# Suboxone



## Surfingisfun001 (Sep 25, 2007)

I've been on suboxone for about a week and have been feeling a lot better. I am also taking hydrocortisone because I have low cortisol levels. I missed my dose of suboxone one day and could definitely tell that a large part of what has been making me feel so much better is the suboxone. Suboxone is a partial opioid. They give it to people who are withdrawling from opiates. I've read about naloxone and naltrexone and how some people have found relief from opioid antagonists. Just curious to see if anyone else has tried suboxone or knows how it compares to naloxone/naltrexone.


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## insaticiable (Feb 23, 2010)

surfingisfun001 said:


> I've been on suboxone for about a week and have been feeling a lot better. I am also taking hydrocortisone because I have low cortisol levels. I missed my dose of suboxone one day and could definitely tell that a large part of what has been making me feel so much better is the suboxone. Suboxone is a partial opioid. They give it to people who are withdrawling from opiates. I've read about naloxone and naltrexone and how some people have found relief from opioid antagonists. Just curious to see if anyone else has tried suboxone or knows how it compares to naloxone/naltrexone.


Ah, I was VERY interested in trying out Naltrexone at the beginning of my DP, after I had read about the research studies that had been done on it, and the small amount of success it had yielded. Makes you become hopeful, you know? Unfortunately however, when I brought up the idea of trying it out to my doctor, she said no.









Hope you continue to see positive results from the suboxone.


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## californian (Jul 24, 2006)

insaticiable said:


> Ah, I was VERY interested in trying out Naltrexone at the beginning of my DP, after I had read about the research studies that had been done on it, and the small amount of success it had yielded. Makes you become hopeful, you know? Unfortunately however, when I brought up the idea of trying it out to my doctor, she said no.
> 
> 
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> ...


Surfing, I'm thinking about trying suboxone as well as it is the only kappa-opioid receptor antagonist approved for human use at this time. Fortunately, I have a good doc who is willing to try things and pay attention to the new research.

insaticiable, I'd suggest getting a new doc. When they won't listen to us about this stuff, they need to be shown we won't tolerate their ignorance. Just my opinion, of course.


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## Guest (Jun 1, 2010)

Can you explain to me more how this drug works on DP?


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## californian (Jul 24, 2006)

tinyfairypeople said:


> Can you explain to me more how this drug works on DP?


Which one are you asking about? Naltrexone? Or Suboxone (buprenorphine)?

The short answer is that some research implicates the endogenous opiate system as playing a major role in dp. This is because Naloxone, the most potent opiate antagonist out there has produced the greatest DP alleviation in limited trials. However, it is IV administered only, and it is a non-selective opiate antagonist. Naltrexone does similar things but not as powerfully.

The opioid receptor thought to be most likely responsible for DP is the kappa-opioid receptor. Stimulating this receptor can induce feelings of dysphoria and DP. Naloxone and naltrexone antagonize this receptor, but they also antagonize the feel-good opiate receptors (a factor we don't really want).

Currently, no selective kappa-opioid antagonists are approved for human use. However, buprenorphine (suboxone, subutex) is an opiate that agonizes the mu-opioid receptor (feel-good receptor) while antagonizing the kappa-receptor. As such, it theoretically could help alleviate DP. A Harvard study showed that it had promise for "treatment-resistant depression" which I suspect often means misdiagnosed DP.

But it is very taboo to use it for anything other than getting people off of opiate addiction or for chronic pain management. One would be very lucky to get a sympathetic doctor to prescribe it. Even then, docs need special certification to prescribe it.

Hope that helps.


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