[Devoted Butterfly]

My loved one has been on Suboxone and Saphris for 6-7 years. She has been told she will be on Suboxone for life, too much of risk of relapse. I have no problem with this. The Saphris seemed to be working ok. She wasn't having any episodes for Schizoeffective Disorder. She did have a issue with lowering her Suboxone from time to time. She was doing this and was having withdrawl for a week, and not sleeping. Then got a phone call that created a major stress and she had a phycotic break, auditory delusions. She went to the hospital and the Dr. changed all her medications. Kept her on Suboxone, put her on the Invega shot, Cogentin, Buspar, Visteril, Trazadone. Needless to say...she is miserable. Unstable. It's been 2 months. She will be going back to see her Dr. in a couple of days and they are going to try something else. I do not understand why they won't put her back on the Saphris and maybe keep her on the Buspar and Trazadone. She needs stabilized fast so she can go home.
I personally have experience of sudden medication change and it done me in and spun me out. I was sick for over 13 weeks, went through what I would call medication induced bipolor. End result for me was put back on original medication minus one. I feel great. I'm sure there are many here who have gone through these experiences. My concern for her is she has no where to stay consistently in Houston where her Dr. currently is at, until they get her stable. She is going to have to change Dr. to her "home" location, but is unable to do so until stable. Can anyone share their experiences with medication changes and the end result. Sorry so lengthy. Very concerned, agitated.

[medchange101]

The first place in your story where there was any issue was where you say "She did have a issue with lowering her Suboxone from time to time." Do you feel that if she had maintained a steady hand on that medicine things would have been kept stable despite the upsetting phone call? If so the clear path may be to find a doctor to slowly transition back toward that combination. Out of curiosity how long did the doctors take to put her on all the new medications? Do you live too far away from her to go see the doctor with her? I am currently on quite a few meds, but I would never change more than one at a time. I have certainly found Buspar helpful for anxiety. Quite. It sounds like you feel that is the case for her and that also Trazadone is working. It is good she will see her doctor soon I feel. When I go into see my doctor and I want to make a change because I don't like how I feel or how I am functioning, which is actually the case right now, I try to go in with some ideas about what to change. I try not to be pushy, but there is usually room for me to talk about my perspective on the drugs.

[*Laurie*]

Hi DB, I've had many, many med changes over several decades. They've never been too bad, unless you're talking about Klonopin. Changing (lowering) the dose of K-pin is devastating in so many ways. As for other problems, the worst problem has been when meds just don't work.

I'm a bit confused about your post, though. She is on suboxone for an opiate addiction and is diagnosed with Schizoeffective Disorder, too, is that correct? What are the reasons she's dropped or stopped the sub dosage...was she using again? As I'm understanding it, Houston is not where her home is...why was she in Houston when she had her psychotic break...I mean, was she staying with someone reliable, or...?

I guess what I'm trying to say is, can you fill in the blank places a bit more, if you feel like doing so? I would like to offer some help but, like I said, I'm kind-of confused.

[still_crazy]

hi. does she have medical coverage? some doctors--shrinks, in particular--are pushy and controlling. they seem to be worse towards women, for some reason.

i don't know much about suboxone treatment. it seems to me that she needs a doctor who will keep her on a steady dose and also keep the psychotic disorder properly treated, too. with the invega shot...has she been not so great about keeping on the prescribed drugs? not trying to shift blame, just curious. the long acting injections are becoming more popular now, but they're -ideally- supposed to be used mostly in people who can't or won't take the drugs regularly, voluntarily.

ive had shrinks power trip on me, and honestly...that's what it sounds like, to me, especially with the invega shot in the mix. some places are more gung-ho about the long acting injections than others...its about power, dogma, and control.

sorry about this.

[cool09]

Buspar? No one prescribes this these days.

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by cool09

Buspar? No one prescribes this these days.

Sure they do. My daughter takes Buspar for anxiety. It helps her. I've been prescribed Buspar, but it didn't do anything to help me. I know people on it; it's commonly prescribed.

[still_crazy]

buspar is still prescribed. a former shrink told me she likes to combine it with an antidepressant, but she wasn't big on prescribing it by itself. i don't get it, but...OK.

[iwalkwithjesus]

Originally Posted by cool09

Buspar? No one prescribes this these days.

Thee people do in ga and they messed me up. I been on 0.5 mg of xanex for 12 years. Moved to Seattle ga and the Dr says it's a law she can't prescribe it. I been withdrawing with mini anxiety attacjs. They out me on 10mg of buspar. Obviously it's not working. Drives me crazy that they think everybody abuses drugs.

[peacelizard]

The pdocs I know tend to keep people on medication that works as it's better to go with the devil you know than the devil you don't. I don't get a clear understanding though about whether just the phone call caused a psychotic break or the Saphris stopped working. In general, Saphris isn't a very good AP. I work in mental health on an inpatient unit for bipolar and other psychotic disorders and have only seen it used a handful of times, usually only when they're running out of options. Also, as someone else said, people usually only get put on a long-acting injection like Invega if they're frequently non-compliant with meds and really need to be on them