Hey everyone, I lost my password for about a year or two and just found it, somehow. I guess signup is disabled too. Good to be back. Anyway, I am away for the summer on an undisclosed island and just switced suboxone doctors for the summer. The doctor wants to essentially demote me from my hard earned once a month supply to having to check in at some drug addict clinic to piss test once a week! And I had already given him $300 at this point! His reasons are that I smoke pot, cigs, ect...I've always been honest with every doctor I've ever gone to and now this guy has to ruin it for me. There is no point in being drug tested because nothing happens if they find something, which they will. It is just a big hassel and I have to pay for it! So, in my situation would you tell him to fuck off and travel 3 hours to my old, nice doctor, loose hundreds more in travel expense (getting my car off the island is $150, plus another 100 for gas, or just deal with it?

You got some shit you need to balance out on your own here. No one else knows your current mentality or emotional state at this point of your abstinence but you.

If you feel that the Suboxone is absolutely mandatory to ensure you steer clear of the opes, and you truly value doing so, then, finances willing, you'd probably want to consider sucking it up and giving in to the drive/cost/gas factor to get to the old doctor.

If you feel like you might be ready to maintain without the Suboxone, and have some left at this point, maybe you should think about tapering off. You likely won't (and shouldn't IMO) be on Suboxone forever, and assuming you've been clean from opes for a little while now, the bupe is, at this point, moreso for the psychological craving aspect than the literal physical withdrawal. If you feel secure enough, psychologically and emotionally, to cope with your cravings cold turkey, then maybe a gradual taper is in order for you (assuming you have the necessary pills to do so). I'd definitely keep a few left over in case you feel yourself buckling and on the verge of a relapse, though.

But basically, this guy won't help you out if you fail your test for weed? Or is there something else in your system? If it's just the weed...well, have you thought about the possibility of not smoking anymore? Yeah, it'll suck for a good while at first, but if that's the only obstacle between you and convenient access to Suboxone then I'd think you would consider the Suboxone more beneficial to your ongoing recovery.

I don't know, really, so don't take anything I'm saying literally. I've never been through severe opiate withdrawal/recovery myself and can only offer advice based on simple research and being witness to more than a couple personal friends going through it themselves. I've been through benzo withdrawal, though, about four different times, and I can certainly attest for the psychological aspect of long-term recovery.

Good luck, though. Hope something works out...

Definitly not ready to get off the sub...maybe in six months or so. Yes, I have not touched an opiate in a couple months now. When I first got on suboxone I still used occaisonally but it's just not worth the hassle of getting them, waiting to be sick so they'll work, and then waiting to be sick again so I don't get sicker when I go back on the subs. Oh, and life's better without opiates.

The thing is that they WILL find weed in my system and it DOESN"T matter. So I just don't know what the point is. Even if they found other opiates, well I am an opiate addict seeking treatment so they shouldn't be suprised. He can't just cut me off, it'd be inhumane and I'd end up in the emergency room getting a shot of morphine or something. It is a pointless hassle.

Are there any other doctors in the area you could go to see?

Did you try telling this guy upfront that you don't want to deal with this bullshit?

There is another doctor, but I just don't have hundreds of dollars to throw around here. I already gave this guy the intial 300 fee and I'd rather not give ANOTHER doctor that much money. And yes, I told him how bad he's screwing me and he proposed the same thing in different words, so I got nowhere.

Oh, and life's better without opiates.


Amen brother. I already like you and you're only back for a few.

Man up buddy. it sucks but try to pretend your just recovering from a hard night of drinking for a week or so. attitude is what makes the difference in quitting