In this article, I’m going to teach you how to get prescribed Suboxone. I remember when I first became addicted to opiates. I used pills for two months straight. Then one day I couldn’t get any more. All my dealers were out.
The next few days were HELL ON EARTH.
I was experiencing acute opiate withdrawal from using over 100 mg of oxycodone and other opiates daily for over 60 days.
Finally, I was able to get a bunch of Valium, and that really helped the anxiety and insomnia go away. It also helped me get an appetite so eating some food really helped.
But just a few days later, one of my dealers re-upped and was stocked and ready to sell me pills again. Despite my conscience telling me “NO,” I went against my better judgment and bought pills, this time fully knowing what I was getting myself into.
However, black market OxyContin, oxycodone, Percocet, Norco, and other RX opiates were extremely expensive, and I made less than $10 an hour at my job. I needed to keep taking opiates because I worked at a high-demanding job, and I was a single dad to a baby that was only a few months old.
The opiates gave me energy and made me feel happy in life, but I could no longer afford to buy pills and take what I needed daily to prevent opiate withdrawal symptoms.
Fortunately, one of my dealers started selling 8 mg Suboxone tablets, and back then they were only $10 on the black market.
Suboxone to the Rescue
My life got better instantly while taking Suboxone. Now I was only spending $10 a day to prevent withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Plus, the Suboxone gave me energy. I was energized, happy, and motivated on Suboxone.
Many of my opiate addict friends were also now taking Suboxone they bought from our dealer, and he was buying them from addicts that were selling most of their medication and only using a little for themselves.
Suboxone was awesome for a while until I tried to get off it a few months later.
I had no energy on my third day without Suboxone, and I needed to work and take care of my baby that was only around six months old at that point.
So in the short-term Suboxone can be a true miracle, but many people end up stuck on the medication longer than they originally wanted to be due to having difficulty coming off the drug completely.
How To Get Prescribed Suboxone – Overview
If you’re like I was and need to keep working, taking care of children, and tending to other important responsibilities, then you may be wanting to learn how to get prescribed Suboxone.
In this article, I’ll educate you on how to get prescribed Suboxone.
I’ll also provide links to other articles that will enable you to do your due diligence before you make this big and important decision.
Thus, without further ado, it’s time to teach you how to get prescribed Suboxone.
But first, I believe it’s important to have a good understanding of how Suboxone works. So we shall start there…
How To Get Prescribed Suboxone – Suboxone Overview
Suboxone is a prescription medication containing buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine is a controlled substance and semisynthetic opioid derivative of thebaine.
Buprenorphine attaches and binds to the same opioid receptors in the brain and other parts of the body that drugs like heroin, oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and other opioids bind to. Once it attaches to these receptors, it mimics the effects that opioid drugs produce (though it’s not as powerful).
For this reason, buprenorphine is known as a “partial opioid agonist.”
The other opiate drugs I just mentioned are known as “full opioid agonists,” because they activate the receptors in a stronger and more complete way than buprenorphine. See the illustration below.
Naloxone is the other compound present in Suboxone. Naloxone is a pure opioid antagonist. It’s the drug given to people that overdose because an injection of naloxone puts the opioid-user into instant withdrawal, thus saving them from health issues and death.
Naloxone was put into the Suboxone formulation to deter people from injecting it, which would lead to precipitated withdrawal. Taken orally, naloxone isn’t bioavailable. A common misconception is that naloxone blocks the opiates.
This is false.
The truth is that buprenorphine binds so strongly to the opioid receptors that it’s actually the buprenorphine which blocks opioids.
Opiate Withdrawal 101
To further illustrate why Suboxone works so well, I’d like to give you the basics of the opioid withdrawal syndrome. If an individual continues using opioids after a tolerance has been established, they will eventually develop a physiological dependence.
Dependence develops when the neurons adapt to the repeated drug exposure and only function normally in the presence of the drug.
When a dependent individual abruptly stops taking opioids (leading opioid-blood concentration to fall below the required level), the now opioid-tolerant central nervous system (CNS) goes haywire.
With no inhibitive stimulation to satisfy receptors, the pathways of the CNS fire signals strenuously, performing at a level much higher than pre-dependence levels.
Now the locus coeruleus responds by triggering the autonomic fight or flight response.
What results is known as the opioid withdrawal syndrome, and it’s one of the most agonizing experiences an individual could ever go through.
Some of the most common symptoms of opioid withdrawal include:
- Anxiety
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure)
- Diarrhea
- Achy muscles and limbs
- Teary eyes
- A runny nose
- Sneezing
- Gastrointestinal distress
- Irritability
- Hot and cold sweats and chills
- Goosebumps
- Vomiting
- Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)
A quick fix for stopping this syndrome is to use Suboxone for opiate withdrawal. After an individual takes a dose of Suboxone, the buprenorphine quickly binds to the opioid receptors, and if enough is taken, withdrawal symptoms and opiate cravings are eliminated or drastically reduced.
How To Get Prescribed Suboxone – Suboxone Treatment Approaches
There are a few different ways to use Suboxone. Depending on your unique situation in life including your level of opioid dependence severity, one of these methods of using Suboxone should work best for you.
Here are the Suboxone treatment approaches:
- Detox – You could just use it for a few days to a week at home or at an inpatient detox center to reduce acute opiate withdrawal symptoms.
- Short-Term – You could use Suboxone for 1-6 months by getting stabilized and then doing a Suboxone taper.
- Maintenance – Many people end up using Suboxone Maintenance, which is 6-12 months to several years long, and you can even stay on Suboxone for life if you choose.
As I said, depending on your unique situation in life, one of these Suboxone treatment approaches should resonate with you the most. There are pros and cons of each. The most important thing for you to know is this:
The longer you stay on Suboxone, the harder it may be to come off.
Though with the right treatment approach to help you get off Suboxone when the time comes, it’s totally doable.
How To Get Prescribed Suboxone – Choosing the Right Suboxone Provider
Now we’ve reached the section of the article where you’re going to learn how to get prescribed Suboxone. If you live in a big city, your options to get prescribed Suboxone are going to be vast. If you live in a small town, you may get lucky and have a Suboxone provider close by, or you may have to drive an hour or more to get prescribed Suboxone.
There are 3 places where you can get prescribed Suboxone:
- Inpatient Detox – You stay at the facility for several days to a week (approximately) and a doctor will prescribe you Suboxone for acute withdrawal.
- Outpatient Treatment – You can choose to become a patient at a treatment program that offers Suboxone in addition to the required counseling sessions and drug tests.
- Private Doctor – These days, many doctors have completed the required training and certification to prescribe Suboxone in their private practice offices.
If you really want to know how to get prescribed Suboxone, you just do a bit of research then make some calls. For instance, if you’re looking for a private physician to prescribe you Suboxone, you would Google “Suboxone doctors near me.”
If you want to go to an Outpatient Program (OP) for your Suboxone, you would Google “opiate treatment programs near me” or “outpatient treatment programs near me” or “medication-assisted treatment near me.”
Finally, if you want to get prescribed Suboxone at an Inpatient Detox facility, you would Google “inpatient detox near me.”
After you’re done gathering a list of Suboxone providers, you start making phone calls. Begin with the Suboxone prescribers that are closest to you and when you get people on the phone, tell them the details of your opioid dependence and ask them if you qualify for Suboxone treatment.
If they say yes, ask them about the price, the details of the Suboxone treatment, and finally, when you can come in for treatment (if you decide they are a good fit for your needs).
How To Get Prescribed Suboxone – Final Thoughts
Now that you know how to get prescribed Suboxone, I hope this alleviated some concern for you. Now you have the step-by-step system for getting prescribed Suboxone.
Here are a few key concepts to remember:
- If you’re addicted to opiates or opioids, it should be very easy to qualify for Suboxone treatment.
- Suboxone is often a few hundred dollars or more per month, which is well worth it in my opinion.
- Many people that use Suboxone end up on the medication for longer than they intended due to the ease of staying on it.
- Many Suboxone patients have a very difficult time getting off the medication once they’ve been using it for a couple of months.
- Patients that have been on Suboxone for years often tell me that it feels nearly impossible to get off Suboxone, and in these cases, I tell them to check out my free ebook How To Taper Off Suboxone Like a Champion.
Additionally, I also have many people on Suboxone, oxycodone, hydrocodone, methadone, and other opioids join my Ultimate Opiate Recovery Program or my Opiate Addiction Support Coaching Program.
There are many ways to recover from opiate addiction, and different approaches resonate with different people. Do what feels right for your situation, and don’t let anyone else try to convince you that your way is wrong.
If you have any comments or questions on how to get prescribed Suboxone, please post them in the comment box below.
Ophelia
There is a research and development trial for a new model of suboxone treatment opening up for people in New York City and Philadelphia. You have to fill out a survey and leave contact info here: https://forms.gle/xUbZY83GMVBVATps8
Julie
I need help. I am so sick. I’ve been buying suboxone off the street to get off of opiates. Now I am physically dependent on suboxone. I’m afraid if I go to the doctor, I will be in trouble especially because I have a child. Can I be prescribed without getting in trouble wth child services?
Anonymous
i’m a mental health person. I take klonopin and have to take it for my mental condition. most mental health people use drugs to feel better as I do. I have been trying to get suboxone prescribed for awhile but have been turned down by 10 doctors. I went to heroin and with now a totaled can and with three overdoses I should be dead. without the injections of Narcan I would be dead. basically feel hopeless and have no life. I do not know what to do?
Larry Sims
Yes a Dr will see you. Just tell them you ran out of pills and are in withdrawal. They will write you subs.
Anonymous
What Dr did you go see and where cuz I need him now I’ve been without subs for 3 days now cuz comprehensive sent me home with nothing besides what I had left from the detox center frfr it’s fucked up but now I need them now what do I do
Kat
I live in Wichita KS. Ihurt my back like 8 years ago and started taking loritab.. I heard about Suboxone so I found a dr…Iwas on Subutex for 4 years ..my life was great..but I failed my UA twice in 4 years and my dr refused to treat me. So I’ve been having withdrawals for about 5 days now.. it really sucks ..to say the least. I’ve been a few places that are either too expensive for me($450) or they turn me away because my Dr put on my info chart I have alcohol dependency .. so I need further, more intense therapy… I did every drug
possible one night and that obviously made the withdral worse…..I have a daughter and I’m self employed. I had to cancel all my jobs I had to have my daughters grandparents take her.. I feel like I’m loosing my life . I did go to a Dr through comcare today..and they have a program I guess I’ll be starting whenever they call me.. it’s like each second lasts an hour when your in withdrawl. I’ve been taking gabapentin and drinking heavily every night just to “not feel.” It’s sad so many people go through this crap.
Lisa
I spent 4 hours waiting at a clinic and after they did my intake they recommended I go to group therapy 3times a week. No suboxon was offered and I’ve been on 100mg of Oxus for 15 years. Apparently it’s not easy to get in Connecticut. I made it with nothing for one and a half days 😢 now I’m back on the pills.
Charles Diller
That’s wrong
See another Dr
Ang
Hi I’m trying to get in a suboxone program but I’m afraid no Dr will take as for I’m not addicted to opiates anymore I was addicted to opanas and tabs for 7 years then I couldn’t afford them so I tired suboxone and was taking them for a few months then I got pregnat and got off of them it was easy while I was pregnat after I had a my twins I started withdrawing again and started taking subs again do you think a Dr would still help me I can’t afford to be going out on the streets buying subs and I can’t seem to get myself off of them and I’m so scared to be sick cuz then I won’t be able to take care of my babies
Anonymous
Yes