Subutex and lactose intolerance

[UKBlaza]

Hello there,

I just registered with these boards as I am trying to get off of Subutex (UK issue Buprenorphine) but am having some health problems which are worrying me. I stopped using all street gear around two years ago after 25 years of abuse. It's been proper hard work but these days, and I surprise myself saying this, I don't even think about scoring. My life got pretty horrendous because of my habits (usual suspects=white, brown, benzos, and booze) and I was homeless when I decided to call it a day this time. I have tried a few times since my son was born back in 2000, including doing 2 rehabs, but the bottom line was I wasn't ready to stop. I didn't want to quit, so it was never gonna happen. Things had to get pretty grim for my eyes to open. It ain't gone bad so far, there is hope, I'm proof, and I am confident that I can get off the Bup this time if I take it slow. I managed to get housed (7 year wait) and am now down to 4mg of Sub a day-I was on 12mg when I switched from the Methadone. It was all looking good yeah!

However; a few months back I started getting really nauseas and was having trouble holding my food down. All of the weight I had regained started dropping off me. Nightmare. I was proud of how healthy I had become. This is still going on. I only discovered last week that my cups of tea (I love the stuff) were causing these symptoms. I have been to my doctors and had treatment for IBS, which didn't work, constipation, I wasn't/am not, acid-reflux, don't get it... but my doctors are right suspect that I am after benzos (I don't blame them as I have had them under siege in the past), and my CDAT who prescribe the Subs don't liase with them (my GPs surgery), so my clean swabs mean nothing and the GPs just want me out of the door! So, stopping drinking cups of tea or coffee seems to be working. The nausea and vomitting have ceased. It's good but I am gutted. I can't have a cup of tea! I am thinking that I have developed Lactose Intolerance, which is common amongst men my age (39) apparently?

It's driving me mad. I can't have a cup of tea or coffee! If I am lactose intolerant, could this be down to all of the years on Buprenorphine? I know that the substance acts as an appetizing depressant in some people because it did mine when I was on higher doses and not living so healthily. After I dropped to 6mg my appetite reached levels previously unknown to me and I was starting to feel like a normal bloke, until all of this guts ache business struck! If anyone can advise me on Lactose Intolerance and/or a good, cheap, healthy diet for addicts in my boat, trying to get clean, I will be really really thankful. I know for sure that I will have a much easier rattle if I am eating well, etc etc, when I do the final reduce. I may be nearly 40 but have no idea about healthy eating, for obvious reasons. Eating used to be a chore to me but those months before the bad guts struck got me well into looking after myself like that. I feel like I will be good if I stay off the cups of tea and coffee but am worried about what I can or can't eat?

Please accept my apologies for writing such a big post. I will keep them short in future. If you have read all this way down, thanks a lot for doing so yeah. If anyone can help, it will be a good bonus and I will always try to help out back if I can!

peace and love

UKBlaza

Reputation Comments on this post:

25 years, can't imagine how tough that is

[dyingtomorrow]

Just want to say ... wow, in the good way. Beating it after 25 years. Congrats man.

First off, have you tried coffee or tea without the dairy? This will immediately tell you whether it is the lactose, or whether it's something else, like maybe a problem with caffeine.

If it is the lactose, you can try soy milk and other lactose-intolerant dairy products (they sell them at most grocers, at least in the states). Normally I'd say soy milk tastes like shit, but if you mixed it in with tea/coffee and sugar you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Also, SWIM doesn't know if this is related, but once SWIM found this one dealer who sold "raw." SWIM used to cop ounces of raw and had a mean raw habit for a while, but every time he shot this specific stuff he would get extremely nauseous for around 6 hours, and extremely tired (beyond what normal dope does). Every time. SWIM later found out it was cut with lactose, instead of Dormins which is the usual around here, and every time SWIM has ever booted lactose-cut shit it would make him very sick (even tho the dope high made him not care at all). Dunno, maybe there's some connection.

[UKBlaza]

Hello there 'dyingtomorrow', many thanks for reading my post and for those words of encouragement!

LOLOL, I ain't gonna say SWIM has beat it all yet but SWIM is well on the way. And 25 years is a long party for sure so SWIM hasn't found it easy all the time. It does really really help when it gets to the stage of really wanting the other life though! God knows how many times SWIM tried and relapsed before m8!

OK, I hear you about the Sherlock Homes with the tea and coffee. I have been worried about trying them without the milk just in case the caffeine is to blame as well. I do like a wake up shot of the hard stuff in the morning though so I am gonna try the black coffee later and see what happens? I reckon it must be the milk though and where I haven't been ill since I stopped drinking them, I feel better able to experiment and try to fathom out what I can and can't eat or drink. LOL, I share your feelings around the Soya milk though so I will have to check out those lactose free products you mentioned. I had no idea they sold stuff like that? I just hope it isn't too expensive-but I am in the UK so it will probably be taxed to high heaven: those robbing bankers who run the economy need bailing out every now and then by folks like us eh!!

That stuff about the street gear and your mate is just the kind of thing I have been worried about. I am being straight in that SWIM hasn't used anything other than a bona-fide, 100% legal in the UK prescription for 2 years, but before that, god only knows what SWIM has been sold? It is a lottery for sure. I very much doubt that they only cut gear with that in the USA, it's the same in all of these so called 'developed nations', me thinks!

They used to bang on and on about consequences in rehab-LOL, I wonder why! Hopefully SWIM hasn't done too much damage eh? At the end of the day, I don't know any old folks who lived the kind of life SWIM did cos they all died using.

All I have left now is my health so I reckon that I need to start looking after it! If I can live to tell the tale, I will be happy!

Cheers again for taking the time to read and reply yeah! It is a great help!

peace and love

UKBlaza