’s not just him either, a lot of doctors don’t really know what they’re doing since Suboxone has only been around since 2003 so versus other drugs there really isn’t much research out there. Also, Suboxone and Subutex have just become so massively popular in such a small amount of time that a lot of medical professionals are just not educated enough. Maybe, the doctor was kind of treating it like Methadone, where some people are on doses as high as 1000MG plus.
I have been lucky with my doctor, he is primarily a pain specialist/management doctor so he is very knowledgeable where it comes to long-term Buprenorphine treatment. If you decide to call around for doctors make sure you ask some questions over the phone before going there. You don’t want your son being over-medicated again, but you also don’t want a doctor that thinks he can "cure" your sons addiction by doing a short-term 2-3 week Sub treatment program since that just doesn’t work. Maybe it might keep him clean for a few months, maybe a year but he will eventually fall back into it. Your son’s brain chemistry will be altered for the rest of his life, even though it’s only been a six month long addiction. I know you said you got your Son down to 20MG every 24 hour which is great but you’re just getting started in this process, so both your son and you deserve to have a doctor that knows what he is talking about.
In no way am I trying to undermine your sons problem. He is without a doubt an addict and you are a great parent for helping him, instead of punishing him for his addiction.
Lastly, does your son take his 20MG all at once or does he have it spread out over two doses? In the beginning usually a person needs to take their sub twice a day to avoid any sort of withdrawal, but eventually after a few weeks it’s best to give the dose all at once since Suboxone has a long half life, meaning the effects will easily last throughout the day, versus the short-acting opiates your son was taking which would require multiple doses throughout the day to avoid withdrawal. The main purpose however is to help re-train your brain to eliminate former addict behaviors. The physical addiction is the easy part to get over, the mental addiction is a life-long battle. If a person is clean, but continues to think and act like an addict then it is only a matter of time before they become a full blown addict again. A dose should be taken all at once and forgotten about, rather then having a second dose, which you then will start almost obsessing over. Oh, before I go out I gotta take my second dose. Oh, I feel so angry right now and agitated right now, I need my second dose to help calm me down. Even though you physically do not need the dose, mentally you do, which then tricks your body into thinking you need it as well.
