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A Christmas Gift
Buprenorphine
Citation:   Caliberfiveo. "A Christmas Gift: An Experience with Buprenorphine (exp63565)". Erowid.org. Oct 10, 2010. erowid.org/exp/63565

 
DOSE:
T+ 0:00
8 mg sublingual Pharms - Buprenorphine (pill / tablet)
  T+ 1:00 8 mg sublingual Pharms - Buprenorphine (pill / tablet)
  T+ 2:00 8 mg sublingual Pharms - Buprenorphine (pill / tablet)
  T+ 3:00 8 mg sublingual Pharms - Buprenorphine (pill / tablet)
BODY WEIGHT: 255 lb
I believe that I had the worst Oxycontin habit than anyone I have ever heard of. Luckily for me I had a great job at the time earning nearly $500,000 per year, with a vast majority of that income used to purchase Oxycontin on the street. I would eat the drug only, as I refused to snort or inject myself with anything, ever. At my highest tolorance I would eat between 20 - 25 80mg Oxycontin per day. Three or four times per month I could con the group of doctors I would visit into writing me a script for 60 80mg tablets. Most often I would purchase my drugs from my street connection at $45 to $55 a piece buying 100 at a time. I easily spent anywhere between $15,000 to $25,000 PER MONTH on my drug habit. I know that anyone reading this will probably not believe those figures, but I know that most of the worst coke addicts who ever lived spent less than half of that.

Financial devistation and physical destruction was starring me in the face, all while I had a family of three small children and a beautiful supporting wife to support. I was passing out all of the time, behind the wheel of my huge SUV, on the couch, in bed, on the toilet, and worst of all in front of my children. Thank the lord they are too little to remember my wife not being able to awaken me on the couch while having to monitor my breathing closely so that it would not become so depressed as to stop. She saved my life! Along with the constant O.D. headaches I was getting from taking too much Oxycodone, I knew the end might be near. Maybe one night I would take my pills, enough to get me through a nights sleep without beginning to withdraw in the morning, and I would never wake up. I would die in my sleep next to my beautiful beloved wife, leaving my children fatherless. Another drug addict loser abandons his family, leaving them to fend for themselves for rest of their life.

Around Christmas 2005 I ran out of my pills and could not find my dealer, nor could I locate any of the cadre of doctors I had conned into treating my “pain management.” I began to withdraw on Christmas Eve that year, horribly. Christmas Day 2005 was the worst day of my life. Having to withdraw from opiates in front of my family while claiming to be sick was the lowest thing I could remember doing in a very long time. However, the outcome of this misery was the catalyst to something great, life saving I would say. I began researching on the internet how I could curb my horrendous withdrawl symptoms when I came across the substance Buprenorphine. I wrote down a few doctors that could prescribe the drug and the day after Christmas, December 26, 2005 I began calling at 8:01 am. I finally got an appointment for December 28th and went to see the doctor.

Upon arrival at the doctor’s office, I was in full blown detox and withdrawing heavily from my addiction to Oxycontin to the point of having seizures right there in the waiting room. I wrote down the amount of the drug I was using and the doctor was amazed that I was still alive and did not have a heart attack or fatal seizure during my withdrawl. I was immediately administered an 8mg sublingual dose of Subutex (Buprenorphine) to no affect. One hour later I was given another 8mg dose, and after half an hour after I took the drug I began to actually feel slightly better. Another hour passed after the second dose I took a third 8mg dose of Subutex. This time, after a half an hour after the third dose I began to feel about 50% better than when I first limped in to the doctors office. I was given a fourth 8mg dose after a total of about three hours after arriving at the doctors office and this time I was feeling close to being a normal human being. An absolute miracle if you ask me.

Since my first visit to the doctors office I have tapered down from 32mg per day of Buprenorphine to 8mg, and I soon hope to be off the drug all together. This process has taken nearly a year and a half with a few relapses since my first commitment to stay off the Oxycontin. I have been Oxy free for nine months now and am looking forward to my 1 year mark. When I am completely off the Subutex (Buprenorphine) I will be taking Naltraxone to block any and all ability for me to relapse back to any sort of opiate. I will be going to have the Naltraxone administered to me via an implant that lasts six months. It is all too easy to consciously skip a dose of your aversionary medication in order to facilitate a relapse. This implant strategy will hopefully solve that problem and I will be getting the implants for as long as necessary for me to keep clean, life long if need be. Thank you all so much for reading this, hopefully it helps someone out there.

Exp Year: 2005-2007ExpID: 63565
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Oct 10, 2010Views: 14,401
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Pharms - Buprenorphine (265) : Medical Use (47), Hospital (36)

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