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Methadone to Suboxone

Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 3:54 pm
by JimmyLegs24
Hello all! New member here. I’m 42 and I’ve had RLS since I was a kid. The symptoms weren’t very severe until I was about 26, and that is when I first seeked out medical attention. I have since been to numerous doctors and neurologists. Starting out on the DA drugs, benzos, alpha 2, and eventually on to Tylenol 4 four years ago (which didn’t work very well). During that period I went through augmentation and now have severe RLS 24/7 throughout my body. Luckily I was able to find a Dr with the help of the RLS Foundation a couple years ago who put me on Methadone. Methadone has worked wonders for me relieving 99% of my symptoms. I take 10mg in the AM and another 10mg in the evening.
The problem is I have been having some form of depression the last 6-9 months. I’m in good spirits but I’ve lost interest in things I generally enjoy, and small tasks seem overwhelming. I’ve talked with my PCP to rule out other things that may be causing this, so I’m pretty sure it’s the Methadone causing it. I take the approach of beggars can’t be choosers, and I’d take my current situation over RLS any day, but I’d like to talk to my RLS Dr about it to see if the treatment can be tweaked. I see my RLS Dr in a few weeks and plan on discussing this him, and I’d like to go the appointment with as much knowledge and questions as I can.
My question for everyone is... I’ve read that Suboxone has anti depressive qualities. If that is a direction we go, what is the process for switching. I’ve read if you go from Methadone to Suboxone, taking Suboxone can put you into opioid withdrawals when you first start taking it. If anyone has gone from taking Methadone to Suboxone, I’d like to hear how the transition went.
Thanks in advance.


*Done by thumbs on an iPhone, please excuse any typoz.

Re: Methadone to Suboxone

Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 5:20 pm
by Rustsmith
Welcome to the board.

I don't have any experience with switching as I am still on methadone. However, several of our members have gone through what you are considering.

There is an great discussion by one of our members about what he went through when he made the change. You can find his day-to-day log which starts this link:

http://bb.rls.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8686&p=72379&hilit=suboxone#p72379

Eefall is still active (and still on Suboxone), so he may also post a reply when he sees this.

Re: Methadone to Suboxone

Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 9:53 pm
by ViewsAskew
I have been taking methadone for over 10 years. About five-seven years ago, I started experiencing depression. The first time I found out I had very low vitamin D levels (8, if I remember correctly). Improving that improved my mood some, but in retrospect, not to normal. For the next five years, I went back and forth between mildly depressed and depressed. I took an AD for awhile, but stopped because of side effects. It did seem to help. I stabilized to mildly depressed for about another year, then about a year later, it all lifted

I wondered about the methadone, too, but now tend to believe it was an organic thing. I am glad it is over and hope it doesn't come back. I wish I knew how to differentiate between something caused by a substance vs something emotional vs something chemical/organic. No idea. However, I can say without a doubt that when I take methadone alone it DOES reduce drive and interest in things. For a long time I have been alternating methadone and pramipexole.That helps keep the methadone lower in my body and reduce the side effects of both drugs while eliminating the risk of augmentation (like you, I suffered from horrible augmentation). I have come to be able to tell the two apart - the lack of interest from the mild/moderate depression.

Not making any suggestions as to what might be going on with you - just sharing my experiences with depression and methadone.