I’m Going to Have Gall Bladder Surgery…

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Author: Ironic

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 3:59 pm

exorphin wrote:

Well, after paying out-of-pocket for my subs for about the last week and a half,
I just found out that I have been approved by Medicaid for fifteen Suboxone on
the 22nd of this month! So, this is very good news for me!

I called my surgeon’s office to let them know that I am now back on sub at 4 mg
per day; and I gave them my sub doc’s contact info, too.

I keep reading conflicting information about when I should stop my sub before my
gall bladder surgery, which is scheduled for January the 10th. My sub doc told me
that I can take my regular dose of 4 mg up to 24 hours before the surgery. However,
I have heard/read that it would be better if I would stop the sub like 3 days before
my surgery. If anyone has any suggestions and/or advice about what I should do,
please feel free to share it with me.

Thanks,

-ex-

Ex, you are DEFINITELY gonna need more than 24 hours to feel oral pain meds.

I’m about to get my wisdom teeth out and I’m gonna give it more than that I think..2-3 days..and I only take 1 mg/day now of Subutex. Bupe is a really, REALLY strong blocker, and 10 mg of percocet just won’t cut it, you got a tolly from all those years of high dose bupe Sad

On the other hand, if you are receiving IV pain meds, I think if you can get down to under 2 mg/day you will be fine after 24 hours. This is my experience from relapsing in the early part of my sub maintenance (almost a year ago Smile I relapsed a few times at first, with ~70 mg shots of oxy. When I was on 2 mg/day or less I only needed to wait 24 hours to fully feel the shot. When I was on more than 2 mg, it wouldn’t fully hit me. I don’t know how that translates into pain relief, because I am sure the dose for pain relief is lower than the dose for feeling high..but also remember that I am talking about ~70 mg of IV oxy, not a low dose of hydro or something else.

@Rule62, I agree with you. I am considering an arrangement like that for myself. How long were you at 1 mg/day? Do you think the bupe was blocking your dose or you just have a high tolerance now from sub maintenance?

This is one of the few things I HATE about Sub..and no one tells you the truth about it. Sub keeps your tolerance really high.

I really wish you the best of luck with this one. I don’t pray much, but I have been thinking of you, and what I would do in your position. I would advise what I am doing myself: get as LOW on the Sub as you possibly can before the surgery and stop more like 48-72 hours before the surgery. I think it is probably safe to take an extremely low dose, maybe .5 mg, 24 hours before the surgery, but I wouldn’t dose more than that. I have been in fear of my surgery for awhile and therefore researching this heavily.

If you want to talk, you know how to find me Smile