General Information »   Spit or Swallow?

Suboxone makes me drool like crazy. I can't even take an 8mg pill all at once, because it makes my entire mouth fill up with drool. I have to break it into two doses - and I break the pill into quarters and put one on each side of my tongue. Then, I sit and wait for my mouth to fill up with drool. I try to keep the spit in my mouth until all the bitterness is gone - I've found that my dose feels much more effective this way than if I spit it out as soon as the pill dissolves.

I always spit the orange drool out, unless I'm in some situation where I just can't for some reason. I find that I get nausea and headaches if I swallow the pill residue. But I've heard others say it doesn't bother them at all. I have a friend who sticks the pill in her mouth, it dissolves in a few minutes, she swallows and is good to go. I tried that and felt undermedicated all day. Sometimes it takes me 30 min just to dissolve half of an 8mg pill.

So. Do you have any particular way you take your sub? I understand that for some people, it just melts into nothingness under their tongue, without all this salivary business? Is that true? You are lucky, for sure! Do you spit, or swallow? Anyone else get headaches from the pill residue? Or maybe I'm just a little crazy?

As long as I spit, I don't get headaches. Just the normal migraine around my period, but I've been getting that for way longer than I've been on Sub. My insurance won't cover subutex, as far as I know. It was a huge hassel to get them to pay for suboxone, but maybe I'll bring it up to my doc next time I see him.

Lucky for me, I don't have to pay for my scripts. Not for a year, anyway. Then we'll see... either I'll taper off, get different insurance, or pay for it out of pocket. In which case a low dose would be my friend.

Geesus Cappie, you are already planning on being on subs for more than a year? To each their own and I know you have other issues that the bupe takes care of for you. No offence meant. Personally I usually swallow that nasty spit, but I do get a headache after too. Its funny you say that because I got a wicked one today after taking my dose. Maybe I'll try to spit tommorow and see if that helps. It seems like the whole pill just turns into spit for me. Its gross even thinking about it. Talk about micromanaging intake.

Thanks Erin ;)

Ted - I know what you mean about the whole pill turning to spit. It's like some kind of design flaw, or something. That's why I try to keep all that orange drool in my mouth for as long as I can. I swear, it works twice as well if I can do that.

I'm not planning anything regarding the length of my stay in suboxone land. I am going to the gym 4 days a week right now, trying to make my body stronger in the hopes that I can reduce my pain & not need medication anymore. Pain was my biggest trigger for using, so I'm putting a lot of effort there.

I also go to therapy, to work out other stuff, and have been trying to get a social life that supports my new, healthy goals. What I'm really hoping will happen is that I will get to a point where I know I'm ready to taper down a bit. Then I'll adjust to that level and know when I'm ready to decrease again. In all of my online research, suboxone users who report using this method seem to have had the best tapering experience and less problems with cravings or PAWS or relapse.

If I didn't have the pain issues, I would probably start tapering off in the next few weeks. I am not all that happy to be chained to yet another ridiculously expensive pharmaceutical. My ultimate dream is freedom from pharm altogether, but I'd have to find a naturopathic way to treat my thyroid & migraines.

theres recent info that the longer you stay on bupe, the greater your chances of getting off of it and having a successful relapse free life. and the dea had all kinds of bullshit when they made suboxone thats why its got naloxone in it. there was clinical trials out there for oxycodone with naloxone in it to make it injection resistant(nothings proof). but the junkies in active addiction beat the dea again. if u take a sub normally for at least 2 doses, and it binds to ur opiate receptors, then u can inject it and the small amount of naloxone(2mg) is not enough to pull the existing bupe off of ur receptors and send u into w/d. but thats all bad stuff to do and dwell on.

but just letting u kno the new info out there is that the longer u stay on bupe, the more successful u are at getting totally free of chemicals. even tho i personally dont even consider bupe as mind altering drug. its a medical recovery aid. and with the power of the disease of addiction , ill take anything i can to help me in my corner to get over on it.

Has anyone ever snorted suboxone? Would it work as well as dissolving under the tongue?

dhea - why do you want to snort suboxone? I don't think it's a good idea, just from the perspective of trying to break old, bad habits, yanno?

snorting it does have teh same effects. the one thing that has to be done is you have to keep it in ur nasal passages and not swallow it. its a balancing act. people who snort it often get hella wicket sinus infections from the starch, and it causes increased constipation(which is bad when taken normally). but as stated. if ur trying to fix urself, snorting it isn't a positive step.

I swallow. I'm a swallower. I guess that's the addict in me, not wanting to "waste" any bit of it, even though it tastes absolutely revolting. :)
I havent found anything yet that takes the taste away afterward, quickly. I know some people chase them with a hard candy, but I swear, I taste the Sub long after it has dissolved.
Anyone found anything that effectively kills Sub breath?

I'm not sure what your question is Josh. If you only have one suboxone pill left, I would recommend taking the smallest amount you can that still relieves your w/d's. If you have an 8mg pill, cut it into quarters and take one. 2mgs is a plenty big dose, and can probably get you thru a day if you're motivated.

I haven't heard that using narcotics while on suboxone will make you ill. If you are on other opiates and you take suboxone before you're in w/d's, it can make you sick (precipitated w/d's). Suboxone also has Naloxone in it, which supposedly will make you very sick if you are on opiates and you inject it, but the naloxone is not active when taken orally.

Buprenorphine, the active ingredient in suboxone, does bind very strongly to your opiate receptors though. This means that it is hard to get high if you have taken suboxone recently. How hard it is depends on how much suboxone you took and how long ago you took it. Buprenorphine has a 36 hour half-life, which means the amount in your blood decreases by half every 36 hours. You also need to be careful, if you do use after taking suboxone, not to overdose.

There are some ways to get suboxone even if you don't have insurance. The manufacturer has a program where they will supply the medication for free to income-qualified people who have no health insurance. You have to find a doctor who is willing to do it, I have a friend who found one by calling doctors that were referred from the NAABT.org website.

Good luck.

my doc has me taking 1/2 an 8mg 4 times a day...(16mg for u math wizzes) along with klonopin for w/d anxiety, and just a couple of initial clonidines(which fool ur brain for an opiate) and a short period of prozac for seretonin. all part of his detox masterplan called "resolutions" sounds like alot but im just about thru with day 1 and so far so good. anyone ever heard of ALL this crap at once unsupervised for detox?

I used to get bad headaches until I quit swallowing the orange goo that's left over. My friend said the same thing. Just keep the stuff in your mouth for 15-20 minutes, then spit it out. Don't drink anything for 20 more minutes, as your mouth is still absorbing. The Sub will still work, and hopefully no headache.

If that doesn't help, tell your doc and maybe he can switch you to Subutex.

If your mouth is dry (not a lot of saliva) it takes longer for the pill to dissolve. When mine is dissolving, I can kinda feel it working...like a tingle. I leave it in until I don't feel that anymore, usually around 20 minutes, and then I spit it out. I know what you mean about dissolving a whole pill at once, it seems like it takes forever. You can try breaking it up into smaller bits and spreading them around more. The more surface area inside your mouth the pill contacts, the faster it will get into your bloodstream. It doesn't have to be just under the tongue either, anywhere inside your mouth can absorb the medication - under the tongue is just quicker. I've put the pill between my cheek and the outside of my gums before and it worked fine.

Your body will get used to the Sub and get better at absorbing or dissolving it after a while. When I first started, my whole mouth would fill up with spit, it was so disgusting, and I had to sit there with a huge mouthful of drool for like a half an hour. After a few weeks that stopped happening and the pill would just melt. It always leaves behind some orange residue, which I usually spit out.

JuggsMD, I wanted to tell you that everyone has a different reaction to suboxone. I had the EXACT same problem. It started to go away the longer i was on it. Also when i switched to SUBUTEX which is the better(in my opinion) choice. If your doctor wont perscribe it to you because he/she says that the naloxone is necessary. He is lieing to you The ONLY reason that the naloxone is in the suboxone is to prevent IV use. That is a fact. Plus i think that the subutex doesnt taste like anything(way better than that fake orange taste that suboxone gives you.) Oh yeah when i started suboxone the taste made me puke almost everyday for 3 weeks!!

i let the 8mg pill dissolve beneath my tongue. i never spit the orange drool, i always swallow. sometimes slight headaches accompany the dose. i guess im scared to spit out the medication after it dissolves into drool as to compromise its effectiveness..so i swallow it. i am currently on 20mg/day. getting my life back and happy.

When I take suboxone I take only a half and let it dissolve under my tongue. I try to hold the spit in my mouth as long as I can then I swallow. I asked my doctor the reason for this and he said that the suboxone will not work once it gets in the liver and that is why we have to let it melt under the tongue and let it enter the blood stream through the mouth. I have found the only thing that will cut the suboxone taste is coffee. It really works wonders! The hotter the better! I don't take cream in my coffee so I'm not sure if it works as well. I have noticed that since I have been on suboxone that my gag reflexes are real bad. I gag real easy now. I can barely even brush my teath without puking. Does anyone else have this problem?
I have also tried snorting suboxone once and it did work. However I would not recommend this because this can't be good for your sinuses.

When I take mine I brush my teeth and put listerine in my mouth, then spit it out. Right after that I put my suboxone in my mouth, dissolve and crap, then iv'e been mixing it up with the spitting and swallowing. Sometimes I swallow but recently iv'e been spitting because I feel it has been working better. I use the listerine because it helps dissolve the suboxone faster. I swish the spit around and let it sit for a while and then I spit it out, if anyone knows any other ways to take it please let me know, so far this is working well.

I have been on Suboxone for 6 years now, way too long but I am now finally reducing my dose from 8mg daily. Over the years I have tried many different ways to take my dose and this is what works best for me:
Before I put the pill in my mouth I swallow every bit of saliva as possible to dry out my mouth, then I put the pill in and chew it up and then work it under my tongue. I leave it there for 8 to 10 minutes, then I'll either swallow it or spit it out depending on the situation. This method keeps me from salivating like crazy as I would if I left the pill whole. It also allows more time for the Bupenorphine to absorb.

I agree with you ouprice22 if I talk while taking my dose I get an awful headache but if I just sit there and don't open my mouth I am fine. I swallow my spit, I haven't tried spitting it out because I only get the headaches sometimes after my dose and that's when I talk or something while in the middle or during taking my dose. I have been sober for 9 months excatly today with the help of Suboxone, my family and support group. I am currently tapering down from 16mgs a day to 8mg to 12mg a day depending on how I feel. I only take 1/2 at a time because if I take a whole 8mg pill and it's later at night I don't sleep so my Dr. said that I was taking yo much with the 16mg per day and he told me try taking 4mg 3 times a day and it works some days I only need 8mgs a day 4mg in the am and 4mg in the pm about 8hrs later. All seems to be going good. My Dr. and I are ready to taper me down to 8mgs a day. I'm kinda scared but I know as long as I follow the 12 steps everyday all will be fine.

OK so..Yesterday I was prescribed 16mg of Suboxone per/d for my 10 yr ordeal with Opiate addiction. At my peak of Illegal drug use I was snorting between 4 and 5 80 mg oxycontin per day. next stop would have been heroin but somehow I found a Methadone clinic 1/2 miles from where lived fast forward 3 years and we are at the present. I was dosing at 190mg of methadone per day. Weened myself down to 30mg in 3 weeks. As per doc orders I went cold turkey for three days(Living hell). On third day took Suboxone 2mg at first. I swallowed. Big mistake. I found myself in worse withdrawal than before I took it. Chills, Sweating, Horrific Headache, Whole body ache, especially in my back and legs. Doc said that's fine. I Dosed later that day 4mg Suboxone{swallowed) Same thing. I caught myself wanting to skip my dose this morning just to avoid the Headache. While reading this article I tried spitting......WORKS!!!!!!!!!No headache No aches Perfect! Individual results may vary of course. But I recommend Spitting to save yourself the extra Agony. Oh and I get my Meds free b/c I'm a vet. I was Paying around 300$/month for the Methadone 14$ p/day at one clinic $9 a day at another funny thing is both clinics claimed to be non-profit I call Bullshit but Im not complaining b/c I would have paid more if I had to. Thank God for the Marine Corps. Bye for now and my prayers are with all of us wanting to be "Normal" again. I missed myself.

Hi and hello everyone. Something new for me, (not overly politically correct, eg friendly. BUT i THINK i SHOULD BE WITH YOU GUYS.

i JUST HAVE 2 COMMENTS, (sorry for yelling) earlier a member asked if anyone had ever snoted and I do respect the response. I am what I am an addict, (recovering) and that my friends says it all. I snort mine occasionally, especiaaly if i'm pressed for time, (almost always). I've yet to read anything against that method of intake and lets be real the guys we count on for information are mostly morans. An 8 hour course for certification, come on. When I got out of my rehap, Laurwood in Gainesville, ga I was given a script for 80, 8mg subs and discharge papers to be given to my DR. She'd never hear of it and we researched it together on the internet. I've gone to her for a while so she hastaken care of me somehow the last few months but recently stated she could no more and I understood. The rehap I came out of speciallizes in suicides, (shot 3 times by Atlanta Police) and there claim was I was looking for an assisted way to die. I am now no longer recovering, the best thing about suboxin to me is it took away my cravings and if i have less than alot to keepp me getting sick, I'm not happy. My dr's plan and mine was o stay on it for life, but guess that won't be happening the program if there is one inga is a joke. I have insurance, (Atnea) and they cover 100%, (not mention the VA but no DR. I served my country 32 years and stayed numb 70% of the time as long I didn't effect others safey and I have to buy this on the street. Now really that sucks. Its more expensive than than oc 80 mlg oc vs 8 mg sub whats up there? I'm an addict and always will be I just want to buy what I need legally like over 100 other guys I used to work with in ga alone.

Sorry for the rant, but the Drs that handle this stuff are criminal. JMHO--Hopper

Ive been on suboxone for over three years continuously and before that off and on for another one and a half, all this was for my 7 year heroin addiction. the issue of sipitng or swallowing is easy if your getting headaches when you swallow its bc of the naloxone when you spit right when your supposed to swallow your basically only spiting out the naloxone w a lil bit of buerph i know this cz 2 drs told me i needed to swallow it ie what i said, and the fact i used to take my sub spit and then get high w no side effect bc naloxone was nt getting in my body

I've been on Sub for a few years now and despite the drain on my wallet (I have insurance but it won't pay) I have not found anything in my 12 year addiction to opiates that has been able to give me my life back the way this medication does.

I've tried pretty much every method above and have found this to work best.

- Wet your whistle. Water, water, water. Swish it all around your mouth!
- Break your dose into several smaller pieces. Easier depending on how much your dose is. Mine is 2mg so it usually works out to 3-4 tiny pieces.
- Suck a tiny bit of water between your lips and get it under your tongue with the sub.
- Mix it all up with the tip of your tongue. Add more water if needed.

This should dissolve everything in a matter of minutes even with larger doses. If your touch the liquid/sludge with the tip of your tongue and you get that intense bitter "bite" don't spit or swallow. Just because it's dissolved from being a pill does not mean it's broken down completely and you are probably wasting vast amounts of a very expensive medication (I'll take it if you aren't using it!). If it's not more water than bitter, there is definitely more in there.

For the record, I swallow. Not for the fear of wasting, it's just how I do. The only times I experience headaches are when I swallow too early by mistake. So for those swallowers who get headaches, your probably not dissolving completely.