Getting buprenorphine in the US

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SpecklesandMe

SpecklesandMe

Member Since 2015
Just wondering if anyone knows what the laws are, how hard it is to get, what's involved, etc.
Have people had better experiences with buprenorphine than the fentanyl patch (for pancreatitis or whatever else)? I am very wary of the patch because I'm afraid of side effects, interactions with other drugs, and it releasing too much if my kitty runs a fever. Thoughts?
Thanks all!
 
Buprenorphine is a Schedule III controlled substance. Class I is the "stongest' and has not medical use like heroin. Schedule II are strong like oxycodon. I think Schedule III can be phoned or faxed in unlike Schedule II.
Some vets will not write a script for Buprenorphine but others will. Id is usually available from a pharmacy but it may have to be special ordered. It is typically avaialble in a injectable small vial like 1 ml or in a glass ampule which has to be broken.
http://www.shopmedvet.com/product/buprenorphine-ciii-injection-0-3mg-ml-1ml-vial-5-box/rxb
The injectable is expensive and is usually give orally in the cheek pouch, It is absorbed in the mucus membranes of the mouth and not in th GI tract so do not inject it down the throat.
You can also order an oral liquid suspension from a compounding pharmacy like Diamonlack or Roar Runner. It is a lot less expensive than the injectable.
 
I had 10 mL of oral liquid from www.diamondbackdrugs.com it was $40 roughly. ( part of that was shipping cost) They are in arizona.

In my state, there was no pharmacy anywhere who would fill a prescription; I looked every where.
So it does depend on your state, NM has a severe drug problem .
But I had no questions asked at all about ordering it online, and they mailed it. They even replaced one when it was received and it had leaked
out of the bottle.
 
Thanks, Rhiannon and Larry!
As Larry mentioned, my vet is one of those who doesn't give out the prescription for it period. So, we have to stick with the patch, but he and a pharmacist told us that we prob don't need to worry about interactions between the patch and cypro and ondans. So, we are trying the latter today.
 
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