In this article, I’m going to educate you on the combination of Neurontin and Suboxone. Many people have gotten mixed answers from doctors and articles on the internet about using Neurontin and Suboxone together.
Thus, I decided this would be a good subject to write about and end the confusion by bringing clarity to the topic.
So…can you take Neurontin and Suboxone together?
I’ll answer this question and provide you with reasons to back up my claims that come from:
- Years of Research
- Client Testimonials
- Doctors
- Drug Pharmacology
Most medications have black and white answers when it comes to their combinations. However, with Neurontin and Suboxone, it’s a gray area.
I’ll do my best to explain this in a simple way that makes sense.
To begin, let’s start with a brief overview of Suboxone, then I’ll provide an overview of Neurontin.
And after covering the basics on Neurontin and Suboxone, I’ll teach you about the interactions of these two drugs, and why some doctors say it’s dangerous, while other doctors commonly prescribe the two together.
Neurontin and Suboxone – Suboxone Overview
Suboxone is a brand name medication consisting of two drugs – 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.
Neurontin and Suboxone – Neurontin Overview
Neurontin is a brand name for a drug called gabapentin. Gabapentin was designed by chemists at Parke-Davis to be an analog of the neurotransmitter GABA that could more easily cross the blood-brain barrier, thus making the effects in the brain very significant.
GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that acts as a mental relaxant. I often to refer to GABA as the “brain’s natural Valium.”
Neurontin is commonly prescribed for the treatment of:
- Epilepsy
- Hot Flashes
- Restless Leg Syndrome
- Neuropathic Pain
Neurontin is also commonly prescribed for many off-label uses, such as the treatment of:
- Bipolar Disorder
- Insomnia
- Anxiety Disorders
Neurontin For Opiate Withdrawal
In addition to Neurontin being useful in the disorders mentioned above, multiple studies have shown significant benefits from using Neurontin for opiate withdrawal.
In fact, whenever I have coaching clients that have consultations with me, I always ask them if they have the ability to get Neurontin as it’s one of my favorite opiate withdrawal medications out of dozens I’ve studied.
Neurontin and Suboxone Taken Together
So now we’ve arrived at the section on using Neurontin and Suboxone together. To provide you with the best answer, I’m going to quote a passage from what I believe to be the most reliable source on the internet…Drugs.com.
Here is what this authority website states on the combination of Neurontin and Suboxone:
“Using buprenorphine together with other medications that also cause central nervous system depression can lead to serious side effects such as respiratory distress, coma, and even death. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns. Your doctor may be able to prescribe alternatives that do not interact, or you may need a dose adjustment or more frequent monitoring to safely use both medications.”
Neurontin and buprenorphine are both central nervous system (CNS) depressants. Neurontin and Suboxone by themselves can both cause respiratory depression and used together, this results in synergy.
Neurontin/Suboxone synergy is when the combined effect is greater than the sum of the effects of these two CNS depressants.
When you combine two CNS depressants, in this case, Neurontin and Suboxone, this significantly increases the chances of respiratory depression and can ultimately lead to death from your body not breathing anymore.
However, it can be safe to use Neurontin and Suboxone together.
Why?
Because your doctor can adjust your doses of medication and frequently monitor you to make sure your body does okay with the combination of Neurontin and Suboxone.
Neurontin and Suboxone – Final Thoughts
Now you’ve been educated on the combination of Neurontin and Suboxone. Drugs.com states that there is a “Major” interaction between these two drugs.
However, the website also states “Your doctor may be able to prescribe alternatives that do not interact, or you may need a dose adjustment or more frequent monitoring to safely use both medications.”
As long as you’re under the care of a competent doctor, using Neurontin and Suboxone together can be totally safe. Always listen to your body and start off with low dosages then work your way up when combining Neurontin and Suboxone.
If you have any comments or questions on using Neurontin and Suboxone together, please post them in the comment box below. Take care, and be safe.
I was addicted to OxyContin prescribed by my primary care dr for my chronic health conditions. He said it was a new miracle drug that I COULD NOT get addicted to! I’d been in Lortab highest dose for 7 years…
My story is the same as others, so I’d tried to stop myself 7X, I finally broke down and decided to try Suboxone. I found a reputable clinic that didn’t accept my insurance , of course, but I as determined!
They took me in as a pay as I could patient saying I had the highest legal dose of medication they had ever seen in 20 years!
They explained the blood barrier process of the MAT starting me on only 1.5 pill daily instead of the 3 pills daily I had heard about. It was definitely a withdrawal, but I’ve I could survive.
After only 6 weeks I was down to 1 pill, after another 8 weeks I was at 1/2.
It’s been 3 years and I’m stuck at 1/4-1/2 daily.
I’ve also been diagnosed Bi-Polar 2, and Chronic PTSD from a very sick & tormented childhood.
I didn’t get addicted until age 42… from 41-45, I’d been in jail for the first time in my life for stealing at Wal-Mart, to support my habit.
I’d never been fired from a job… some jobs I’d had over 29 years… I’d go back suiting peak seasons to help them out… primarily I was a mom and wife.
Sunday school teacher and a regular volunteer at the special needs assistance for people who aged outta the system , but still needed help.
Now I was in the busted paper, fired from my job, had just recently went back to school for a medical program PTA… physical therapist assistant… graduated, but I admit allowed to take my boards test for licensing due to the ethics violation of my criminal charges.
My entire 40 year life was over…,the shame was HUGE!
Explaining to my teenage children was pure hell… my marriage of 23 years… almist over completely.
Getting on Neurontin for my chronic health conditions that made me agree to pain meds from my DR in the first place helped some… the Suboxone helped with pain plus when my pain was as outta control and all I could do was be a waste of a human by lying in bed a few days…. I knew I had 36 hours to talk myself down from needing a strong opioid med to help me!
JUST FOR ME: the combination was a life changer!
Possibly a life saver… my hubs says he got his wife back and is OK if u have to take it forever.( he was always against all meds & esp any kind of phycological dr or that type treatment )
My , now grown, children do not know I’m on Suboxone … they would judge me and hate it… especially my daughter. For them, I haven’t told them or made it public how much this drug PLUS DAILY THEN WEEKLY COUNSELING has saved me… the difference is the clinic I went to was legit!
They truly wanted to get folks clean… not just trade one drug for another.
I was their first actual “ addicted by my dr and never tried street drugs” patient… the owner said I am as the very reason they opened the clinic!
He calls me his fav patient… even though I am still in a low dose at three years later.
He coaches me monthly to get off the medication of Subuxone… but he also says if I’m in it for life due to my 3 chronic conditions that cause pain, plus my two kids other ones that are a direct result of my scoliosis that cause pain that can’t be proven, and then the two mental health diagnosis … he says it ok to take these meds the rest of ur life as u r progressing in healing… by ur mind.
We can’t force the body to heal from things u were born with… but we can still focus on the impairment of ur mind and try to , at Least, minimize ,the effects if it!?
So we focus on that along with my shrink.
First time I ever saw a shrink… but I have seen great results at 6 months.
My family would tell u that I’m at my very best?!
Who can argue with that, kind sir?!?!?
I’ve been told suboxone patients that heavily abuse gabapentin are getting the euphoria that can is most commonly compared to a heroin high. This can’t be good. Watch for signs of abuse of gabapentin.
My son is 34 years old and has been abusing opiates for about 10 years. He also abused alcohol and other drugs like marijuana and ecstasy and acid since he was 14. He has been on a program of low dose of suboxone and gabapentin for 2 months. We arent sure if he is really taking his other medications for bipolar and depression. But he has not been attending meetings during this time. His behaviors seem very manic. Is there a correlation between this drug combo and behaviors? It’s clear that it doesnt cause respiratory problems, coma or death for.him.
Gabapentin, used in the right specific dosage for each individual, is typically able to be a mood balancer that prevents mania. However, it has also been known to put some people with bipolar into mania at time, and Suboxone can also induce mania as well as any other opioids, depending on the bipolar person. Not for every one, but many do get hypomanic or manic on one or both of these meds. Even SSRI’s when first starting them can induce manic episodes. Lot’s of meds can.