Generic for Buprenorphine?

[Retiredandrestless]

so tomorrow I see my gp. At first I was considering gabapentin but I see alot of you have good results with Buprenorphine, since it has a long life and I could just go off my hydrocodone which has absolutely stopped working after 14 years. I've been having to take more than one 10/325mg and I'm just in a fog the next day (I hate being on meds!) I'm in the USA and I just looked up the price on GoodRX and very expensive. Do you all get the generic version,or is there even a generic for this? I would give this a shot first and if no good go to Gabapentin. Any answers would be appreciated. Thanks😊

[Huntingleroy]

Hi , I take 0.4 mgs sub lingual tablet of Buprenorphine every night and its a total life changer . I was on 1800mgs of Gabapentin as well but have reduced that very slowly to 100mgs as not convinced they ever helped me. Bup tablets are not expensive compared with the patches. It can be tricky in the Uk getting Gp to prescribe so good luck in the Usa .

[Retiredandrestless in reply to Huntingleroy]

He has been prescribing the hydrocodone for 14 years and he's been my Dr for over 25 years. He's a great Dr. When I look up price for Buprenorphine it shows generic Burdened and but fans and Subutex? Don't know what all this means

[Huntingleroy in reply to Retiredandrestless]

Same drug just different suppliers / brand names. My latest prescription are Subutex , think Ive had 4 different ones so far ! Some people say Accord are the best (they shud all be the same in my mind )but when I asked my chemist for Accord he said we have to have what is sent us .Good luck

[Retiredandrestless in reply to Huntingleroy]

Thanks for letting me know . I hope this works out for me 😊

[Simkin]

In my experience in UK doctors want you to try gabapentin first & if that does not work only then will they let you look at Buprenorphine or another opioid as a last resort drug.But America is a different ball game.

[ID158 in reply to Simkin]

It is a different ballgame, but in my experience that's the case in the US as well. I suspect insurance companies, in addition to doctors, would also insist on trying Gabapentin first too.

[Simkin in reply to ID158]

Well good luck!Gabapentin didn't do much for me personally but at least I tried & luckily my doctor was happy to then let me try a low dose of buprenorphine which has worked wonders.

[Joolsg]

There is a generic. Most brands here are now generic. But here in the UK we get all meds free (over 60) or we pay a maximum of around £120 a year for ALL meds, no matter how expensive so the price isn't an issue.

[Karma-]

Hi. Just to give you my recommendation with a little background. I've been suffering from RLS for the last 10 years more or less and Gabapentine, even though not perfect, has been the best medication. I interrupted gabapentin and started taking pramipexol and it was a really bad experience. Fortunately, it wasn't for a long time. Thanks for this group, who alerted me, I stopped pramipexol and came back to gabapentin taking higher doses and so far it's been working fairly well. I personally recommend gabapentin. Good luck with your decision.

[707twitcher]

I don't think buprenorphine sublingual pills are readily available in the US. But the suboxone sublingual strip is. Typical dose is 2mg of buprenorphine, with .5mg of naloxone. The strips are easy to cut, so you can get strips of .4mg (1/5 of a strip) or whatever you want. There are also patches, but these (even in generics) cost a lot more than the strips. I'm not sure you'll have much different side effects from the hydrocodone, but probably worth a try. One reason to try it first is you can switch between opioids immediately without needing to titrate down to avoid withdrawal issues. And it's fast acting (30 minutes or so), so you can take a small amount and add to it if the RLS isn't fully controlled. Gabapentin or Pregabalin generally produce less side effects, but that isn't universally true. So if buprenorphine side effects bother you, I'd give gabapentin a try. You can titrate up on it while tapering down on the opioids.

[SueJohnson in reply to 707twitcher]

The buprenorphine sublingual pills are available in the US.

[Retiredandrestless in reply to 707twitcher]

I got 2mg sublingual tablets,someone had mentioned to cut in quarters to begin with. The pills are so little I'm afraid if I cut in fours it will crumble

[707twitcher in reply to Retiredandrestless]

Better to lose some than to take more than you need and have worse side effects. Once you determine the lowest dose that you need, you can maybe find lower dosage pills or switch to the strips(suboxone).

[Retiredandrestless in reply to 707twitcher]

I just took half of a 2 mg,gonna see how that does. I am feeling relaxed though 😌

[teakabeagle]

Buprenorohine is the generic- Brand name is Subutex. I just switch to Medicare Part D and they have denied the Bup, just like my commercial insurance did initially. It is being appealed and will go through. I used Clever Rx and got the Buprenorohine for $12USD , 30 day supply( which is really 4 months as I only take 1/4 tablet a month. It pays to check several of the drug discount plans as you should really only use it at your designated pharmacy. Two reasons for this- one is you don’t want to be seen as “doctor shopping” for opiods, and each different pharmacy is likely to demand prior auth and proving its use in RLS which is off label. The discounts can vary month to month, so good to check with more than one program to find the best price.

[Retiredandrestless in reply to teakabeagle]

It was actually reasonable. With my insurance $12.00 for 60 tablets. Plus a refill. I can deal with that