Belbuca

[dancer2]

I had questions about 4 months ago about pain after hip surgery. I received many helpful answers. However, the pain continues which I am told (by the surgeon) because of inflammation and nerve irritation. Also, my RLS has increased dramatically which is probably due to inflammation. I am getting very little sleep. I now take 150mcg at 1530 and 300mcg at 2000. I think I may have to increase the dose. But, Belbuca is so expensive even with insurance. Can I switch to Buprenorphine tablets or sublingual. If so, what is a comparable dose? Also, I have insomnia. My question is what can I take for the insomnia? Sorry for the long post

[Joolsg]

I'm not familiar with Belbuca but have just looked it up. It seems to be Buprenorphine in buccal film form.So Buprenorphine pills should be very similar BUT they only come in 2mg pills in the USA. Here in the UK they come in much smaller doses.

You will have to cut and measure the pills to ensure you get the same dose.

Opioid insomnia is common.

Many people take a sedating med to counter the alerting.

Hopefully those with insomnia will tell you what works for them.

[SueJohnson]

You can certainly switch. I'll leave it up to others to give you the comparable dose.

I recommend lunesta for insomnia. I take it for a different reason.

[LotteM]

Yes you can switch to buprenorphine sublingual pills. But they come in much larger sizes, I think (1 or) 2 mg the smallest dose in the US. If so, cut into half or quarters to get to about 0.5mg. Belbuca has a high absorption, and sublingual pills too, but maybe slightly less. So opt for a comparable dose to start with and add a little if it isn’t enough. Buprenorphine can induce insomnia, so remain as low as possible to get RLS relief.

I don’t know about how to combat the insomnia with medicines. Forst try good sleep hygiene. But most likely you have done so already.

[dancer2 in reply to LotteM]

Thank you to everyone who responded. You all are wonderful!

[SueJohnson]

On the lunesta check out the GoodRx price if you get it as I find it quite a bit cheaper than using my insurance.

[dancer2 in reply to SueJohnson]

Thanks

[707twitcher]

I don’t know why, but I believe Suboxone is much cheaper than Belbuca in US. It comes in sublingual strips containing 2mg buprenorphine and 0.5mg naloxone. It is fairly easy to cut the strips. 1/4 of a strip is 500mcg, so maybe you start there and go up or down as needed.

Indica strain of cannabis helps me with sleep. But I vape instead of using gummies because ingesting it seems to add to the constipation side effect of opioids, at least for me.

[restlessstoz]

Hi, I suffer from alerting due to the buprenorphine. I take gabapentin to counteract this. I started on 200mg and titrated until I found the dose that allowed me to sleep. However, I still have to practice good sleep hygiene as I seem able to override the medication quite easily if really engaged with a good book!