Today on SuboxForum people were writing about their experiences with different buprenorphine formulations. Doctors occasionally have patients who prefer brand medications over generics, but buprenorphine patients push brand-loyalty to a different level. The current thread includes references to povidone and crospovidone, compounds included in most medications to improve bioavailability. Some Read more…
First Posted 8/28/2013 I realize that I am halfway through a post called ‘Suboxone Abuse Part I’. This is poor form, but I am now going to get halfway through a second topic before finishing the first one. Sorry. I recently came across a problem relating to the new healthcare Read more…
Originally Posted 3/23/2013 I generally write positive articles about the use of buprenorphine for treating opioid dependence, and my articles have been reflective of my attitude toward the medication. The field of psychiatry encompasses more conditions than it does effective treatments for those conditions, and my initial experiences treating people Read more…
Anxiety is one of the most common presenting complaints for people who come to my psychiatric practice. By the time people with anxiety visit a psychiatrist, they have usually discussed their symptoms with friends and family members, and some have been to their family care physician. And as a result Read more…
I received a question about Kratom, and searched for a earlier post about that plant/substance. That post came shortly after Obama’s inauguration, after someone wrote to compare his experience at that event to his experience taking opioids. Funny how every ‘high’ has its own ‘morning after!’ That Post: On a Read more…
I’ve received several complaints from patients and readers about one of the current buprenorphine formulations. The primary complaint is that the tablet is ‘not ‘working as well as the other formulations;’ that it seems to wear off earlier, or that people feel compelled to take more than what is prescribed. Read more…
I often talk to my patients on buprenorphine (aka Suboxone) about the need to fill their minds with new ideas, plans, and experiences. For years, those of us with addictions were focused on one thing– finding a way to avoid being sick for the next few hours. That one issue became Read more…
It has been a while, it seems, since I’ve checked in. I’m at the point in the life cycle of a ‘blogger’ where I feel like I’ve said most of what I came here to say… so help me out by sending your questions, particularly those with broad implications, and Read more…
A recent experience with a patient helped me realize some of the dramatic differences in the treatment of relapse in an era of buprenorphine. I drug-test patients who are treated with buprenorphine or Suboxone. The point of testing is not to catch someone messing up, but rather to determine when Read more…
Sorry about the re-run—I wrote this several years ago, and I still agree with the concept of ‘dynamic character defects.’ As I read it now, I recognize how things have changed; buprenorphine (Suboxone) has been incorporated into many of the major treatment centers, and even the smallest programs have at Read more…
The universal nature of addictive experience What I enjoy the most about having a presence on the internet is receiving comments from people from around the world. The writers describe the same progression of symptoms that characterize opioid dependence, a disease that affects people from all cultures and socioeconomic groups. Read more…
Chapter 2: My Story Nature vs. nurture I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, the son of a defense attorney and a teacher. I was the second of four children. I will not get into a drawn out psychodynamic exploration of my upbringing at this time except to Read more…