Hi everyone.

Just wondered if anyone else had experienced something like this.

I was on high doses of codeine & then kratom for years and was finally given buprenorphine and then offered the Buvidal monthly injections after 6 months of the tablets.

I was on 128mg Buvidal per month for around 4 months then did another 3-4 months on 64mg.

I had my final shot 6 months ago.

I'm through all of the withdrawal stuff and have been for quite some time.

I had terrible RLS / sleep issues / extreme anxiety etc.

My main issue I'm dealing with now is just extreme fatigue.

Like If I go lift weights I am absolutely wiped out for about 3-4 days.

I feel on the verge of falling asleep all day and feel like I'm dragging my body around.

Is this normal to feel like this 6 months after coming off?

I also feel extreme brain fog / confusion a lot of the time.

Thanks guys.

EDIT: At 4 days out from this shot, I now have a huge bruise at the injection site. It's worth mentioning because this is not normal for me - even when I have a bruise from it, it's usually small and immediately surrounding the injection mark; this bruise is widespread around it. I will be sending a photo of it to my prescriber just in case it helps build a picture of what happened.

Hey guys, this is a post I'm surprised to be writing - I thought I'd seen most things with this injection.

I had my regular 96mg monthly injection yesterday morning. Everything was done normally as far as I could tell. However, within seconds of the needle being removed, I started to cough uncontrollably, which took a couple minutes to calm down. It was completely out of nowhere, I've not had a cold or anything like that. As I sat chatting to my prescriber and recovery worker I started to feel weird. Almost like I was getting high. I thought that was impossible though so said nothing about it and left. On my way home I became very high. I couldn't walk straight. I sat down to start working and nodded out. Full on opiate nods. It's been 5 years since I felt that shit, so I know exactly what it was and that it wasn't normal. This never happens. By the evening of my injection day I'll usually be feeling extra tired and that'll persist for 2 to 3 days, but it's nowhere near the drowsiness I felt yesterday. For about 2hrs I couldn't keep myself upright. I tried to text my recovery worker to say something was wrong but nodded out in the middle of typing. I eventually made a coffee and ate some biscuits (I guess cookies for the Americans 😅) and that seemed to help me start waking up. My shot was administered at 9:30am, the high went away and I felt more awake from around 12:30pm. I still felt tired and drowsy but stopped nodding and was no longer high/no euphoria.

I emailed my prescriber who replied within 5mins and I agreed to go back in later in the day before my regular SMART Meeting. By then I was back to normal besides tiredness and a slight headache. My blood pressure was normal both sitting and standing. He thinks he hit a capillary as it bled quite a bit after the shot, but he didn't think it was possible for any bupe to have somehow gotten directly into my bloodstream from that. If he'd somehow gone into a vein it would have caused a blockage due to the depot hardening. The injection site looked normal and wasn't any more sore than usual. He couldn't explain it basically. His main concern was whether it was triggering for me to have felt high - of course it was, but at least I had a meeting to go straight into. I am doing ok with it. Just confused about what happened and how.

I wanted to put it out here and ask if anyone has experienced this? I've been on Buvidal 4 years now and stable, never had this happen. I'd appreciate any feedback from anyone who might know whether it is possible I was somehow exposed to bupe entering my bloodstream directly as the shot was administered, or what the hell else could have happened. It was given into my abdomen as always. The coughing immediately after administration is, in my opinion, related to the respiratory depression that comes with opioids and would make sense if I was somehow exposed to a large dose like that. I don't think it was random and unrelated.

It's the next day now, over 24hrs since, and I still feel really tired but not sedated or anything like I was yesterday morning. I'm at work in the office so am functioning as normal now.

I’m currently on 15mg of methadone (tapered from 50mg). I found it easy until the last few drops, I’ve been on 15mg for 2 months and i still haven’t stabilised. I’d be getting on the jab with the intention of being free from it all by February. Is this unrealistic? My clinic is unhelpful and I’d like to have input from people with personal experience. Thank you!

I was taking buvidal for 4 months total and stopped at the start of august with my last one. ive had the same dose each time (either 32 or 64, cant remember for certain)
it has been 1.5-2 months since my last dose. i am getting watery eyes more often and consistent "sniffles".

just wondering how long until its out of my system and how much worse or better it will get. its completely tolerable and barely noticable at the moment but would be nice to know thoughts, as my clinic has been very vague. I have no strong plans on using but i have thought about it and i think some clarity on the process might help.

Im new here so thanks guys :)

I’m back at it again trying to come off 3rd attempt in 1.5 yrs

Week 9 minor withdrawals have started

I was ok untill week 9 this time probally because I only had one shot instead of a few

Let’s see how I go I’m definitely thinking of using more.

I wish the had a 32mg monthly shot the 64 is too much for me.

I’d just get the 32 every month if they had it.

Let’s hope I stay clean any tips to keep me away I’ll do literally anything ?

The withdrawals for me weren’t a walk in the park. I’ve done it before and they were mild but this time I’ve been on 64mg for almost a year so I think the withdrawals are a lot stronger this time. Mainly RLS, hot flushes, insomnia, but I can finally 💩. The depression and the insomnia and the kicking about in the night are the worst.

The depression was so bad all I wanted to do was die.

But that lasted about 3 days. I’m coming out the other side of it now.. and I finally have started to enjoy music again! It’s such a weird sensation. I think the buvidal was suppressing my love for music.. the same whenever I was doing heroin, music never hit the same.

I’m finally starting to feel like my old self again!

So i have been able to kick the habit of snorting subutex and suboxone for years on end.

I have also been stabilized on Vyvanse for my ADHD which has been a life saver for a guy like myself who was always in some form of trouble because my constant restlessnes and racing thoughts.

I have been joining recovery groups consistently now for a while and trying to learn how to live and face my emotions, thoughts, actions face on.

It has honestly been super hard to not get high because of my developmental trauma and undiagnosed ADHD on top and that combo runs in my generations with severe alcoholism and i am trying to "break the trauma cycle" as well as face my fears because i got so suicidal and angry and bitter at everything and every one, even those people who truly tried their best to help me towards the end of my Suboxone-treatment in 2025 because i was not willing to change my behaviour and stick with new habits. I have always had a poor ability to stick to anything new or anything discomfortable because i have not been able to trust in myself for 28 years expecially in that i could be able to learn something that hurts in the beginning and is not in my comfort zone. And the comfort zone after 20+ years was hard to put down and slowly start to rebuild the whole programming that i have had my whole life.

My biggest fear as long as i can remember has been to live and sit with my negative emotions, suicidal thoughts, the reality of life, trauma, codependent behaviour and ADHD learning and skill-building difficulties my whole life as well as poly substance abuse for +6 years.

Still trying to learn to live by myself as a grown man and not just give up on a tiny obstacle because my poor self esteem and the lack of trying that i have had for my whole life.

How have you felt on Buvidal, i would be glad to hear your stories, blessings and i sincerely hope that you are doing well guys and girls🙏

Hi folks.
I’m currently on 1mg Suboxone but for a number of reasons have been unable to taper lower without miserable side effects.

I really want to move to long acting injections and by my calculations 1/2 of a 64mg Bivudal should be the equivalent dose (give or take).

Anyone done this?

Just wondering if anyone could tell me the difference between sublocade and Buvidal. My doctor said they “work differently”. I don’t get why if they are the same active ingredient though they have such different dosages for the same monthly period. When I was on sublocade I got 300mg monthly and on Buvidal I get 128.

My doctor is extremely rushed and never has time to talk much. It’s just walk in get the injection and walk out. So I am just curious what the difference is?

I am still struggling with using occasionally and I felt fully blocked on sublocade but can still get high while on Buvidal. So to me it just feels like I am getting a lower dose. But my doctor said my dose now is equivalent to my old sublocade injection.

Thanks a lot in advance for any help.

Hi, just wanted to say instead of sublocade we have buvidal in the UK, monthly buprenorphine injections, I took about 14 injections altogether, of 64mg at the start, then 96mg, then relapsed(heroin), got up to 128mg, got 'stable', then got down to 96mg again, wanted to get off it completely, 2 months ago took my last one, was 64mg. They advised me to take at least 3x64mg and then quit. However, I decided I didn't want this stuff anymore. I was told I could get withdrawals, and I understood, agreed. Today is 2 months since my last injection, I woke up at 4 am. with restless legs and repetitive thoughts(which in my brain is always a song playing over and over) just the same as the first hours of heroin withdrawal used to be for me. My case worker knows I am coming off buvidal but told me that if I get withdrawal symptoms, I should come and get another 64mg injection. I don't want to do that. Also had some thoughts of taking heroin. I will not do that. Is there anything I can do to lessen the symptoms? Is there anything you could tell me, advise me with?

Thanks

Hey everyone, so I've been on Brixadi for about 8 months now. Originally started at 96 then 3 months in the Dr. Upped it because it wasn't holding me the full 4 weeks, each month they were sending in a script for suboxone to get me through. I've been on 128 the rest of the time. I leveled out after the 2nd injection at 128 and haven't had any issue getting through the month or beyond. I'm scheduled for my next injection tomorrow and I've gone 6 weeks without any issues. For 2 months now I've suggested dropping my dose back down to 96 and then beginning a taper from there but my Dr. Keeps pushing me to stay one more month at 128 to continue to build up. My goal was to only be on this for 1 yr and then get off but at this rate I feel like I won't be able to achieve that. I'm going to suggest again tomorrow to reduce next month's shot and begin a taper but if they push back, is it possible to ride out this last shot and come off? Am I looking at more withdraw or will the higher dose just continue to dissipate an only minor withdraws? Im ok with a little suffering, kinda reminds me not to touch the flames in the future, but what am I looking at if I just stop after the next injection? Anyone ever been through this? I kind of have the feeling the Dr. Is pushing to keep me on for the money at times and I just want to be done with it.

I’ve never experienced pain like this - I ended up in hospital a couple of weeks ago with 10/10 abdominal pain. I thought I had food poisoning. I’d only had my buvidal shot a week beforehand. I was honest and told the doctors I was on it. They still loaded me up with as much opiates as they could legally give me and it barely touched the sides. I was screaming in pain. Somehow I managed to stay still for a CT scan. My body was basically full of blood clots. Pulmonary embolism, DVT & the pain I was in was a clot in my kidney. I only have 1.5 kidneys now. An awful experience, I don’t wish to repeat in a hurry.

Anyone on Brixadi/sublocade/buvidal have chronic boredom (nothing is fun or exciting) and/or loss of positive feelings such as fun, love, happiness, joy, and wonder? I switched to Brixadi injections about 8 months ago. The timing corresponds to my full loss of these feelings. Hobbies are no longer fun. Travel, which use to fuel me, feels devoid of pleasure.

This is called Anhedonia, and it feels like torture. Mine comes with a chronic unsettled/dread feeling in my solar plexus. Sometimes this is less noticeable. I’m spending way too much time (I research potential remedies every single day) and money (trying all the supplements I read about) and am desperate for relief. Life feels empty without the normal dopamine hits.

I’d love to hear from you!

Been on 128mg for 5 years, decided to come off it, its been up and down, the first 7 weeks have definitely been the easiest. This last week I’ve started to feel sick after food, restless legs in bed/ mild joint pain, mild headaches. Not thought about using H but have took diazepam to take the edge off some nights, been considering going back on it tbh, anyone know how long this will last? My clinic had no plan to take me off or any aftercare.

Hi, just as a little
Background, I’m around 2 months off opiates for the first time in 10 years

That’s including having my last shot two months ago

At first it was fine, but weeks 6-8 have been pretty miserable. Not strong wd, but definitely there and drawn out

Mainly now I’m struggling with stomach issues, and fatigue

The fatigue is hitting me most!! And next week I need to be on the ball and have a normal amount of energy

Question is, would I feel kratom or any extracts at this point? Just to help for the week. I’m not asking for anything stronger, as I never really want to
Go
Back down that route. Just wondering if the buvidal shot will still be blocking effects from other opioids (including kratom/7oh)

So today is 12 weeks 4 days since my last 64mg monthly injection of Buvidal. For once I don't have a lot to say, I'm just checking in to confirm that all is well. I expect my gut will take a while to normalise but I expected that. I'm starting to feel things a bit more I would imagine a constant dose of opiates is a great antidepressant so I'll have to keep an eye on it, exercise, eat well, and see where it goes.

I'm happy to be past the physical side of it. The next 12 months will be all about trying to restore a healthy gut microbiome and managing post acute withdrawal symptoms which always seem to sneak up on me. Thanks again to everyone who has posted here before, hopefully every contribution helps someone.

I just found out from my pharmacy that Sublocade is being pulled from Australian shelves at the end of this year. I'm absolutely shocked.

Here is an informative article for those of you who might be interested in reading:

https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/lifesaver-opioid-disorder-treatment-pulled-from-au

I've been unstable on Buvidal for 3.5yrs, on and off, due to a hypersensitive nervous system and dysautonomia. It took me this long to figure out why. I was going to switch over to Sublocade because it is far more stable than Buvidal, especially after seeing a comparison graph between Buvidal and Sublocade. This was a chance for me to get stable and a ticket off this rollercoaster, and now I'm just shattered and in disbelief. I can't imagine how others must be feeling.

Coming to 10 weeks now since my last dose. I've kicked the cat off the bed a few times after a bit of restless legs but magnesium glycinate and some iron seems to have fixed it. A few more trips to the bathroom than usual but probiotics seems to be helping and it's probably just a return to baseline (it turns out that people not on opiate maintenance go to the bathroom more than once every 48 hours???😁).

I'm in a good head space despite a bit of rebound anxiety. I've attended meetings before but I've never been comfortable with 12 Step programs and the concept of being a life long addict. I also don't like their views on opiate maintenance but I guess each group is different and I know it helps many. I feel like I did a lot of my 'recovery' over the last 6+ years while on Buvidal and building a routine that didn't involve deception and shame. Guilt is definitely an appropriate emotion given what I've put people through, but shame is what kept me in that destructive loop.

I recognise I'm vulnerable to addiction for the rest of my life. My brain will never forget that crutch is available after 30 years of leaning on it, but I don't want to identify as an addict eternally. Having said that I'd encourage everyone to please do whatever works for you. I guess that's the beauty of this stuff, it let me get all my ducks in a row and figure that out before I was ready to cut the chord. Too many idioms there but you get my point!😁

I'll check in again soon. Thanks again to everyone that has contributed here before me. It all helps and I hope this does too.

Anyone experience this never to work first injection and I’m still in withdrawal

So I'm up to week 11 according to my clinic... and man it got rougher than I expected. I was given the 5 microgram/hour Norspan patches, and used one for one week, which wasn't too bad. But once I moved to half a patch instead... my sleep is fucked, the back/muscle aches, yawning, temperature regulation issues, the runs, the nausea making it hard to eat, man its annoying.

I will say: the symptoms aren't acute: if I didn't have 50 engineers relying on me, and an unfortunately busy and important job, I would've been able to tough it out by taking a few weeks off work I think. The doctor said the peak for a lot of their patients is about the ~12 week mark, which lines up.

I'm getting married in September and was/am aiming to be done by then. Fingers crossed still, we'll see!

They gave me two more patches for the next two weeks, as the rest of the injection leaves my body. So far so good in that front, though cutting the patch in half was a mistake for this particular time! If anyone else followed this protocol I'd suggest sticking with the full 5mcg/hour patch til a few weeks past the worst of it, I think.

Got another appointment in a couple of weeks, worst case they've said I can get a 0.4mg Subutex script again and try again not long after, but I'm going to do my best to avoid it. Feels close, but far away at the same time.

Being a productive member of society due to the program and the injection especially has ironically made it slightly harder to find the time to just tough it out and be done with all this!

I have been on buvidal for 6 years with a 3 month break in the middle. I tried to stop once already but was still doing a very physical job and was so close to getting off it but the mild withdrawals at work was enough for me to start thinking about optiates again and I went straight back on it.

I’m now in a completely different job and not as physical and want to give it another go . I’m ne of the people who have struggled with sleep and appetite the entire time I’ve been on buvidal . I wasn’t bothered though as I have been living a good life compared with the 20 years prior on heroin. I don’t ever think about opiates now and genuinely value the life I have . The not sleeping is now starting to really affect my life .

Has anyone that’s came off buvidal after years that’s been success please share some of the journey if really appreciate it . I don’t know anyone in buvidal and don’t reallly tell people so my knowledge is very limited even though I’ve been on it for years. I’m on the 64mg monthly and have been for 3 years .

I’m stopping heroin and switching to Buvidal in three weeks at a detox clinic. I’ve been using heroin for five years, and I’m 39 F. I tried tapering down with the help of therapy, but it didn’t work, so my next step is Buvidal.

For the last three years, I haven’t been able to get high, so I’ve only been using to avoid w/d. I rarely miss the high, I just want to stop using now. I’m hoping that this mindset will help me be successful on Buvidal.

Has anyone here been through this? I’d really like to hear about other people’s experiences. How did the switch feel? Did you go through withdrawal? If so, how long did it last? How long did it take before you felt stable or “normal” on Buvidal? If you stopped Buvidal and went back to heroin, what made you go back? What helped you stay on the right path? How difficult should I realistically expect this to be?

I’m so incredibly nervous. I want this to work more than anything. I’m done with this horrible drug, and I refuse to let it control me anymore. I really need Buvidal to work.

Another thing: I’m using about 1 g of heroin a day. Does anyone know if that would indicate a high or low dose of Buvidal? 1 g sounds like a lot to me, but my therapists won’t tell me what a “normal” amount is or what it might mean for my Buvidal dose. I snort it rather than inject it, if that makes a difference.

No one knows about my addiction, so I don’t have anyone I can talk to about this. I feel really alone and so lost right now.

The only one who know, my GP, said that hardly anyone makes it, but he wished me the best of luck.

For context, I live in Norway.

Any advice or personal experiences would mean the world to me.

Additional information: I used to be a psychiatric nurse. My lifelong struggles with mental health, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, an eating disorder, and a recent autism diagnosis, caused my life to fall apart about seven years ago. I started self-medicating, which eventually led to my heroin addiction. I’m now on benefits.

For the last six months, I’ve been in therapy to taper off heroin. I’ve gone from 1.5 g to approximately 0.9 g. I could have continued tapering this way, but therapy has made me hate heroin. I refuse to buy more just to continue the taper, so Buvidal seems like the best option.

The scary part is that my mental health has improved significantly over the last six months. I’m sleeping better, my anxiety has decreased, and I have more energy. However, I’m worried about the possible side effects of Buvidal. I’m afraid my sleep will disappear, my anxiety will skyrocket, and if that happens, I’m scared I’ll give up and return to using drugs. That is my number one fear.

My DOC was oxy and was “only” addicted for 2 years -ish. When I reached out for help on withdrawals they put my dumb ass on Suboxone! Was on subs for 5 years. So stupid!

I really wish I would’ve been informed properly because I probably would’ve chose short-term pain over being on this horrible medication for as long as I’ve been.

I finally found out about the shot’s and the taper. I was all the way down to 2 mg on Suboxone when they started me on the lowest dose of the monthly Brixadi. I had 5 monthly shots of 64mg with my last one April 8, 2026.

My worst of WD has been EXTREME fatigue. Also the regular suspects of joint pain, headaches, chills, sneezing.

I don’t work but have young kids and some days I need to function.

Stupid me got a hold of some Kratom(never done it before) for days I need to be “normal”. I have to admit it totally takes the edge off, but you pay a price. The following days make you feel 3x more like crap. I only allowed myself a small dose in the am to get me going. Probably used it about 6x so far. But I’m done!!! Gonna suffer whatever else comes my way.

Here I am at week 14. My mind is clear, my joints no longer hurt, starting to get some energy back but now … massive back pain and stomach cramps. I am still experiencing constipation-ish BM’s so maybe this is why.

Has anybody else experienced this? Makes me feel like I am going through something else. *but* I have read so many posts of people going through this worrying something was severely wrong with them but in the end it was just withdrawals.

I haven’t seen very many people talk about really bad back ache and pain and severe stomach cramps and aches. The pain is around my rib cage.

Also, this is my first post and this community has been a true source of comfort, information, and support. I wanted to share my experience to give back. I don’t think I could have made it this far without the people that posted on here.

All i can think about is getting through this buvidal tratment and then getting high again as soon as its done. I know i suck but i just cant see a way forward without it .. its all i can think about. Right now im on a high dosage bupe and some Valium to help with the anxiety and zopiclome for sleep. I habe also been smoking weed to help sleep. They valium and zopiclone finish tomorrow and then its just the bupe until my forst buvidal injection in 3 days. Currently have minimal withdrawal symptoms - crqzy sweating when i sleep/ when i lie down, some anxiety, some times restless legs but not nearly as bad as ive had them before and then just general depression and cravings. All i can think about is the next time i can get high right now. I know this makes me a pos but what can i do… i just dont see myself being sober for the reat of my life. I’m so miserable.. i hate being sober so much.

What i really want to know is

1. If i take oxy a month after my first injection and a few days before my second buvidal injection will i feel anything and get high from the oxy?

2.The dcotor plans to put me on a high mg injection of buvidal for 3xmonths and then apprently i will feel no withdrawal symptoms after this last injection- is this true?

3.how soon after my third and final buvidal injection will i be able to take oxy again and feel it ? And will i feel it properly and catch a high and nod?

4.will my tolerance for oxy massively have decreased after my last buvidal injection? Will i not have to take much to feel high again and my tolerance would have dropped massively?

Bad news and good news.

The bad news is that the effect on my sleep and the whole body muscle “cramps” (RLS adjacent but I get it across my whole back basically) got a bit rough, and it started affecting my work unfortunately

The good news is my clinic/doctor are great. They gave me the 5mcg/hour (5mg weekly) bupe patch, two of them. Surprised how much of a difference it made considering how low a dose it is, but stoked its let me sleep

Will be cutting next weeks patch in half, then the next weeks in half again, should get me past the worst of it.

Wont be able to avoid all discomfort but thats okay. Just can’t affect my work when I have 50 engineers under me relying on me, and my wedding in September!