Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

I switched to suboxone 2mg. It has seemed to help the day I take it and the next day. It has a very long half life. But I have to wait a few days before taking it again. I am that way with pretty much any medication -- I get used to them very quickly. I have gradually been having more and more of a problem with throwing up -- one of the side effects. If I have to get up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water or to go to the bathroom and I move up and down, I throw up. The last time I took it I actually threw up several times, the last time being around 10AM the next morning. I am thinking that if I break the pill in half that perhaps the side effect may not be as powerful. We shall see.

Yikes that's horrible! Do you hope to control the throwing up by stopping for a few days, as well as by taking half?

Yes. That is my hope. I want to try to go as long as I can before trying it again. I have been taking it for a little over three months. I had to try different ways of taking it to see what worked best. At first I threw up because I took a pill two days in a row. After that I threw up sometimes in the first part of the night. But to be honest being able to get a good nights sleep was worth the inconvenience of throwing up once during the night; and I didn't throw up ever time I took it. But this last time the throwing up disrupted my sleep almost as much as the RLS would have on its own.

Wow, that's terrible. I've wondered if anyone around here was on Suboxone for RLS. A few years ago I read information that it could be better than methadone for long-term use. Something about methadone causing depression and hormonal issues in the long run. Don't ask me to find that article again, though. I hope you get some sleep!

I must admit I'm a bit horrified that you have such a violent reaction to the suboxone. You've had such trials trying to establish a regimen that works. All I can say is keep trying, and I hope the nausea stops!

srgraves01 wrote:But to be honest being able to get a good nights sleep was worth the inconvenience of throwing up once during the night; and I didn't throw up ever time I took it.

Speaks to the desperation of the sleep-deprived. I hope you find something that works without this side effect.

Thanks badnights. Good observation Leggo_my_legs. Going down to half a dose worked. I had some nausea. I had actually been trying to decrease my tolerance for medication by only taking it once a week for about 5 weeks. After another six days I took another half dose and it worked again. So now I need to see if I can keep on these half doses and if I can shorten the period in between doses. One advantage of this is that during the times that I am not on medication, it seems that the overall amount of tightness in my muscles (legs, hips, butt) seems to be less when I take less medication. It also seems that I have less trouble during the day as well.

It is interesting that the minimum pill size for suboxone is 2mg buprenorphine hydrochloride plus 0.5mg naloxone hydrochloride. I would be nice if they put indentations on the pills to make for more accurate breaking into parts.

I think I read that suboxone is used in a similar way to methadone but it is less powerful. But it sure seemed very powerful to me.

One of our members has used Suboxone and has had an ongoing thread.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9720&p=92256&hilit=suboxone#p92256
This is a link to the thread. - it is quite extensive and you may find some useful information.