Addict in recovery needs help making good choices!
Addict in recovery needs help making good choices!
I posted earlier that I am experiencing augmentation from my requip. My main problem other than the obvious is that I am an alcoholic/drug addict in recovery for over 2 years and am not wanting to set myself up for a relapse. I am terrified of the thought of taking even ultram and am wondering if there are other addicts who have walked this fine line.
jy13131
Hi,
I am a recovering opiate addict. The best option for you would be either Methadone or Subutex. Methadone, obviously, is an opiate used for maintenance while Subutex (suboxone) is an actual opiate blocker. I have never seen any official research/guidelines as far as Subutex goes but one other person here reported that 1mg kept her RLS under control all day long.
Whereas I and other Methadone patients are on varying doses, according to our needs related to our symptoms and side effects. I take a base dose of 15mg per day, over the course of 3 - 4 hours. I also take an extra pill up to 4 days per week if I need one on that particular day.
This is an extremely important quality of life issue and you need to make that clear to whatever doctor you are going to. The Mayo Clinic Algorithm for RLS is linked to in my signature. It is really important you print it out and read it yourself, and take it with you to any doctor.
Methadone is listed in the Mayo Algorithm as a treatment for RLS, irrelevant to drug abuse history, and as it is also a treatment to maintain addicts, it can be an effective treatment two-fold for people like us.
If you are augmenting from Requip, The Mayo states that after trying several changes in your medication (switching some things, or adding others) going to opiates is a perfectly legitimate treatment, so as for jumping straight to Methadone I guess that depends on if it is something you might be interested in taking, and how well received your case is by the doctor you are seeing.
I am a recovering opiate addict. The best option for you would be either Methadone or Subutex. Methadone, obviously, is an opiate used for maintenance while Subutex (suboxone) is an actual opiate blocker. I have never seen any official research/guidelines as far as Subutex goes but one other person here reported that 1mg kept her RLS under control all day long.
Whereas I and other Methadone patients are on varying doses, according to our needs related to our symptoms and side effects. I take a base dose of 15mg per day, over the course of 3 - 4 hours. I also take an extra pill up to 4 days per week if I need one on that particular day.
This is an extremely important quality of life issue and you need to make that clear to whatever doctor you are going to. The Mayo Clinic Algorithm for RLS is linked to in my signature. It is really important you print it out and read it yourself, and take it with you to any doctor.
Methadone is listed in the Mayo Algorithm as a treatment for RLS, irrelevant to drug abuse history, and as it is also a treatment to maintain addicts, it can be an effective treatment two-fold for people like us.
If you are augmenting from Requip, The Mayo states that after trying several changes in your medication (switching some things, or adding others) going to opiates is a perfectly legitimate treatment, so as for jumping straight to Methadone I guess that depends on if it is something you might be interested in taking, and how well received your case is by the doctor you are seeing.
-
ViewsAskew
- Moderator
- Posts: 16581
- Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
- Location: Los Angeles
I am not an addict, but come from a family of them, so I can see how this would be very scary to you.
Zach has some great points. Ultram is considered a good choice and it's unlikely to become addicted...of course, that doesn't mean it can't happen. You can create a contract with your sponsor, your doctor, your family regarding your usage so that someone else is always helping you monitor your intake. At any point, if you have problems, you immediately stop.
Zach mentioned that methadone is used for addicts - the primary reason is that there is little to no high involved for most of us. It's hard to get addicted because you don't get anything out of it....except no RLS.
You will, if you use them long enough, become physically dependent on the medication. But, that happens to almost ANY class of medications.
If it were me, I'd be very concerned about using anything from the benzo class, too. These can also cause addiction issues.
The bottom line is that if the RLS is affecting your quality of life enough that you need medication, suffering with it and not having medication is also risky. We tend to look for something to help us feel better when we're in cruddy situations. You need your RLS under control to be able to be effective in your life and to keep you from feeling so badly that you make choices that would interfere with your continued sobriety.
Zach has some great points. Ultram is considered a good choice and it's unlikely to become addicted...of course, that doesn't mean it can't happen. You can create a contract with your sponsor, your doctor, your family regarding your usage so that someone else is always helping you monitor your intake. At any point, if you have problems, you immediately stop.
Zach mentioned that methadone is used for addicts - the primary reason is that there is little to no high involved for most of us. It's hard to get addicted because you don't get anything out of it....except no RLS.
You will, if you use them long enough, become physically dependent on the medication. But, that happens to almost ANY class of medications.
If it were me, I'd be very concerned about using anything from the benzo class, too. These can also cause addiction issues.
The bottom line is that if the RLS is affecting your quality of life enough that you need medication, suffering with it and not having medication is also risky. We tend to look for something to help us feel better when we're in cruddy situations. You need your RLS under control to be able to be effective in your life and to keep you from feeling so badly that you make choices that would interfere with your continued sobriety.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Your mileage may vary, but I would class Ultram as potentially addictive as any other substance. There was this bug push when it initially came out about how it wasn't a true opiate, etc.. However I can personally tell you although quite different, you can get a really good buzz from Ultram.
However abusing it has its own risks on its own, such as increased risks of seizures. I had a seizure from taking it with Luvox, an anti-anxiety/OCD drug.
For me I feel like Methadone and Subutex are the best choices in the case of addicts with legitimate RLS. The problem is finding a doctor who is going to agree at all.
However abusing it has its own risks on its own, such as increased risks of seizures. I had a seizure from taking it with Luvox, an anti-anxiety/OCD drug.
For me I feel like Methadone and Subutex are the best choices in the case of addicts with legitimate RLS. The problem is finding a doctor who is going to agree at all.
-
ViewsAskew
- Moderator
- Posts: 16581
- Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
- Location: Los Angeles
I haven't seen any studies that show the potential for Ultram being abused. I imagine you can search. I wish Josh or our other pharmacist had more time to spend with us.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Jy13131, Welcome to this support group! I'm a recovering addict/alcoholic. I have been clean and sober for 15 yrs. I continue to attend weekly A.A. meetings, sponsor women in the program,etc. Are you going to meetings? Working the 12 steps? Have a sponsor? Reading the BIG book? Have a spiritual life? These are all important for any of us in recovery.It's a way of life, for the rest of our life, one day at a time. I need to know the answer to these questions truthfully, before I can give you any suggestions. Thanks.
Last edited by runkrun on Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
Thank you for the warm welcome and to answer your question(s) yes I am active in the 12 steps. As a matter of fact I am a counselor/case manager at a treatment facility and I make it my life's work to help others to get recovery. I have a lot at stake to be dabbling in such medications. I am looking forward to your answer 
jy13131
A clarification on what Zach said:
- Suboxone is buprenorphine (a synthetic opioid) with a small amount of naloxone (a.k.a. Narcan). This is meant mainly for addiction treatment. Buprenorphine is supposedly similar to methadone. The naloxone is there to keep people from shooting it up--it's not absorbed orally, but taken intravenously, it'll nix any opioids, including the buprenorphine, producing instant withdrawal in an addict.
- Subutex is just buprenorphine. This is meant more for things like pain management.
If you have a risk of addiction that's significant enough to worry that you might want to shoot it up, you want Suboxone to keep you from doing so. If there's *no* chance of that, you're better off with Subutex.
On the other hand, there's methadone, which is dirt-cheap.
Both have pluses and minuses.
(Note my signature.)
- Suboxone is buprenorphine (a synthetic opioid) with a small amount of naloxone (a.k.a. Narcan). This is meant mainly for addiction treatment. Buprenorphine is supposedly similar to methadone. The naloxone is there to keep people from shooting it up--it's not absorbed orally, but taken intravenously, it'll nix any opioids, including the buprenorphine, producing instant withdrawal in an addict.
- Subutex is just buprenorphine. This is meant more for things like pain management.
If you have a risk of addiction that's significant enough to worry that you might want to shoot it up, you want Suboxone to keep you from doing so. If there's *no* chance of that, you're better off with Subutex.
On the other hand, there's methadone, which is dirt-cheap.
Both have pluses and minuses.
(Note my signature.)
Disclaimer: I often talk about what I do and what works for me, but these are specific to me and you should always consult a healthcare professional before trying these things yourself, lest you endanger your health or life.
-
constantijnFVV
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2009 2:36 am
Dear colleagues,
I guess Subutex (without narcan) and Suboxone (with narcan) are both for addiction treatment and both come in 2 and 8 mg which is too much for RLS treatment. I personaly use Temgesic which is also Buprenorphine. They come in 0,2 mg sublingual tablets from which i take 4 or 5 daily and so far i can say it's the best i tried so far with no side effects whatsoever. Here in The Netherlands they are very cheap, about 25 euro a month but they are covered by insurance. Before i tried ms-contin, oxycontin, codeine but it was sometimes hard to resist these little devils.
I guess Subutex (without narcan) and Suboxone (with narcan) are both for addiction treatment and both come in 2 and 8 mg which is too much for RLS treatment. I personaly use Temgesic which is also Buprenorphine. They come in 0,2 mg sublingual tablets from which i take 4 or 5 daily and so far i can say it's the best i tried so far with no side effects whatsoever. Here in The Netherlands they are very cheap, about 25 euro a month but they are covered by insurance. Before i tried ms-contin, oxycontin, codeine but it was sometimes hard to resist these little devils.