I have been talking to a friend and trying to get her to go on Suboxone. I just started Zubsolv and it is the best decision I've made in my life. I haven't used anything else since.... well except pot, but that's just my other medicine .

However, the problem is that she wants to do MMT, because a lot of people are on it for life... I told her that is a HORRIBLE decision and that the biggest mistake of my life was going on Methadone for almost 3 years... She did say though that she would go on Suboxone if she could remain on it for the rest of her life. Do doctors allow that? Is it safe/healthy? I personally wouldn't want to be on it forever but it does seem to help with my anxiety/depression, and it would be nice to feel so clear headed like this forever... However I hope one day I do not have to rely on anything to be happy and content in life. She feels differently :/

And I am really sorry if this isn't in the right place... Please, move it to wherever- I just wasn't sure which category this would go under

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"Pity for the guilty is treason to the innocent..." - The Mother Confessor

Ooops, my bad. This probably should have went in the 'Stopping Suboxone' thread... I didn't even see it!

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"Pity for the guilty is treason to the innocent..." - The Mother Confessor

First off I don't think that methadone is the end of the world if that is the route that your friend chooses, however Suboxone (buprenorphine)is a much easier option and these days best tried first option over methadone. As you have been involved with methadone maintenance via your state for three years I don't have to explain the ins and outs of why buprenorphine is often an easier option.

Buprenorphine Dr's philosophies vary, some have arbitrary time limits, some prefer arbitrary detox periods, some are more patient-centered on the time frame and some really advocate for long-term or life-long maintenance as you refer to it if/when appropriate. The issue your friend will run into will be finding a prescriber who's ideology matches her own at least in the beginning; ideas change, people are in different places in 3 or 5 or 20 years and might have also been concurrently stabilizing their life in all ways making the risk of relapse without buprenorphine less likely and at that time the goal might be to attain that often sought after goal of 'living life completely drug free.' I don't get it, myself...Not right now at 34, but I hear it all the time, and who's to say I might not get it in my early 50's...

Definitely praise any decision in the right direction your friend makes while giving her the benefit of your own experiences, even if her ultimate decision is to opt for methadone. Looking back at methadone in comparison to my experience with buprenorphine today makes it look like a 'ball and chain or liquid handcuffs' (per NYTimes) but the reality is that being tolerant to a high dosage methadone for years likely prevented some overdoses and spared me IV use for years or jail time or death; I know that quickly after getting off it I overdosed on other controlled release and immediate release short acting high-dose prescribed narcotics and benzodiazepines. Yeah, I had to travel for work and it became a barrier to the federal clinic system rules at that time but I don't think methadone itself if taken correctly for maintenance is inherently any better or worse than doing the same thing with buprenorphine, just more difficult and restrictive in many situations with little flexibility per federal guidelines to make the services personalized. I hope your friend finds a way to get her life out of the rollercoaster of active addiction and is able to put it into remission, let us know what you're seeing or have her join to tell her own story! Good luck!

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