Side effects of buprenorphine and/or iron

[Laineypl]

Hubby on buprenorphine patches and iron, taken with orange juice, but has been experiencing nausea, complete lack of appetite and tiredness. Aware that these are typical side effects n he says its better than having RLS. Does anyone have any advice or experience regarding overcoming these side effects. Thanks in advance everyone.

[Joolsg]

The nausea is a very common side effect of Buprenorphine.I took medical cannabis with 20%THC for 7-10 days. 0.2ml at night. When I stopped the cannabis- the nausea had gone.

Alternatively ask GP for Zofran( ondansetron).

[Laineypl in reply to Joolsg]

Thanks Jools. I'll pass your advice on x

[Joolsg in reply to Laineypl]

Oh and cannabis increases appetite and helps sleep.

[Laineypl in reply to Joolsg]

Sounds good to me , might try it myself 😉

[DogBella]

I, too, am on buprenorphine and am experiencing nausea, lack of appetite and tiredness. Of course, it is much, much better than RLS. I was a little over weight so the lack of eating was ok and I have lost over 40 pounds in the last 2 years, My doctor prescribed Ondansetron generic for Zofran for the nausea. I have found it better to eat small portions more often than try to eat large portions at meal times.

[Laineypl in reply to DogBella]

Thanks for posting, will take it yo doc at next appt.

[davchar23]

Dear Laineypl,

I can certainly write you a chapter on side effects of buprenorphine patches but i will try to summarise.

I suffered from all the side effects you mention and despite following lots of kind support from this forum members and my patient GP (several anti nausea drugs tried in vain) got nowhere and so I established a long and sometimes tedious experimental process. The conclusions for me are as follows:-

-the nausea is not caused by the level of bupre exceeding the nausea level but in fact the opposite in that mine nausea occurs when the level of bupre drops and I get withdrawal symptoms. I top up the patch with a small portion of bupre tablet and this stops the nausea.

My dosage is a 10mcg/hr patch (lasts only 5 days) and about 50mcg of tablet (ie a quarter) twice a day.

Complicated but works. The real problem is the half life of buprenorphine and the variable life of patches.

I emphasise that this is my personal experience and hope that it is useful to you. I did try some cannabis and ondansetron but no success with either. I suspect you will need to experiment to find your own formula for success.

Best regards

Davchar23

[Claire_1c]

I started Buprenorphine tablets in May this year. The nausea lasted about a week but my appetite continues to be affected and I'm on the verge of being 'underweight'. I also experience tiredness during the day but hadn't made the connection between that and Buprenorphine - I thought it was because my sleep is still very wobbly after years of being up all night. Still not sure.

So I do think the nausea might settle - although davchar23 's comments about the half life of patches could be at play in your situation.

Ultimately I'm with you when you say that anything is better than the RLS.

[Ticki in reply to Claire_1c]

My story too. Great for my legs but appetite completely gone. ❤️‍🩹

[Laineypl in reply to Ticki]

Yes OK if you want to loose a bit, but not if you're already slim. But better than RLS he reckons 😉

[Ticki in reply to Laineypl]

I know 110 for me. It’s better than the legs indeed .

[teakabeagle]

I had severe nausea and a lot of vomiting at first. I was started on a dose that was way too high for me(2 mg) and thought I would have to go to the ER. It took 15 hours for that reaction to settle( nausea,vomiting, I coordination, bystagmus) . I did have Ondansetron which was helpful( I do not like THC effect). Once I found my lowest effective dose this abated. The decreased appetite remained for 4-5 months, but gradually improved. I just ate frequent small meals until that happened.

[Laineypl in reply to teakabeagle]

Hoping this too will subside. He's been on patches for 10 weeks so still early days. His dose works well with no breakthrough. he tried to reduce the dose hoping it would reduce the side effects but his RLS returned after a few days so he increased back to effective dose. Will see how things go over Xmas

[TimeEnd]

Try Kratom. Herbal remedy. No prescription required. Works!! Check out https;//club13.com. If have trouble sleeping when taking it, take skullcap tea right before bed. Be aware that different varieties of Kratom offer different effects. You want the greatest calming effect you can get.

[Heavyd65 in reply to TimeEnd]

Use the Red Magda Kratom. I usually take five or six capsules before bedtime. The red is for bed. The white is for light ( daytime) and the green is for in between.. that amount is considered a very low dose.