The quest begins

[BigLou]

okay guys, i have to save up $1000 for my first sub app. which is kind of annoying because if i would drive 100 miles farther my first app would only be 165 with insurance but ah well. i dont want to be driving 200 miles a day for 3 days in a row! so anyways im gonna start saving half of my paycheck, until i have enough (1000) anyone else have any suggestions on how to get it? lol

[Thebane]

Damn, I don't know a lot about bupe/insurance etc., but wouldn't it be cheaper to get on some sort of insurance? If it would pay for the bupe, I think the better ones do. Of course you'd have an addiction track record after that, so maybe it would be better just to pay if you can, but I know I'd never be able to afford that without insurance.

Edit: Also, I assume you're currently using until you can get on the bupe. I'd taper as best you can, both to save money and minimize the amount of bupe you need to go on. And read up on bupe a lot if you haven't already. I won't say don't do it because obviously it's the best thing for some people, I even thought about going on it for a while. But it will be a bitch to get off of if you stay on it long-term.

[sexualhealing]

i would hunt around for a few other docs and check prices....

i dont use my insurance for the above stated reason of being labeld and addict my whole life, but you are paying WAY more than i ever had to...even @ induction....

my appts are 75 each w/o insurance and my script is like 275ish for 50 8mgs....

unless they are including an assload of pills in that price i cant see it worth it at all....hell it would be cheaper to drive the 200 miles and crash in a hotel for the night.....

chances are you may be able to even skip one of the 1st visits if you already got yourself on bupe as i did before going in.....and my drive is like 1 hour away, so i told the doc this, and he didnt make me come back until a month later after my 1st appointment and now he gives me 3 months at a time to save me the drive/money....

a good doc should be able to work with your situation and def be cheaper than a grand.... what a fuckin racket these guys have!

[BigLou]

i have hunted around and this is my last option, i do have good insurance but the place doesnt except it,after the 1000 its only 150 every app after that and im pretty sure i could use my insurance to fill the scripts

[clinton]

anything you can sell on ebay?

[BigLou]

i have an epiphone acoustic guitar i've only played like twice. it would be a good canidate to put up. thanks for the ideas

[SpecialGuy69]

Realize that if a sub doc is greedy enough to charge a grand for inductions, they're not likely to be a very compassionate doc, and therefore not worth the money.

There are other sub docs not listed in naabt or suboxone.com but I don't really know how to find them. Maybe look up addiction treatment or something like that in the yellow pages. Many subutex docs choose not to be listed at naabt.

If you end up going to this doc, PLEASE be sure to tell him/her exactly what you had to do to raise the $$$ to pay for it. Hopefully this doc will realize how incredibly fucked they are being.

Also, call your insurance company about the sub prescriptions. Some are very picky cause the meds are expensive. You may need the doctor to write "for chronic pain" or "for depression" on the RX to get it approved. Fortunately my sub doc was totally cool with that. He's not your average doc though.

[BigLou]

wow, so typical of the insurance companies, doing anything to save a buck, thanks for the useful information ao

[jdub]

My bupe is covered by insurance. I would definitely prefer not to have it on my record, but I was in a bind and it was either this or being dope-sick and losing my job. Like any good addict I think for the short-term. :rolleyes:

[Opiyum]

If you gave me a better idea of where exactly you live in PA (not exactly of course) I could help you out with a much cheaper alternative. 1000$ is obscene.

[jdub]

I also wanted to say.. my induction was $400 and $200 for each monthly appt. Pretty steep, but its San Francisco and everything is too damn expensive. The first place I called wanted $2500 for the first appt. :mad:

[BigLou]

my area code is 15853, (the closest one, 30 mi, Doctor petra has like a one year waiting list) but trust me the one ive tried em all they but if you come up with anything under 100 miles
one way please let me know. thanks! also holy crap jdub i thought 1000 was the most ever for a first app. thats crazy!

[jdub]

That's what I said. I asked them how a junkie was supposed to come up with that much money and the first thing she says is, "well is your family well off?" All these fucking hipster kids in this city with their parents $. Want to kick their teeth in.

But then she started going on about the "comprehensive treatment" and marvelous success rates. Thanks but no thanks.

[SpecialGuy69]

That's what I said. I asked them how a junkie was supposed to come up with that much money and the first thing she says is, "well is your family well off?" All these fucking hipster kids in this city with their parents $. Want to kick their teeth in.

But then she started going on about the "comprehensive treatment" and marvelous success rates. Thanks but no thanks.Comprehensive treatment, my dick.

A good sub doc writes and doesn't talk.

[Hookahed]

Lou, check with the nearest MMT Clinic. A lot of them are offering sub now in addition to 'done. Call your County Health Department. Ask a local Doctor for a referral There are a lot more doctors and clinics offering Suboxone treatment than show on the naabt site.

[jonny-5]

Comprehensive treatment, my dick.

A good sub doc writes and doesn't talk.


exactly. thats why i love mine. she asks a few questions, then gives me my script and sends me on my way.

[jdub]

Comprehensive treatment, my dick.

A good sub doc writes and doesn't talk.

Well said. I forgot to post the clincher. If you miss a certain # of their mandated therapy sessions or relapse a certain # of times, they show you the door. Adios dinero! ("Goodbye $" for you unilingual opi's)

[jimmyfingers]

I used to live in Pa and ended up going to a sub doc that wasnt listed on that naap sub finder. I couldn't find any sub docs in that area that didn't have a waiting list or some unreasonable induction and office fees. I ended up driving about and hour to Jersey City for a while to see a sub doc. I told my family doctor about my problem and he said that he knew a doctor in town (his buddy) that was doing the suboxone thing. He got up and made the phone call right then and there and got me an appt. set up. I ended up going to him and got excellent treatment from him. I asked him why when I used the search his name didn't come up, he said that he didn't want his name on it. He didn't want to attract any riff raff coming to his office. He was a welll respected doctor throughout the town and treated a lot of elderly patients that had been going to him for years.

You might want to ask your family doc or any other doc that you have a decent rapport with if he has any "buddys" that are prescribing suboxone.

i dont know what part of pa you live in, but i used to live in the Poconos. My first sub doc was in Jersey City (about 1h drive) There are tons of sub doctors in Newark, Jersey City, and New York that are very reasonably priced. The place i went to in Jersey City was a shithole walk in clinic, no induction fee, and they accepted my insurance ($5 dollar copay and the doc saw me for 2 minutes and wrote the script. I only had to see him once a month. It is definalty worth the drive to eastern jersey and New York if you live on that side of the state in PA

[HMMM...]

I suggest going through the list and calling every sub doctor you can find. Ask them what they charge for their 1st appointment fee.
This is what I did and actually scored big time. The doc I found was semi retired and was into helping young adults with addiction problems. I would call him on his cell and meet up with him whenever I wanted. And get this...he didn't charge me a dime.
Just goes to show you there's still some good people out there.

[jdub]

I suggest going through the list and calling every sub doctor you can find. Ask them what they charge for their 1st appointment fee.
This is what I did and actually scored big time. The doc I found was semi retired and was into helping young adults with addiction problems. I would call him on his cell and meet up with him whenever I wanted. And get this...he didn't charge me a dime.
Just goes to show you there's still some good people out there.

Damn.. where in CA is he?

[BigLou]

hmm. my mom did want me to ask my family doctor she thinks he can prescribe it, i know he cant but he may be able to refer me, i just really didnt wanna tell him that im addicted to opiates for fear he would be very mad

[HMMM...]

Damn.. where in CA is he?



Ventura county

[rizzo]

it seems like these docs are charging yall way too much,my induction was 100$and 60$each month,biglou i think you said you live in upstate pa,but if your wiling to drive to b-more ill give you my docs number.hope it all works out for ya bud.

[Crow]

My induction was 100, and I pay 34 per visit. The subs are a different story, I pay about 5 bucks an 8 mg, which sucks when you are prescribed three a day. I shouldn't complain though, I barely take them...Good luck finding a good, cheap doctor bro. I would look around, cause a grand sounds bloody expensive to me...

[BigLou]

yes ive decided to keep looking because there is no way i can keep affording to buy my tex off the street and also be able to save money for a 1000 app. ive found one where the first app is 165.00 but id have to go 200 miles one way and stay over night etc..