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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Switched From Methodone To Suboxone. Bad Withdrawal Symptoms. Will It Get Normalize?

Hi i was switched over to suboxone 6 days ago from methodone on a dose of 6.5/35mls to 8mgs sub and the withdrawal was nearly as bad as heroin .i m getting better every day but each time i have my sub i feel like crap for the 1st 7-10hrs.is this normal & how long before i normalize.By the way i m 42 and have been on methodone for 17yrs.
Mon, 18 Feb 2013
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Psychiatrist,  's  Response
Hi there, thanks for asking. That has been a great step to switch to Buprenorphin (Sub) because you will be able to decrease this medication easier than methadone in the future. That will save your liver since it cannot tolerate clearance of medication in long term in the late middle age and of course in old age. Besides, it can interfere with many medications you may need to take in the future like some anti-hypertension drugs, etc. If you want to get rid of these symptoms now, you can increase the dose of buprenorphin a little after consulting with you doctor. Most of people feel comfortable when the dose reaches 12-16 mg a day. Furthermore, it is better to wait for more 8 days to see if the symptoms goes away without increasing the dose to 12 or so, because the mean half life of this medication is about 35-40 hours. It means that it takes about 7 days to reach the level of drug in your blood which you will have in long term. It takes one more week to reach such a level inside your neurons. I wish you the best health.
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Switched From Methodone To Suboxone. Bad Withdrawal Symptoms. Will It Get Normalize?

Hi there, thanks for asking. That has been a great step to switch to Buprenorphin (Sub) because you will be able to decrease this medication easier than methadone in the future. That will save your liver since it cannot tolerate clearance of medication in long term in the late middle age and of course in old age. Besides, it can interfere with many medications you may need to take in the future like some anti-hypertension drugs, etc. If you want to get rid of these symptoms now, you can increase the dose of buprenorphin a little after consulting with you doctor. Most of people feel comfortable when the dose reaches 12-16 mg a day. Furthermore, it is better to wait for more 8 days to see if the symptoms goes away without increasing the dose to 12 or so, because the mean half life of this medication is about 35-40 hours. It means that it takes about 7 days to reach the level of drug in your blood which you will have in long term. It takes one more week to reach such a level inside your neurons. I wish you the best health.