Suboxone

[dancer2]

To those who take Suboxone, what dose do you take? I'm going to try to change from Belbuca to Suboxone but don't know what the dosage should be.

[Joolsg]

I would normally say to take the same dose. So if you take 0.5mg belbuca - take 0.5mg of sub lingual pills.. Why the change? Most US people switch to belbucca so they can cut it more easily.However, there is sometimes a difference between brands here in the UK. There shouldn't be- but there most definitely is.

I take 0.4mg Accord sub lingual pills. In the UK and Europe we can get 0.2mg pills so we start at a much lower dose and increase if necessary.

The average dose of people taking sub lingual pills on this forum would seem to be between 0.6 and 0.8mg.

In the USA, the sub lingual pills start at a high dose of 2mg. As a result, the average dose is higher in the USA ( Mayo algorithm ) as it's more difficult to cut the pills.

[dancer2 in reply to Joolsg]

My Belbuca is in mcg not mg. I take 150 mcg at 1500 and 300mcg at 2200. I want to change to Suboxone because it costs me $200 every month for the Belbuca even with my insurance. I thought Suboxone was much cheaper. I'm not sure my doctor with prescribe it but I wanted to know what the correct dosage should be.

[Joolsg in reply to dancer2]

Just try 1.5mg at 3 and 3 mg at 10pm.But it may be difficult to cut the 2mg pill into those sizes!

I can understand you switching for cost reasons.

Sorry, that should say 0.15mg at 3 pm and 0.3mg at 10pm. Total 0.45mg ( 450mcg).

But as mentioned, cutting a 2mg pill into those sizes will be difficult.

[teakabeagle in reply to Joolsg]

Wouldn’t that be .15 mg and .3 mg for a total of .45 mg?

[Joolsg in reply to teakabeagle]

Ahhh Yes. Of course it would! Many thanks for correction.

[ID158 in reply to dancer2]

You might look into this program. I haven't used it but might be prescribed this med so I was researching it a bit. belbuca.com/savings

[dancer2 in reply to ID158]

Thank you for the information.

[Shumbah]

Dr Glen recommends subutex over Suboxone

Most common dose for RLS is 2 mg

[Busunsc713 in reply to Shumbah]

Why Sebutex over Suboxone?

[Shumbah in reply to Busunsc713]

Subutex is a stand alone medicine Suboxone contains naloxone is for those with opioid addiction.

Naloxone is not good if you require pain medication or emergency surgery

5 years ago Dr Glen brooks was my original prescribed he’s a Anesthetist.

[teakabeagle in reply to Shumbah]

It seems like people on the forum run around .4 to 1 mg. 2 mg almost sent me to the ER!

[4Curiousosity]

I take the absolute smallest amount I can which is roughly between 1/8th and 1/4th mg

It is difficult to break the 2mg pills into small amounts, but this way I get the relief without less side effects

[707twitcher]

I'll have to say NO, NO to Joolsg's advice. That's way too much. That is 10 times the dose you are currently taking. The equivalent dose would be .15 mg & .3mg. That amounts to roughly 1/12th and 1/6th of a pill or strip. I believe in the US, the sublingual strips are far more available than pills. That's what you want, because you can't easily cut pills, but it's easy to cut the strips.

Here's what I do: on a small cutting board, I have measured the length of a strip, and drawn lines dissecting that span into sixths. Cut with a razor. A sixth of a 2mg strip will be .33mg. If you cut one of these .33mg strips in half, you'll have .167mg.

As I mentioned in response to your last post, another advantage I see to Suboxone over Belbuca is that the strips are a little farther away from your teeth for the couple minutes it takes to dissolve. Given the fact that there are some (not many) complaints of tooth issues with buprenorphine, I figure this is a plus.

[dancer2 in reply to 707twitcher]

That is what I thought. How do you store the strips once they are cut? If I continue to take them at 1530 and 2030, I need to be able to put them in a container to transport them with me. I am often not at home at those times.

[707twitcher]

I just use one of those seven day pill containers with seven individual small containers. One container for the .33mg ones, one for the .167 ones. Anything that keeps them clean and dry.

[dancer2 in reply to 707twitcher]

Good idea. Thanks

[707twitcher in reply to dancer2]

And use tweezers to pick up the strips and put them under your tongue.

[teakabeagle]

you might ask for subutex as it is Buprenorphine only and is cheaper. In the US 2 mg is the lowest dose. I found the best way to cut them is initially in half with a pill cutter then quarter them with a single edge razor. Pill cutters don’t quarter them very well