Finding My Suboxone Clinic Near Me

Over ten years ago, I searched for a Suboxone clinic near me. I knew nothing about Suboxone, buprenorphine, naloxone, medication-assisted treatment, or much else about outpatient addiction treatment. All I knew was that I needed a solution to put an end to my opioid use disorder.

Suboxone Clinics Were Sparse in 2014

At the time, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) using Suboxone was difficult to find using a Google search, let alone a telemedicine medication-assisted treatment (TeleMAT) program using Suboxone. Methadone treatment centers were readily available in Nashville, TN, but not Suboxone clinics. I was afraid of Suboxone at the time. Knowing nothing about it, I thought it was pretty much the same as methadone. Luckily, people I met while I was in inpatient treatment shared the differences between Suboxone and methadone with me, and Suboxone seemed like the better choice for me.

I was suffering horrible opioid withdrawal symptoms due to being down to my last few oxy’s. I had returned to my pain management doctor just two weeks ago and had already burned through a month’s worth of oxycodone in just two weeks. My skin was crawling, my body twitching, and the hair on my arms standing on end. I wanted more pain pills so badly I could hardly stand it. My body was begging for relief from withdrawal, and I would have taken anything to get rid of it.

Inpatient Drug Treatment Didn’t Work for Me

Six weeks prior, I completed a two-week stint at Cumberland Heights Recovery Center in Nashville, TN. I left while amid withdrawals and suffered thirteen days and nights of withdrawal in my home following treatment. It was not the plan I had in mind when I checked myself in.

Since being released, I had already relapsed five times. Talk about feeling like a failure with no options left. It seemed there was no solution for me.

A friend (who used to give me pills) suggested I search for a Suboxone clinic near me. Desperate to find a solution, I began my search for a Suboxone clinic near me. The search was, without a doubt, the hard part, but that was a sign of the times more than anything.

Outpatient addiction treatment in 2014 was not as readily available as it is today. After doing my Google search for a Suboxone clinic near me the tenth time and calling every doctor I could find, I was deflated. Many of them had a two-week waiting time for a first appointment. 

Some of the doctors I called were physicians who knew nothing about Suboxone or buprenorphine. A nurse practitioner who answered one of my calls got angry with me for even asking if their office prescribed Suboxone. 

She accused me of “doctor shopping.” When I explained to her I was not looking for pain pills and was seeking a Suboxone doctor to relieve myself from my thirteen-year addiction to prescription medications, she told me Suboxone was no different than the pills I was used to taking, and that misuse of Suboxone was just as common as with pain pills.

Thankfully, She Was Misinformed About Suboxone

The NP I spoke with was completely misinformed. She had no clue about the many benefits Suboxone provides in addition to the chemical makeup that makes Suboxone nearly impossible to misuse. As it turns out, many people inside and outside of the medical field lack proper education regarding addiction and addiction medicine and unknowingly spread misinformation to people who could benefit from Suboxone treatment.

I had another person tell me I was only seeking to get high from taking Suboxone, which is not only untrue but also highly unlikely. I wasn’t looking to take Suboxone hoping for euphoric effects, I was looking for relief from painful opioid withdrawals.

The Stigma Surrounding Suboxone has Changed, Thank Goodness

Thankfully, the stigma surrounding Suboxone has changed a lot in the last ten years. I have had nurses, NPs and doctors congratulate me on my recovery. One NP asked me for advice when the doctor left the room after sharing that her husband was struggling with opioid addiction. I am open and honest about my recovery and use of Suboxone anytime it makes sense or is medically-necessary. Suboxone saved my life, so I’m willing to share my story with anyone who needs or wants to know about it.

Not knowing what to look for using a Google search, I failed to find a Suboxone clinic near me that could get me in quickly. I went to the Suboxone.com website and used their provider search. There were a lot of results, but many didn’t bother to answer their phone. I went back to Google the next day, searched for a Suboxone clinic near me and found my solution. A Suboxone clinic just five miles from my home had just opened. I called, set my appointment, and showed up the next day at 9:00. 

Despite what I would call a “not-so-great Suboxone clinic near me experience,” I did start MAT treatment using Suboxone that day and have been clean and sober ever since. Not even one slip. Keep in mind that I was willing to do anything necessary to change my life and be free from this awful narcotic addiction. The same addiction that had taken my oldest brother’s life just nine years prior. Learn more about my first Suboxone clinic experience by reading this article: Finding the Right Suboxone Doctor Near Me

Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me When I Started Addiction Treatment

I’ve spent the last seven years working in addiction treatment and helping thousands of people just like myself overcome opioid addiction. I’ve learned a lot this time, and I still have much more to learn.

At the beginning of my outpatient addiction treatment, I truly wished someone had sat me down and told me what had happened to me (in me?) as a result of being addicted to opioids for so many years. I would like to have known what I had done to myself and where I was currently, and also the many things that would happen over the next several months and years.

Hopefully, the list below will help someone else who’s starting recovery.

• You are Not Yourself; You are Your Drugs
  After thirteen years of daily prescription pain pill abuse, the opioid receptors in my brain got very accustomed to having opioids attached to them. They provided me with constant euphoria, pain relief, lack of emotion, a lack of “want to,” and a general disconnection from life. Now that I was getting clean, it would take nearly a year for my body chemistry to reset and for me to become me again. Until now, drugs made most of the choices in my life, and they were pretty bad choices.

• You Don’t Remember Because You Were on Drugs
  If someone had asked me, “Do you remember everything from the last thirteen years, I could have passed a lie detector test when saying “yes.” It wasn’t until almost twelve months after getting clean that I started to remember things. Embarrassing things. Things I had done or said to my friends and family that, at the time, felt like completely normal things to do. Some of them still make me cringe. I didn’t ever remember doing a search for a Suboxone clinic near me until almost eight months later because I was doped up when I did it.
  Even after ten years of being clean, I still have memories pop up that often require me to give someone an apology. The truth is, I remembered very little from those many years of doing drugs but didn’t know it until my brain started to heal.

• Everyone Knew I was Doing Drugs
  I took prescription pain pills every single day for a very long time. I thought I was “high functioning” and no one could see my drug problem. I was wrong. With very few exceptions, everyone who knew me during my drug use knew I was struggling with something. Not everyone knew it was a drug problem, but they knew something was “off.”

• The More You Share, the Better You Feel
  When I first got clean, I wasn’t too keen on sharing my story with the world. I wanted to hide it to avoid feeling shame and guilt. Thankfully, the friends I met at my local 12-step meeting encouraged me to do the opposite. They told me to share it with anyone who knew me and with strangers. They also told me I would be surprised at what happens when you do this. Well, they were right.
  I have shared my experience, strength, and hope with many strangers, only to find out they are in recovery, too. Many times my sharing has caused a stranger to open up with me and ask for help. I can’t begin to tell you how good it feels when you help someone else with their addiction. 

• Your Life Will Change Over the Next Many Years
  I was in a dire financial crisis when I got clean. Taking prescription pain pills was how I sought relief from life’s pressures. Pain pills were my escape hatch from dealing with life. I was ecstatic when I got clean, but still very concerned about the rest of my life, especially around money. I can’t tell you how or why this happens, but me and everyone I’ve met in recovery who has stayed the course has had miracles happen on every front. The people in your life will change. Money will become something you manage, vs. it managing you. Life will still happen to you, but it will become manageable. I still can’t believe all that has happened since doing that very first search for a Suboxone clinic near me.

• Don’t Make Any Big Changes or Decisions for at Least a Year
  It takes time for your body chemistry to reset and become normal again. The first year of sobriety should be focused on sobriety, work, and family. Keep it simple. I’ve watched people in their first year of sobriety get married, get divorced, buy a home, change careers, adopt children, and much, much more. It usually doesn’t end well.

Not only are you “not yourself” yet, but you’re also not the person you’re going to become being drug-free. This is an exciting time when many people start to realize who they really are for the very first time in their lives. It’s during this time that you start thinking about the life you really want vs. the life you were forced to live when addicted to opioids. Give yourself a year without making big decisions or making big changes. You’ll be glad you did.

Life Gets Good When You’re Clean. Find Your Suboxone Clinic Near Me Today

As of this writing, it’s been ten years, nine months, and six days since I searched for a Suboxone clinic near me. My whole life has changed as a result of that search. Life has still happened, and not all of it has been easy. But, without doing drugs, I can manage my life instead of ignoring it and hoping my problems will simply go away.

My life is a fairytale compared to what it was before I got clean. If you’re addicted, please ask for help. The most wonderful life is waiting ahead for you. You just need a little help, just like I did.