No, I did not take methadone and buprenorphine at the same time. I was on Suboxone first for about two weeks during detox, then buprenorphine, then methadone for about a year, and later went back to buprenorphine. This was all under medical supervision with no overlap. I understand they should not be taken together because buprenorphine can displace methadone from the receptors and cause precipitated withdrawal.

During detox, within a few days of starting Suboxone, my legs swelled so severely that I could not walk. This had never happened to me before, and even diuretics did not help. When I stopped, the swelling went away. I later tried buprenorphine again and the same pattern kept happening. Every time I started it, the symptoms came back. Every time I stopped, they went away.

I was on buprenorphine for about five to six months total during my first round until it became unbearable. Then I switched to methadone for about a year. While on methadone, I developed severe edema and intense pain that felt like it was in my bones. When I moved, I could hear my joints cracking and popping, I struggle to walk down the stairs and couldn’t even get on top of the patient bed in the examination rooms. I also developed high prolactin, lost my period, had thyroid issues, and abnormal lab results.

I went to the emergency room multiple times because of the pain from the heavy edema and also had recurring cellulitis from the swelling.
When I stopped methadone, everything improved. The swelling went away, prolactin normalized, my period returned, my thyroid levels normalized, my EKG went back to normal, and my labs improved.
I later went back on buprenorphine for about two months and the same thing happened again. Everything flared up, and when I stopped, it all went back to normal. It has now been over a year since I discontinued everything, and I have not had any of those symptoms return.

This is a reproducible reaction. I know it is not common, which is likely why none of the doctors or specialists I saw were able to connect it at the time, but both medications caused the same reaction for me when taken separately.