help with side effects of Belbuca

[halperinchen]

I switched from oxycodone 5 mg once a day which I have been taking for the past 4 years to Belbuca ( Buprenorphine buccal film) 75 mcg one at bedtime about 6 days ago, the first two days Belbuca was very effective relieving all the signs and symptoms of my RLS. Unfortunately by the third day, I had increased the dosage to 150 mcg and I started to experience very uncomfortable sensations in both of my calf muscles which I never did when I was on oxycodone. Would anyone have any clue about this uncomfortable and almost painful calf sensations? Does the dosage of it have anything to do with the calf muscle pain. Are the calf muscle symptoms related to RLS? Thanks in advance for your reply. Much appreciated.

[MightyPotato]

yes. you're probably in withdrawal quite likely and your doctor is an idiot for not telling you how these drugs work. while oxycodone is a full agonist, buprenorphine is only a partial agonist and completely takes over your opioid receptors while blocking them from any full agonists that may enter your system. if you give someone on opioids buprenorphine, they go into immediate precipitated withdrawal. that's why you either have to be entirely off of oxy for 24 to 48 hours or ease into it with certain techniques. but, since you're already on it for 6 days and you only have some minor discomfort in your calfs, i would probably just keep going. you likely will be a bit uncomfortable for about two weeks until you have adjusted to the buprenorphine. i switched from oxy to buprenorphine once and had cold hands and feet for about 3 weeks until I adjusted.

i sure hope your doctor told you all of that. but, it could also be something entirely different. if you're not sure, discuss it with a professional. or do anyways. i'm not a doctor and it could be a lot of other things. maybe your dose is still too low. or too high maybe even. i'm not qualified to give you any advice on that

[halperinchen in reply to MightyPotato]

Thanks MightyPotato, I got a brief instruction to start takin Belbuca directly without the Oxycodone the first night, i hope it is not withdrawal symptoms , after increasing the dosage according to dr B, the calf pain seems to ease a little bit, I hope I don’t have more problems than I can handle. I will go in to see him next Wed to make sure everything is ok, thanks and your reply is much appreciated

[MightyPotato in reply to halperinchen]

then it might likely be that the dosage is/was too low if it improved when you took more. that's always quite individual. i was (and am again) on 40 to 80mg of oxy and I had to take up to 1mg of bupre to make my rls go away. you might be able to go down again once you have 100 percent adjusted to buprenorphine. good luck.

[Nanpat in reply to MightyPotato]

Hi, I was just reading the previous post and realised how little I know about buprenorphine.Am waiting to see a pain specialist and was hoping to try bup while cutting down on my targin. Goal to end targin altogether. Is this not a good plan?? My 15 mg at night is no longer working and have read many success stories here about bup.

My gp, neurologist and rheumatologist all suggest pramipexole but I am reluctant.

Any advice appreciated

[MightyPotato in reply to Nanpat]

It is certainly a good plan. Many people do much better on Buprenorphine because it's not a full blown opioid. It worked for my severe RLS but I unfortunately had more intense side effect. The switch is gonna be a bit uncomfortable probably depending how much Targin you're on but it's absolutely doable. Regarding Pramipexole: dopamine agonists never worked for me. Certainly worth a try but I'm not much of a fan since these drugs cause augmentation. You will have to discuss that with your doctor. I just wouldn't switch immediately from your usual Oxy dose since you would experience withdrawal. But as mentioned, best to discuss that with a professional. Pain specialists know what they're doing usually so you're in good hands.

[LotteM in reply to MightyPotato]

Be careful when changing from oxycontin to buprenorphine. It has to be a switch in one go, as buprenorphine blocks the effects of the oxycodon. A pain specialist should be knowledgeable about that. Also about equivalent doses.

[MightyPotato in reply to LotteM]

Not necessarily. For me, it was absolutely impossible to stay off the Oxy for long enough to safely take Buprenorphine. Not because of the withdrawal but because my RLS is just too intense. I had to titrate down my Oxy while very slowly going up with the Buprenorphine. Opioid addicts take Buprenorphine in much higher dosages usually (up to 24mg if I remember correctly). So, at dosages at 1mg and below, I was still able to have an effect with the Oxycodone because it didn't seem to completely cover my receptors. With that technique, I was able to entirely switch after about 2 weeks. But, that's not advice and should be done under the supervision of a doctor only. But I agree that people should be careful. If you do it wrong and go into withdrawal you're not going to have a great time.

Something else people on Buprenorphine should know: Always say that you're taking it, especially for operations and other procedures where you're sedated. Buprenorphine is up to 50 times as potent as morphine even though it's not a full agonists. People on Buprenorphine need higher dosages (or extremely strong opioids usually not used often in hospitals in the case of recovering addicts who are on up to 24mg a day) of pain medication during operations in order to overpower the opioid blocking effect of the Buprenorphine.

[LotteM in reply to MightyPotato]

Thanks for the clarification and the warnings, MightyPotato.

[halperinchen in reply to MightyPotato]

Hi Mightypotato, I just switch from oxycodone 5 mg to bupre 150 mcg with some confusing and uncomfortable symptoms, my calf muscles are still hurting and even my thigh muscles are involved too. I took 75 mcg Bulbuca ( bupre buccal film) at 5pm and another 75 mcg before going to bed around 9 pm for the past 4 days, I still experience the symptoms of RLS and aching calf and thigh muscles. I am going to see dr B this coming Wed to see what he thinks. I agree with your opinion from my own experiences right now.

[Narcis]

I és un Buprenorphine pils, nit working much. My doctor changed to bupre patch (32mg/hour) and works quite del for t'he moment (2 months). Good luck