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Suboxone Abuse

Suboxone Abuse

Why May A Certified Physician Refuse To Start Me On Suboxone?

It is dangerous to mix Suboxone with excessive levels of alcohol or sedatives such as benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or muscle relaxers. Benzodiazepines include Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, Librium, Ativan, and others. Barbiturates are used much less these days but an example of one medicine prescribed a fair amount yet is Fiorinal that contains the barbiturates, butalbital. The most dangerous muscle relaxer is Soma. If you come to the doctor’s office and are suspected of being under the influence of such substances or you have a history of being on high prescribed dosages of these medicines or a history of abusing these substances, you may be declined Suboxone prescription at that time.

The reason it is dangerous to prescribe Suboxone under the circumstances is that you may overdose and die. Numerous people died in France in this circumstance, especially when benzodiazepines were injected IV in patients who were on Suboxone.

Many of my patients try to start tapering on their own a few days or a few weeks after getting on a stable dose and Suboxone and are feeling normal. They feel so normal that they feel it will be easy to getoff Suboxone and stay straight. The first mistake they typically make is to skip a couple doses and believe they can stop because no withdrawal occurs. The other mistake is that they drop their dose at too large of a step instead of only 10 to 15% each step. Another common error is to step down again after a couple days because they are having mild or no withdrawal. It usually takes 5 to 7 days at a step down level to see how much if any withdrawal that step down causes.

Why May A Certified Physician Refuse To Continue Me On Suboxone?

Your physician may decline giving you a prescription for the reasons described in the question above. Another reason you may be declined is in a situation where your physician suspects or has evidence of diversion. Diversion occurs when the patient gives or sells their Suboxone to someone else.

If you or someone you love requires help from Suboxone,
contact Dr. Darvin Hege today at 770-458-0007