Chronic Pain Support Group

I don't take this medication, but I've heard it works really well. Like with any medication, I think it will take your body some time to get used to the medication. I was on a fentanyl patch and I could barely keep my eyes open all day. Hope it works out for ya!

~hugs

I take suboxone. I don't have any problems with fatigue... Is suboxone the only thing ur on?

works well don't ever fell tired on it.

Most narcotic pain medications tend to cause some level of fatigue. Pain alone can cause incredible fatigue as it takes all you have to try and fight it.

Incidentally, here is the manufacturer's website for suboxone: suboxone.com/" title="http://www.suboxone.com/" target="_blank"> http://www.suboxone.com/ The site itself is a giant ad for suboxone, but buried in the site are the actual prescribing instructions which list what the FDA requires the manufacturer to tell physicians and patients about the drug: suboxone.com/pdfs/SuboxonePI.pdf" title="http://www.suboxone.com/pdfs/SuboxonePI.pdf" target="_blank"> http://www.suboxone.com/pdfs/Subox...

For any new medications I always want to know exactly what to expect when I'm taking medications. Although much of the information is very technical, by reading through the prescribing instructions, I learn what the warnings are, what patients shouldn't be taking this drug (despite what the manufacturer or drug rep claimed to be safe), what medications interact with the new drug, etc.

I don't tend to focus on all the negative side effects, just make a mental note of the more common ones or ones that I may be experiencing myself. But I am very careful about reading any notes, cautions and warnings about interactions with other medications or medical conditions I may have to ensure I'm not being under or overmedicated (our doctors and pharmacists don't know or remember everything!).

Suboxone is a strange medication. It's an opiod pain reliever (Buproprion) and an opiod antagonist at the same time (Naloxone). It's also about the only Schedule III narcotic I've ever heard of.

Most frustrating is that they don't list the side effects of the combination drug, suboxone, except for the limited results of a 4-week study. Instead they list the results of a 16-week study of buproprion and nothing whatsoever for naloxone. As a result you can't quite tell what is a side effect from what or what the combination of the two medication together is causing. While this may not be considered false advertising per se, it's disingeneous at best and makes me wonder how much in the way of clinical trials they conducted on the combination medication or if they just knew that each medication was safe on it's own, slapped them together, did a pro-forma 4-week trial to measure effectiveness on pain alone and called it a day!

By the way, Naloxone is also marketed under the name Narcan and is the medication given to patients who have overdosed on narcotics, either accidentally or on purpose! It has no long-term use nor have there been any studies I could find on long-term use (why would there be when its purpose is to save patients from a one-time overdose?!) What I don't understand is why it would be combined with a narcotic pain medication to begin with! Why on Earth would you take a pain medication that has an ingredient that prevents you from getting the full benefit from the pain medication? And since each person responds differently to every medication, so some people will inevitably be more responsive to the naloxone than others and get less pain relief overall. It's no wonder nausea (at 16%) was only secondary to headaches (39%) as the top two side effects of Suboxone in their whopping 4-week trial!

To make a long story short, I couldn't find fatigue or malaise as a side effect. But considering they only tested the drug for 4 weeks, who knows what the actual side effects are, let alone what the long-term repercussions are of using the one and only "rescue" medication for opiod overdoses on a daily basis.

Having been the victim of an accidental overdose of Diluaid due to a medical equipment error in a hospital, I am thankful everyday for the corpsman who found me struggling soaked to the skin and not able to breathe and for the amazing effect of the Narcan, which literally bought the medical team time to bring me back to life by binding with the opiod so they could restart my heart and breathing. The drug caused me to throw up everything I ever ate...ever...and thankfully I don't remember any of it, but without that Narcan working it's magic, I probably wouldn't be here at all. I just can't imagine taking a little of it everyday as part of my regular pain management regimen and one day finding that it no longer works when I need it most. I have no plans to ever code again, but if I do, I want the Narcan to work!

Good luck! And I would ask a boatload of questions before taking suboxonem, especially about the naloxone and what the effect is of long-term exposure. I sincerely suspect NO ONE KNOWS.

To answer your immediate question, yes, one of the most common side effects of Suboxone is ASTHENIA, which is lack of strength (aka fatigue).

Side note after my rambling reply above: I still think it's very strange, but here's what I found on Wikepedia about Naloxone and Suboxone, which may shed some light on why Naloxone is being used with Buproprion (generic is buprenorphine). And yes, you are part of a drug addiction avoidance program: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naloxone

"Naloxone is also being used as a secondary chemical in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medicine Suboxone. Suboxone and Subutex were created as part of a detox program to help opiate addicted patients stop using opiates. Suboxone contains four parts buprenorphine and one part naloxone, while Subutex contains only buprenorphrine.

Naloxone was added to Suboxone in an effort to dissuade patients from grinding up the Suboxone tablet and using it as part of a combination of opiates that the user would inject into their body. Intravenously administered naloxone is supposed to block the effects of any opiates and cause the user to go into immediate withdrawal. However, buprenorphine has a higher affinity for the opiate receptors, and many users have reported that Suboxone is injectable without inducing withdrawal effects.[citation needed] Oral or sublingual administration affects only the gastronintestinal tract, and has the added benefit of helping to reverse constipation and lowered bowel motility caused by chronic medical use or abuse of a variety of opioids. Buprenorphine itself has less of an effect on the central nervous system and produces far less euphoria than other opioid drugs, while still being effective in the treatment of pain. For this reason, buprenorphine is gaining acceptance in the treatment of chronic pain, as well as opioid addiction withdrawal, since it produces fewer side effects and less sedation. On the whole, it is a drug moderately useful in pain management that is further attractive due to its relative lack of desirability to opioid abusers. Currently, only certified addictionologists (physicians specializing in the treatment of drug addiction and dependence) are legally permitted to prescribe Suboxone or other drugs containing buprenorphine for the treatment of addiction, although suboxone or other drugs containing buprenorphine can be prescribed for any purpose other than addiction or maintenance by any licensed physician. Buprenorphine was originally approved for use in the management of pain as Buprenex, but its use is not very common. This will likely change as medical professionals obtain more experience in its use as an analgesic in chronic pain management.

The addition of naloxone to buprenorphine in Suboxone tablets is intended to prevent misuse and abuse by injection. However, the Naloxone in Suboxone does cause side effects in some people. These side effects include, but are not limited to, asthenia, chills, headache, infection, pain, abdominal pain, back pain, withdrawal syndrome, vasodilation, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, and sweating. Because of these side effects, the FDA recommends that doctors begin any chemical detox using Subutex, which does not contain any Naloxone. In this way, if for some reason the doctor moves the patient to Suboxone and the patient begins having side effects related to naloxone, the doctor can easily move the patient back to Subutex"

I have taken this, and when it made me tired, I decreased my dose. I switched from 160mg/day of oxycontin, to only 6mg/day of suboxone. Some dr.'s prescribe way too much Suboxone, than what is neccessary, it is different from other pain meds, and the thing to remember with suboxone, is "LESS IS MORE". Hope this helps.