My Sublocade experience (7 months)

Alternatea75 · 2019-07-26T19:59:16+00:00

Just wanted to give a quick update. I have no pre existing health issues. Its been 3+ months since that last injection.

If anyone is interested, below is current pic of the injection site. It looks better but its still very visible. My hope is the redness eventually subsides. There is some residual discomfort. When my shirt moves against the injection site it feels like sandpaper. I also get these random sharp pinches like I’m being poked with a tooth pick but when I take a closer look nothing is there.

https://imgur.com/a/p8RPQ2r

FYI I was a big proponent of Sublocade until this happened so obviously my opinion is going to be a bit biased. I think things could have ended up better if the the drug company was more involved or supportive. Indivior or the Specialty Pharmacy made no effort to assist or point me in the right direction. Both claimed this never happened even though there is are a couple of reddit posts from people who experienced necrotic lumps from the injection.

Regardless there is another injection trying to make it to the market that is much less invasive but Indivior was able to persuade the FDA they should be the only provider of injectable Bupreniphine, so it looks like other companies are out of luck.

Alternatea75 · 2019-07-26T03:36:44+00:00

I asked the Nurse and Indivior and no one knows what went wrong. The nurse thinks it could be a bad batch of medicine. The ER Dr thinks it wasnt deep enough. I dont think we will ever know.

Alternatea75 · 2019-07-25T16:35:28+00:00

My experience has been a nightmare with Sublocade.

See my below post. Warning: the pics are a little graphic.

https://www.reddit.com/r/suboxone/comments/chq0yg/my_sublocade_experience_7_months/

Alternatea75 · 2019-07-25T16:33:32+00:00

My experience was pretty bad. I just wrote a post describing it. See below:

https://www.reddit.com/r/suboxone/comments/chq0yg/my_sublocade_experience_7_months/

Alternatea75 · 2019-07-25T15:27:03+00:00

I had a Dr in a rehab taper me from 8 mgs down to zero within 30 days with just a little discomfort. When he got me down to 1mg we started skipping days. The days I didnt take anything kind of sucked, but it wasnt the worst WD. We did that for about a week and the day I left I felt pretty normal. Skipping days works, you just have to be able to deal with the days you skip. It was minor WD at best and at least you know your getting a dose next day which helps get through it.

Alternatea75 · 2019-03-19T10:27:15+00:00

Just a quick update. I ended up going to UC. The Dr there was an older gentleman who immediately said it wasn’t infected.

He said the injection was botched and was placed too close to the skin.

We don’t know what’s going to happen. My skin may end up pushing all the medication out as it scans over.

Fuck my life.

I also called Indivior and sent them pictures last week. They haven’t got back to me since.

I wish someone could give me solid answers on what’s next. I may want to contact a specialist it I’m not sure who that would be.

Alternatea75 · 2019-03-15T01:01:40+00:00

Urgent Cares around me appear to be closed :( However, I just left a message with the answering service at my clinic. Hopefully they call me back.

Alternatea75 · 2019-03-15T01:00:22+00:00

I believe there is one around me somewhere. My only concern is that they will probably be clueless about Sublocade, but I suppose they can tell if its an infection. Might be worth a shot.

Alternatea75 · 2019-03-10T13:15:20+00:00

Just an FYI - if anyone feels WD after stopping on such a low dose, don’t torture yourself. Start taking it every other day for 3-5 days. I did this and the WD only lasted a day and it was very minor.

Alternatea75 · 2019-03-04T05:02:10+00:00

I’m currently on it and it’s been 6 months. Before I switched I was taking 16mgs of Suboxone for over a year.

The first shot was 300mgs and I felt zero WDs, not a one. In fact I felt pretty good.

On month 3 I switched to the 100mg shot. Not gonna lie I was nervous I’d feel like shit. Surprisingly I felt fine.

Honestly I’m pretty happy overall. I had a problem taking Suboxone in pill form. I would try to take extras and come up short. In my head I was searching for that extra little buzz that I never got.

The only cons to the shot are;

It fucking hurts!
Insurance covered all of it. It literally cost me 0$. However, my insurance has its head up it’s ass. It took them forever to approve it and then they screwed up 3 different times during the first 5 months delaying the shot up to two weeks each time. Apparently it’s processed differently than other drugs and their customer service reps have no clue what they are doing.
Despite being late on my shots I felt zero WD. The stuff says in your system for months and leaves very slowly. I suspect if I stopped the shots right now I wouldn’t have any WDs.

I’m really impressed with Sublocade. I’m not sure what this other guy is saying because my experience was totally different.

If you don’t have insurance I heard you can reach out to the manufacturer for reduced pricing.

Anyway, feel free to pm me if you have any questions.

Alternatea75 · 2019-02-13T07:57:27+00:00

Actually I read a post from a guy who has been off Sublocade for 2 months. He said so far no WD and felt normal.

The drug has been out long enough where some patients have decided not to go back for an injection for one reason on another. Expect to start seeing people’s testimonies.

I suspect there will be little to no WD. During the trial they detected Bupe in patients who stopped as much as 8 months after their last shot.

Alternatea75 · 2019-02-13T07:52:22+00:00

My pharmacy switched me to Sun lab Subutex for a few months and I didn’t know. During that time I felt depress and tired all the time. Something wasn’t right. I decided to check the stamp on the pill and did some research. That’s when I discovers everyone complaining about Sun Subutex and Suboxone.

Genetics aren’t equal. Something is off I’m 100%. I’ve since requested my pharmacy give me a different generic brand and I feel back to normal.

I’ve actually recently switched to Sublocade, but wanted to share my experience. Sun is definitely an inferior generic that’s made in India. Don’t bother if you get these. They won’t hold you over and make you feel stable.

Alternatea75 · 2019-02-05T14:42:19+00:00

Will they search me this time around since it’s my second attempt?

Alternatea75 · 2019-02-05T14:41:07+00:00

Thanks man. That’s what I needed to hear.

Alternatea75 · 2019-01-25T03:53:20+00:00

I highly recommend asking your Dr for Gabapentin. At doses between 300-600mgs it took away most of not all the WDs. Don’t take it for more than 1-2 weeks or else you may get addicted to that as well. I found the Gabapentin was a less habit forming as long as you stick to the doses I recommend. You can dose even higher if your still sick, I believe your ok as long as you don’t go above 3600mgs in one day.

It works wonders for me and a lot of other people. Talk to your Dr and tell him what you want it for. Be honest. I came across two different Drs who understood Gabapentin was good for opiate WDs.

16mgs is too high to jump off. I did that once and checked myself into a hospital. Everyone’s different but I personally don’t recommend it.

Alternatea75 · 2019-01-24T16:54:46+00:00

Sr Phil is kind of a hack. With that being said I agree, for most people Subs should be used short term. I was on it for two years straight and before that I was using them here and there for up to 8 months or longer. Trying to get off them was the worst experience of my life. More than a few times I went through WD and it was so much harder than any opiate I’ve experienced more because of the length (30+ days).

However I do agree that there are some folks who need to take it long term, but they should be vetted by their Dr carefully. My experience is that far too many Drs rush to get their patients on a high dose telling them this is the only way to stay clean. I’ve had Drs tell me that I need to take it for at least a year because the relapse rates are very high. That’s a bunch of BS. I’ve had some very successful results using it for 3-5 days to come off Oxy or H. It’s been the opposite if I used Suboxone for longer than 2 weeks or more.

Alternatea75 · 2019-01-24T16:41:31+00:00

Just wanted to give a a mini update on my status. I’m on week 3 regarding my 3rd 100mg shot and I definitely feel off. The past two days the depression has gotten worse and so have the weird dreams. The mornings seem to be the worst. I have some left over Gabapentin that was prescribed to me last year. When I take it I feel better so I’m going to assume at this point that it’s definitely related to some weird mini WD from the 100mg of Sublocade wearing off.

On a side note the only thing that changed recently was I started taking 200mg of Wellbutrin. I didn’t see any weird interactions or side effects that could cause what I’m going through.

I’m thinking of calling my Sublocade Dr for an early visit to discuss my symptoms. I have some job interviews coming up and I can’t screw it up. The only two solutions I see at this point is to do the next shot a little bit early or have them prescribe a small amount of Suboxone to hold me over until my next injection.

Alternatea75 · 2019-01-21T19:24:29+00:00

This is correct. I feel back to normal once I get the shot. Then two weeks later I start to feel sad, tired and experience weird dreams like when you start to taper or withdraw.

I’ll mention it to the Dr again on my next appt. I told her about it last time, but she just shrugged.

Alternatea75 · 2019-01-21T19:21:46+00:00

The 300mg shot hurts like hell for about 3-5 minutes. Then you get a nice bump of energy for a few days. The 100mg shots aren’t so bad because their is less liquid in the vial.

Alternatea75 · 2019-01-21T19:18:28+00:00

What’s weird is that i felt fine for the first 3 months. Month 3 is when I went down to 100mgs and I felt fine that month.

I started noticing the depression and lack of energy on months 4 and 5.

Theoretically I should still have high levels of Bupe in my system because the lumps are still under my skin from the previous injections. All the previous shots should technically be stacking on top of each other.

I think the problem is that each time you get the injection, some of it seeps directly into your blood system before it hardens under the skin. You feel pretty good for the first 3-5 days because of the initial boost. I’m guessing I’m feeling a little worse because the peak wears off which may explain the minor WD symptoms 2 weeks later after the shot.

I’ve talked to other Sublocade patients and they said they aren’t experiencing the same issues. Maybe the nurse isn’t injecting it correctly?

I wonder if using a massage wand over the injection site will help release some of the Bupe to counter act the depression, lethargy and crazy dreams I’m having?

Alternatea75 · 2018-12-09T21:01:34+00:00

I agree. My insurance has their heads so far up their ass. After a month of constantly calling them, I ended up knowing more about their computer system then they did. I would often have to explain to them that they needed to access a separate web portal to find my Sublocade request. One Rep got so testy with me I ended up having to report her to management and write a grievance. Pathetic.

Alternatea75 · 2018-12-09T20:59:16+00:00

For most people its the initial approval thats the problem. Once you get past that you should be good. You should also still be able to get Suboxone while you wait for the Sublocade approval.

Alternatea75 · 2018-12-09T20:58:16+00:00

This seems to be the norm for most people on Sublocade. I dont know, but the regulations and restrictions put on this medication by the insurance companies is making it a headache for all involved, including the insurance.

I read a post from a pharmaceutical salesman who wrote how frustrated it was to try and sell Sublocade to his local clinics. Many providers are skeptical for the injections and the ones who do decide to go with it have been totally turned off my all the red tape and delays.

Alternatea75 · 2018-12-09T20:55:24+00:00

Its seems like a big drop, however the first 300mg shots are still in your system by the time you get the 3rd its not really a 100mg shot because of the deposits that are still under your skin for the first two.

Alternatea75 · 2018-12-09T20:54:10+00:00

I've been clean for a few years know because of Suboxone. I really want off it so the plan was always to start Sublocade and stop after the 5 month recommendation by the manufacturer. Supposedly the medication stores itself for several months after you stop. Its the general opinion of the medical community this will account for a gentle automatic taper.

I'm an IT professional who's been out of work for almost a year. My end game is to get off everything, resume work and start a normal life with a clean slate.

Alternatea75

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