Posted by bottlecappie on July 8, 2008, at 16:23:29
In reply to Re: Methadone NMDA, posted by okydoky on July 8, 2008, at 14:21:36
It's my understanding that methadone is better for chronic pain than buprenorphine (active ingredient in subutex/suboxone). Subutex & suboxone are only approved in the US for treatment of opiate dependency.
If you are suffering a lot of chronic pain and also have breakthrough pain, subutex might not be a good choice for you because buperenorphine binds so tightly to opiate receptors that it basically renders all other opiate medications ineffective. So, if the subutex wasn't handling your pain, you'd be stuck.
There are some doctors who prescribe subutex/suboxone for pain, but it's my understanding that this is usually done in cases where addiction/dependency is also an issue. It's more difficult to abuse suboxone/subutex because buprenorphine has a ceiling effect.
I currently take suboxone for opiate dependency and it works wonderfully to supress withdrawals and the desire to use. It's a mediocre pain-reliever, in my opinion. It works well for my fibromyalgia but is not great for acute pain or headaches. I do believe it works well as an antidepressant, as that has been my experience, and I was able to discontinue Wellbutrin since I've been on suboxone.
I also took methadone in the past and found it to help with my depression and it was an extrememly effective pain reliever. It lasts for a long time and didn't produce the cravings associated with shorter-acting opiates. It is addictive, as all opiates are, so you might want to be aware of that.
Good luck, and I hope you'll be feeling better soon.
poster:bottlecappie
thread:835899
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080706/msgs/838854.html