What is it really like to take Suboxone?

Suboxone is an incredible drug. It’s a solution to a serious crisis we’re currently facing in America – Addiction is at epidemic levels. Suboxone is the first modern, chemically-engineered medicine made specifically for narcotic addiction since methadone. Methadone was created over eighty years ago (1930’s) and is considered “outdated” for many medical professionals.

Suboxone, on the other hand, was engineered from scratch with very specific requirements. The goal was to find an antagonist that would trick the brain into thinking it has plenty of narcotics covering its receptors, but without the nasty side-effects, or getting “high”. The result, is what many feel is a miracle drug that is saving lives, jobs, and families.

What is Suboxone?
Suboxone is a prescription medication that combines buprenorphine and naloxone. It’s used to treat opioid and opiate addiction. Most anyone who’s addicted to Heroin, Hydrocodone, Percocet, OxyContin, Oxycodone, Opana, and/or many other narcotic pain killers, can use Suboxone to get relief from withdrawals, cravings, and other side-effects without getting high.

Buprenorphine belongs to a class of drugs called opioid partial agonists, which help relieve symptoms of opiate withdrawal. Naloxone is in a class of drugs called opioid antagonists, which reverse the effects of narcotics.

What’s it Really Like to Take Suboxone?
The following short story comes from someone who’s taken Suboxone for over three years. He struggled with narcotic addiction from 2000 to 2013. Finally, after thirteen years of addiction, fed up with pills and ready to end his life, he checked himself into one of the country’s finest rehab facilities where he assumed his troubles would vanish. When he was released from treatment, things didn’t go quite as planned.

A Patient’s Story

In 2013, I checked myself into Tennessee’s finest rehab facility. My insurance covered it, so cost wasn’t really an issue. I stayed the recommended time period, and had hopes that after treatment my life was going to drastically change for the better. Sadly, I was mistaken.

The treatment facility I went to provided a 7-day chemical detox using Subutex (Suboxone without Naloxone) and I remember how great I felt once I started taking it. I remembered thinking, if this is detox, then I’m home-free! Seven days into my treatment the Subutex was stopped. A couple days later I felt the worst I’ve ever felt in my entire life. The treatment center told me I’d be over it in a few days, but they were very wrong. My withdrawals lasted for 13 days and nights. It was the worst feeling in the world to go through that, especially while still in a place that’s supposed to help me feel better. I checked out after two weeks and went home feeling my absolute worst. I was in withdrawals at home in front of my family for ten days following treatment. I reached out to the treatment facility for help, but they told me they’d done all they could do for me. They basically thanked me for the insurance check, and sent me on my way.

I lasted about three weeks, feeling like a freight train had hit me. I couldn’t sleep, I was depressed, and all I could think about was how much better I’d feel if I had my pain pills. Finally, feeling like total hell, I called my old pain doctor and they welcomed me back, prescribing less than I had been getting before, but enough to make me feel better. For a few weeks I tool the pills, felt better, and at the same time felt like a total failure for coming out of treatment and relapsing over and over again. I even started going to AA meetings, hoping to find another solution.

Then, just two months after my inpatient treatment, I decided to call a Suboxone clinic and at least see what they had to offer. I went to my appointment, met some nice people who seemed to really care about my recovery, and left with a prescription for Suboxone. I went straight to the pharmacy and waited while they filled it. I took the very first Suboxone strip before leaving the pharmacy parking lot, hoping it would help me feel better. I had run out of pills two days before and was feeling like total hell again. I drove to a restaurant to get some lunch and ordered my food. What happened next was a miracle.

I had to wait about 15 minutes to get my lunch. I had started eating my hamburger when all of a sudden I realized, “Holy $h!t! I feel so much better!” I honestly couldn’t believe how good I felt, nor how fast the Suboxone had worked. After just 20 minutes of taking Suboxone, I felt better than I’d felt in over 13 years.

I honestly couldn’t believe how good I felt, nor how fast the Suboxone had worked. After just 20 minutes of taking Suboxone, I felt better than I’d felt in over 13 years.

I remember eating my lunch with a smile on my face, knowing I had finally found the one and only thing that had actually worked. I knew right then that Suboxone was the key to my recovery, would keep me clean, let me return to work, be a dad again, be a good husband, and allow me to move on with the rest of my life.

I knew right then that Suboxone was the key to my recovery, would keep me clean, let me return to work, be a dad again, be a good husband, and allow me to move on with the rest of my life.

After 13 years of addiction misery, I had finally found the one tool that would let me feel “normal” again, stop taking pills, be happy again. And, Suboxone has worked every day since. I love Suboxone. It gave me my life back.

Having this newfound sobriety gave me a ton of motivation, too. I joined a great recovery group, got a sponsor, took advantage of the therapy the clinic offered, and have now been clean for over four years. Suboxone is a miracle drug, and I’ll take it for as long as I want to, which may be the rest of my life.

Question: What About the Cost?
When you have a problem that’s money-based, it’s not a problem, it’s an expense. I treat my Suboxone recovery like I do any other bill. I prepare for it each month, make it a priority, and never miss an appointment. I still wake up, four years later in total disbelief that I’m actually clean. I simply cannot believe that I’ve finally found a solution.

My recovery visits cost $350 every month, and I’d be happy to pay double that to stay clean, stay happy, and stay alive. Managing the cost of a Suboxone program is all about priorities. If you want to stay clean, you make it your #1 priority. Period. Everything else in my life will crumble the moment I touch a drug.

Managing the monthly cost of a Suboxone program is all about priorities. If you want to stay clean, you make it your #1 priority. Period.

I have my life back, my family back, my career back. Why on earth would I want to mess this up? I won’t, no matter what the cost. If I take it the rest of my life, then so be it. I’m okay with that.*

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One way to learn more about a Suboxone program is to make an appointment at Nashville Recovery. There, you’ll meet with a doctor and a therapist who will work as a team to build you a one-of-a-kind recovery program that includes Suboxone-based treatment.

Call or text us today at (615) 431-3701 – Get your life back.

*The story above is intended for entertainment purposes only. Your Suboxone experience may differ. Consult a licensed physician for Suboxone advice.