Buprenorphine / naloxone and Headaches: What Users Say

• Joh...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 20, 2021

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "I'm writing this to help someone so they don't think they have corona or maybe a health condition. Instead, they could be having symptoms from generic Suboxone because they are totally different from what they should be. I have been on Suboxone films for 4 years without an issue. Dr. Reddy works for me, Sandoz works for me, and of course the name brand worked for me. But there is a very real issue with ALVOGEN brand. I just switched pharmacies due to the hours they were open. I had to be late picking it up and I was barely making it there in time after work. Dr. Reddy has been fine for 2 and a half years, but with Alvogen, let us say I was dope sick in 2 days and it's not right. I'm stuck being sick for a month. I just messaged my doctor when I became dope sick in the grocery store after work last night. I thought that I had COVID or a stomach virus, but I know this feeling very well: leg cramps, sore back, headache. Then I looked online about generic Subs, and there it was, someone going through the same as me which made me realize it was the generic Subs."

• Twi...
• May 27, 2017

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "My personal experience with Suboxone is good so far. I have been on a prescribed Fentanyl patch 25 mcg/48 hrs. I have dropped to this dose over the last year. (I also left the old patch on.) I have been on opiates for 12 years, full-time prescribed. At my highest prescription, I was using 180 mg of Oxycodone and 180 mg of morphine per day. I have had several adjustments on medicine, including extended-release doses. Five years ago, I was put on 50 mcg of Fentanyl with 3-10 mg of Oxycodone per day for breakthrough. I started leaving my old patches on to increase my daily dose. This last year, I tapered down to 25 mcg patches for 48 hours (still leaving my old patches on). I went to a doctor that prescribes Suboxone. Lucky for me, my insurance pays for Suboxone. He gave me the 8/2 mg strips. I take half a strip twice a day. I was checking every forum to see how long I needed to wait to start the Suboxone. The replies are all very different. Some say 16 hours, most say 24. Others say 48-36-72 hours. Yikes! How do I keep out of precipitated withdrawals? I already have withdrawals every other day on my patch! So, I removed my patch last night around 5 PM. (I already have my Suboxone script at home.) I started feeling withdrawal symptoms coming on around 11 PM. They didn't get super intense. I checked the COWS scale, as many articles suggested, but only scored mild. I had the stretching of limbs symptom, anxiety, so I took half of a strip, which was the suggested dose. I took it at noon today. That's only 19-20 hours. I was in withdrawals, but not the worst I have ever had. I was scared of the precipitated withdrawals I heard about. Ten to fifteen minutes after I took it, I felt a hot sensation wash over me. I thought I would get those withdrawals, but I took a quick bath, laid down for an hour, and I feel pretty good. It took my withdrawals away. I still have some muscle pain, but not the kind that comes from withdrawals. Suboxone stopped the withdrawals right away. No headaches or sick feeling. Not high, but even my regular dose meds haven't made me high for years. So, if you're guessing on when it's okay to take Suboxone after opiates, and Fentanyl seems to be the highest strength, then I say shoot for 24 hours. If you are not in withdrawals at 24, then wait until you are. If you are in withdrawals before 24 hours, then just wait as long as you can. You will know when it's too bad to wait anymore. You know your body. You can always take half the amount prescribed and see how it reacts if you're afraid of precipitated withdrawals. Trust me, it will stop the withdrawals within a half-hour. I have not gotten the precipitated withdrawals so far. Hope this helps someone. Good luck to you!"

• Alb...
• May 13, 2015

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "I was taking 1000-2000 mg of codeine a day for 2 years. I spent a day reading all the reviews on Suboxone as my doctor wanted to start me on it. I was really worried because there were no bad reviews. I started my first dose of Suboxone two days ago, and I feel amazing. The only side effect is a slight headache. Anyone with an opiate addiction, this is the drug of help."

• BIG...
• January 20, 2013

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "I was addicted to pills for 3 years. It started as a few Vicodin a day to 25 Percocets a day at the end. I have been on Subutex for 2 weeks, and I must say it saved my life. NO CRAVINGS at all! The first few days I had mild headaches, but they went away by day 4. I'm currently taking a total of 8 mg a day, and it is plenty. This is truly a miracle. My wife is happy, and I can play with my son again without popping pills to get out of bed. The only bad thing is my insurance won't cover it, but the $50 a week is a lot less than the $500-600 a week I was spending before. THANK YOU, SUBUTEX!"

• Jac...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 19, 2022

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "Personally, I should say no one should ever get on Suboxone. Through personal experience, it was the absolute worst thing I could’ve ever done to my body and my mind. I should’ve just gotten through the little withdrawal of heroin and gone to 12-step meetings and gotten my life back. I am 90 days off of Suboxone and still going through intense physical symptoms every day of my life. My hands and feet are always sweating and discolored, my back always hurts, I get numbness and tingling through my whole body, my head hurts every single day, it is doing weird things to my skin, I have absolutely no sex drive, it literally feels like it destroyed my body and I’m only 23 years old. Suboxone is a trap physically and mentally. If you’re going through withdrawal, use Suboxone for 5 to 7 days and then stay off of it. I’m telling you from personal experience, it just isn’t worth it, the amount of stuff you go through."

• Bad...
• June 20, 2015

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "I've been on pain meds to treat very serious hip and moderate back issues for 15 years, ~8 years 24/7 and 365 days of the year on them. I've taken literally everything: morphine, fentanyl, Opana, ketamine, etc., and due to moving, I had to find a new pain doc, and he asked me to try Suboxone. I've been on a 24 mg/day dose for 3 days, and it treats my pain 75% as well as the previous methadone/oxy combo I took before this. It makes me feel very out of it, have a hard time thinking clearly, get frequent headaches, have no appetite, no urge to use the bathroom (#1 or 2, even when I need to), and can go from zero to super irritable in an instant. Overall, not working well. P.S.: A medical condition requiring opiates means you're DEPENDENT, not ADDICTED! Big difference, folks!"

• Cel...
• September 15, 2013

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "I'd been taking eight or nine Norcos a day for almost a year when I started Suboxone two days ago. So, my habit wasn't as bad as many here, but it was bad enough that I knew the agony of withdrawal very well. To my surprise, Suboxone has not only erased my withdrawal symptoms almost entirely (with the exception of minor headaches here and there), but it's also helped with craving my old pills at all. But I think the best part has to be feeling my soul lighten again. I was depressed for months and months on those pills. They are, after all, a depressant. Since I started Suboxone yesterday morning, I've felt like myself again. A gray pall of sadness has been lifted. Two things: it tastes dreadful and causes fatigue. Otherwise, great!"

• jen...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 3, 2015

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "Suboxone worked a miracle for me. I suffer from hydrocephalus and have a shunt in my brain. For 8 years, I had a neurologist tell me all he could do was treat me for pain. It didn't take long to realize they were addicting. I didn't know anymore if I was treating pain or the addiction. After all, I had an excuse. Then one day it hit me. I had been using the word 'excuse.' I tried to stop cold turkey. But each time, I'd get severe depression, anxiety, RLS, insomnia, headaches. I wasn't aware that my body was opiate dependent until I talked to a different doctor. He took my blood pressure, which was really low, and informed me that it was dangerous to quit like that after so long and suggested I try Suboxone. It works!"

• Amb...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 21, 2017

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "Suboxone nearly killed me. The first time it was ever prescribed to me, I placed one film under my tongue, and within 3 minutes, I started getting a headache, feeling dizzy, and then I started having difficulty breathing. I allowed the film to dissolve and placed the second film under my tongue. The symptoms described above seemed to get worse, and I started noticing hives forming on my neck. Before I knew it, I was covered with hives and could not breathe. My partner gave me liquid Benadryl and rushed me to the doctor. I had to receive steroids and other medications and carried the hives for a few days. I am highly allergic to the Naloxone and artificial sweeteners in the Suboxone and its alternatives. Be careful with this medication!"

• Tam...
• July 3, 2017

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "I would rather deal with the long dissolve time of Bunavail than the horrible taste, shorter effect, and headaches you get from Subs (Suboxone orange sublingual strips). In my personal experience, it takes about an hour in my cheek to get the full effect, but not dissolve completely. That effect is an all-day one versus Subs. On the Subs, I'd have to use a little more after a few hours. Plus a pounding headache if I wasn't careful. On the Bunavail, all of my withdrawal symptoms are gone, I have energy and a great mood. It does the exact same thing as the Subs do, you just have to be patient with the way it's delivered into your system. Which is apparently something half the people out there aren't capable of, judging from the comments."

• REA...
• October 28, 2017

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "I tried this before, and it gave me headaches, and got me restless, and wore off in a few hours, and was a horrible negative experience. Of course, that wasn't true, but if they were to get that P.A. back saying, if the patient just wants Suboxone because that's all he's known and used and doesn't want to switch, 100% guarantee deny. They said, unfortunately, more times than not, insurance companies deny these P.A. requests. I was scared, especially after reading so many comments on here about my same situation, and it brings horrible! I prayed! The next day, Thursday, my doctor called and said...... I WAS APPROVED!!! WOO! So, guys, YOU CAN appeal an insurance decision to only trying to cover Zubsolv and not Suboxone like you're used to, it was easy and fast!"

• Lil...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 2, 2016

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "This medication gave me headaches from the very first dose. They lasted 3 weeks. I volunteered to try Bunavail, so I stuck it out for 3 full months. I have to admit these have been the worst three months ever. I would sweat all day. Hot yet had the chills, I couldn't enjoy food. I forced myself to eat. I would start having withdrawals 4-5 hours after I took it. The ungodly hunk of slime that was left over after an hour would float all over my mouth. This drug sucks. Today I got put back on subs, and I kid you not I feel amazing. I am normal again, if I missed a dose or two of subs, I was fine. With this Bunavail, I had to do more than I was supposed to just to feel normal. I wouldn't recommend anyone to switch to this crap."

• Mau...
• November 14, 2016

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "My experience taking Suboxone was the complete opposite of what I thought it would be. I always viewed Suboxone as the lesser of two evils between methadone because Suboxone contains naloxone, so you technically can't get 'high.' Not that I have anything against people who choose methadone as their recovery route; I have actually tried methadone in the past to actually get high and, well... I succeeded, lol. When I started taking Suboxone, I got really bad side effects after the first month of taking it. I would severely sweat to the point I wanted to bash my head through a wall. It was so rough on my body. But my maintenance program doctor just said it was 'withdrawals' because when you take the pill every day, I guess you're technically withdrawing from the one you took the day before due to the long half-life on Suboxone. So his idea was to up my dose to 12 mg to see if the sweating would go away (I didn't see the logic in that idea too). Anyway, it didn't, so he tossed me some clonidine, which helped a little. But the side effects kept adding up, such as headaches, severe constipation to the point I had to use daily enemas (not normal), abdominal pains came too along with nausea and vomiting (every day). It just got to the point where my mind and body couldn't be on the medication anymore. I was on it for 7 long months, even trying to wean myself down on my own. That was a struggle too, seeing how the withdrawals from Suboxone are supposedly worse than heroin sickness, which my doctor and counselor kindly reminded me after I was already hooked. It was a messy time in my life. Suboxone gave me severe anxiety, which left me buying benzos off the street just to mellow me out. I went to a weekly Suboxone maintenance program on purpose. To get piss tested weekly and to have a doctor and counselor help me move forward. But instead, I felt I was moving 10 steps back. My only option to get off the Suboxone (which was my choice, obviously) was to get the vivitrol shot and have 3 bad days of sickness but be off Suboxone. It took me a week to build myself up to do it because I was terrified of how bad the sickness was going to be. Choosing the vivitrol shot had to be the best worst idea I have ever made. I did get violently sick after it, but it went away. Plus, my doctor who gave me the shot helped me out with some comfort meds, so it wasn't all that bad. That was in December 2015 that I received the shot and have been clean since. So my advice for any addict who's struggling on which route to take for recovery: just get the shot. They'll give comfort meds for the first couple of days, then after that, you'll be shackle-free from drugs. I'm telling ya, choose vivitrol if you need to detox. For others who take Suboxone for other reasons, such as pain or etc., power to you; but if y'all are struggling out there and want to get sober quick, vivitrol's the answer. Methadone and Suboxone will just make you sicker down the road."

• Sou...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 1, 2013

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "Ok, started Suboxone 2 days ago, no cravings at all for others. I was taking 5-6 Norcos a day for 8 yrs. One day, got up, said I'm tired of depending on a pill to get me through the day. So, started Suboxone. I'm happy as far as the craving goes, but for some reason, I'm having a hard time staying awake. If I sit down, I fall asleep, my mind feels very scattered, and I had a bad headache today. I hope this is just getting used to the meds. I am only on 2 mg, so I don't think it's too much. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks."

• Wis...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 22, 2017

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "Bunavail is a great alternative to Suboxone films. There is no 30-minute wait for it to dissolve, and one can carry on with normal activities while it is adhered to the cheek. It also has far better bioavailability, so less of the medicine is wasted in the digestive tract. Also, I've had fewer headaches from Bunavail than Suboxone. The only problem is getting them to properly adhere to your cheek. Sometimes they roll up like a scroll, or wad up and turn into a ball of mush. This wastes a film, and none of us have 'extra' Bunavail to use if this should happen (as the manufacturer suggests)! There are no instructions as to how long they should remain adhered, either. I love Bunavail, but this issue is beyond frustrating!"

• Mei...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 6, 2019

For Opioid Use Disorder "I have tried a generic buprenorphine with naloxone before, and I don't recall the experience being this bad as it has been on Dr. Reddy's version. For 2 months, I've been on them and have had these other health issues: water retention causing ear infection and pneumonia, horrible headaches from fluid in my head and body. I have had 2 rounds of antibiotics and water pills. I have had lethargy, gained 35 lbs in 2 months. Moved, changed diet, watch symptoms closer. Working out at least every other day. Not getting better. I have noticed disturbing thoughts, depression. I also experienced withdrawal-like symptoms the first few days. I wanted this to work because the Suboxone brand has the monopoly, and the cost is more. I have not seen any other reviews with these symptoms. I might be allergic to an ingredient in it. The head pressure and nausea start an hour after I take it in the morning. It's like my head is filling up like a water balloon. Pointless to take a med that causes you to need three others...."

• Mei...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 6, 2019

For Opioid Use Disorder "I have tried a generic buprenorphine with naloxone before, and I don't recall the experience being this bad as it has been on Dr. Reddy's version. For 2 months, I've been on them and have had these other health issues: water retention causing ear infection and pneumonia, horrible headaches from fluid in my head and body. I have had 2 rounds of antibiotics and water pills. I have had lethargy, gained 35 lbs in 2 months. Moved, changed diet, watch symptoms closer. Working out at least every other day. Not getting better. I have noticed disturbing thoughts, depression. I also experienced withdrawal-like symptoms the first few days. I wanted this to work because the Suboxone brand has the monopoly, and the cost is more. I have not seen any other reviews with these symptoms. I might be allergic to an ingredient in it. The head pressure and nausea start an hour after I take it in the morning. It's like my head is filling up like a water balloon. Pointless to take a med that causes you to need three others...."

• eve...
• January 18, 2016

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "For me, I had a terrible time with Suboxone. It relieved the opiate withdrawal a number 3 out of 10. Bones started to creak, teeth started cracking/breaking, insomnia, legs wouldn't stop moving, headaches, backache. It just didn't work for me, doesn't mean it doesn't work. Initially, I felt as though it was just the process of the other opiates leaving my body, but after a month of feeling like rubbish, I relapsed. I could no longer take it, it took a lot more to get relief due to the effects of the sub. After a year and a half of Suboxone and feeling badly all the time, I gave up Suboxone and the second job to pay for it and went back to full-time drugging until I found methadone and have been happily and contentedly clean without any pain since."

• Ren...
• June 19, 2019

For Opioid Use Disorder "After 2 1/2 years on the Suboxone brand name, 8 mg, 2 strips, I was switched over to the Dr. Reddy's generic version. I take 2 - 8 mg strips a day. I noticed a big difference right away. I did not feel the typical mild euphoric feeling I got with the brand name, but instead experienced a feeling of general discomfort and a crushing sleepiness. I started getting headaches and almost felt as if I was going through mild withdrawal as my body attempted to adjust to the new drug. My insurance will not pay for the brand name anymore, and I don't have an extra $600 each month to spend on the meds I want. I tried Subsolve for a short while, but I did not like that either. My doctor wants me to go off strips now and go on pills completely. For the first time since I've been in opioid addiction treatment, I'm thinking of just trying to get off Suboxone because now it's just junk and a waste of money. The insurance companies don't seem to care. It's sad as this drug has worked so effectively for me."

• Chr...
• November 6, 2014

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "I'm an addict, and the first time I took it, it did take away the withdrawal symptoms after about a few days into taking it (8 mg 2 naloxone) tabs once a day. It gave me severe headaches and sometimes made me feel sick. The pros to this medicine are it does keep the withdrawals at bay and is easier to withdraw from than methadone. The cons are the cost for me, with no insurance, is too high, like $400.00 for a month's supply! I know it works for some, but not for me! 5 out of 10."

• pia...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 8, 2017

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "I have been on and off Suboxone for years from taking pain pills for bad neck pain and headaches. I was doing great for a few months until my doctor prescribed me Zubsolv 2 months ago. I noticed immediately I felt withdrawal symptoms and shortly afterward I started having stomach problems. I gradually became deathly ill and have been in and out of the ER 3 times with all kinds of GI problems, along with a feeling of gas pains all over from my feet, head to my hands. Bad headache, trouble breathing, blurred vision, cannot think clearly, depression, and so on. I think there is something else in Zubsolv that is doing this as I have racked my brain with how this all started. I have episodes of delirium and feel like I'm not going to make it."

• E-M...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 11, 2019

For Opioid Use Disorder "Suboxone saved my life. My history is my rib broke, it ruptured my spleen, so they removed my spleen. I was put on morphine, Dilaudid in the hospital, then became addicted to OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet, and benzos until Suboxone turned my life around. I got a great job, I rent a beautiful condo. I’ve been on it and clean for 12 years. A few months ago my insurance stopped covering regular strips, got put on generic strips, and it has been misery ever since. I’m having trouble sleeping, I wake up every couple hours, sleep only 6 hours, if that, and bad headaches at least 4 times a week. I go to the doctor today, she flips out and told me this means it’s time to start weaning and that it’s a sign of me being on Suboxone too long - yeah, ok! Brand is Sandoz. I’m in misery, guys, sorry about run-on sentences doing voice text."

• Ali...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 9, 2018

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "I hate this medicine so much. I was a heroin addict for two and a half years, and I stopped by taking Suboxone. I’ve been taking Suboxone for about seven months, and it worked perfectly fine. But then I lost half my script, and when I went to the doctor to figure out what to do, he said he would prescribe me Zubsolv for the remaining amount of time because he said the pharmacy wouldn’t prescribe me Suboxone again. Zubsolv has been making me feel like I’m wired, but not in a good way, giving me horrible headaches, nausea, and making my BP go up so high, and I don’t know why it’s doing this. I still have a week to go taking it, and this is literally pure torture."

• Ash...
• September 26, 2011

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "I had it all. Everything people dream of was mine, but I lost it all when I started doing Roxy's. Once was all it took for me to take as many oxycodone 30s as I could get my hands on for 3 years. I tried to stop by myself, went to rehab, meetings, counseling, everything. During these 3 years, I went from being a loving daughter, sister, and friend to a monster. I have been on Suboxone since 4/20/11, and that was the day my life changed. I feel like a normal person again. There is a price to my happiness, though, I have headaches, am tired very often, and experience extreme constipation from the Suboxone. If that's all I have to go through to be the person I am now, then that's fine. Suboxone literally saved my life."

• VIV...
• July 10, 2009

Buprenorphine / naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder "My husband and I both have been popping pills for years. Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, barbiturates, whatever we could get. After trying to quit cold turkey, or going into a detox center, whatever it was, always failed us... or we failed it. Now we are winning the battle. Hubby went on it about a week ago, and I just started a few days ago. Neither of us had withdrawals from the opioids we were taking, and neither of us has cravings. Thank goodness. So our livers are now getting a much-needed rest, and our money is going where it SHOULD go to now. We both have experienced some headaches on Suboxone, but they aren't that bad, and go away after a bit. It gives me dry mouth really bad. So, remember, this drug is just a tool in the road to recovery."