Recovering opiate addict accepted into nursing school; Can I attend while prescribed Subox

[MaleLPNStudent2]

Hello everyone, and thank you for taking the time to read my post. I've viewed threads on here for years but never bothered to make an account. I am a 30 year old male located on Kentucky. As far back as I can remember; even as a child, I always wanted to be a nurse. My mother passed away shortly after I graduated from high school, so I was immediately thrown into the workforce, not by choice.

After graduating high school I found a local nursing home who offered free CNA training on exchange got working at their facility for 1 year. So I did it I ended up working as a CNA for about 3 years and absolutely loved it. I was constantly having to work overtime to make ends meet because the low wages I was being paid... I had no assistance financially with rent, bills, etc from family or anyone else. I always wanted to go into nursing school but at the time with my life and financial situation I was never able to attend school because I couldn't commit to a schedule.

After about 3 years in the field I got offered a position with AT&T paying about 3 times more than my CNA salary, so I of course took it. In doing so, I put my nursing dream on the back burner. I've since left AT&T and work for another great company who allow me to work from home and my schedule is very flexible.

During the process of all these life events I developed an opiate addiction. I had a lot of dental work done and was prescribed narcotics for the pain and ended up liking them a little too much. I eventually ended up getting stuff off the street. In the midst of all this my significant other basically gave me the option of getting treatment or parting ways.

I've been in a suboxin treatment center for over a year now. I have tapered down on my dose, and plan on continuing to do so. (Sorry for the rant)

I recently decided to apply for a LPN program at a local Career/Vocational center here. I took the pre entrance exam and passed. I got a an acceptance letter in the mail today (pending my background check, drug test and physical). I can either do an August or January program.

I have no criminal background, I'm pretty positive I'll do fine on the physical, but my concern is the drug screen. I am legitimately prescribed Suboxin by a medical doctor, I attend group and individual counseling sessions twice a week, every week.

I've not mentioned any of this to the school yet as it has not came up. Will being a Suboxin patient/in recovery prevent me from going to nursing school in Ohio?

I know suboxin is a crutch, I realize that. It's helped me so much though. I'm just not sure what to do at this point and would appreciate any feedback that I can get with how to approach this situation. I'm willing to do anything to be a nurse. Anything.

[Omaapecm, ASN, RN]

I would wait until you are off suboxin and then apply. You've waited this long what a little bit longer. Once your labeled you can never get out from under that. No criminal record don't divulge!

[la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN]

I know when it came to our drug screen there was a part of the form we could jot down the prescriptions we were taking that might be flagged for the screen. I would be careful with all of that as it can be a pretty tricky situation. Ultimately, it's up to the physical and drug screen for you. I know when it came to my program, the more honest we were, the better. As long as you are completely up front and have all your ducks in a row for this so-to-speak, you should be okay. But, as others have said, check with whichever state you plan on getting licensed in to see how that would affect your standing.

[caliotter3]

Agree with Big Blondie. Get off it now and stay off. You are never going to be able to make progress as long as you depend upon some type of substance. Good luck.

[Psychcns]

Consider what kind of support you need if you decide to come off it. It can be emotionally tumultuous and psychotherapy can be helpful as well as 12 step and CD support.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I agree with the majority of the posters here: it would be best for you to get off of Suboxone entirely before applying. However, you also need to balance that against your recovery. Your recovery has to come first and foremost, even if that means staying on suboxone longer and/or postponing nursing school.

Suboxone does not show up as a positive for opiates on your basic UDS--if you are on Suboxone and test positive for opiates, it's 99.99% likely that you relapsed. I've run enough of these test to know.

HOWEVER, there's no way of knowing what drug screen your school/facility/whoever will choose to use, and Suboxone can very well show up if they are using a more advanced or specific test for screening. Not all people see the therapeutic value in Suboxone, and instead will focus on the negatives. Neverminding that long-term Suboxone use has its own problems. So if you were thinking, "oh, I just won't tell them the school/BON about the Suboxone," that's not without risk. Only you can decide if you want to take that risk.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

[TXRN2]

taking all things in to consideration- bottom line- being on Subox, even with an Rx from a doc (which might cover you for a drug screen)- most BON's will not allow any nurse to work while on Subox- even if you wean off & they ever find out about it- could be bad news for you. I would tread very carefully- get info ahead of time from your school & anonomously from your anticipated BON, if possible. Best of luck to you- & definintely keep your recovery first & foremost- your life depends on it!!

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I would tread very carefully- get info ahead of time from your school & anonomously from your anticipated BON, if possible.

A good way to get info anonymously from BONs:

1. Go to Gmail.

2. Register for a new e-mail address.

3. Do not pick a username remotely close to your real name.

4. In the account settings, use a pseudonym in place of your real name.

5. Use that account to e-mail schools/BONs/etc.

However, keep in mind that a lot of BONs may not give you a definite Yes/No answer, but reply that they review these things on a case-by-case basis. And TXRN2 is right in that a prescription is not automatic protection against the BON denying you for using Suboxone.

[HenryBood]

Hi,

First of all, congratulations for working towards both your dreams of nursing, and even more so for your recovery. I agree with most of these posts here- you really should not be practicing while you are tapering off. For more reasons than just a dirty UDS. You really need to have that spiritual fitness of recovery well in place. Also, I do also recommend you look into your BON. If you have done any out/in pt treatment, see what the stipulations are on reporting this. Lying on this can cause problems down the road. And also, there are so many options in the nursing field, and a lot that do not involve medication administration, such as dialysis nursing, administration, case management, insurance companies, utilization review, etc. I urge you to avoid hospice or critical care as these have a lot of autonomy with medications that could pose a threat to your own well-being.

Being a nurse involves the ability for one to be able to have a good self-care program and coping mechanisms in place- a deficit in any of these can be deadly to people like us who are in recovery. I too am in recovery, almost lost my license, and am now on probation with the BON. I would love for you to avoid the path I have taken. Nursing is a privilege, and is a wonderful profession, and I get the feeling that you do honor that very much.

Best of luck for you.

[DeeAngel]

Don't apply or test for anything until you will test clean. Continue with your meetings but tell no one in school or the workplace about your problem, not ever. Do not disclose this information so that it gets on any permanent medical record, because some workplaces may at some point get access to those records. Once this gets on your record it has the potential to follow you for your entire career and no one needs that. School and boards may tell you they will allow or do one thing and then abruptly go back on their decision later. Always remember the BON is not there for you or to protect you, it's job is to protect the public from you. I would also strongly encourage you to work in a position after graduation where handling of narcs is minimized. You do not want to destroy all the years of hard work you have put in already in recovery and will put in getting through school. If you are off the meds before you apply there is nothing to explain, justify or confess to anyone, ever. I promise you doing it this way will take a real load off your mind, now and in the future years to come.

[HenryBood]

Oh, one more thing. You have been through a lot. There are many nurses, medical professionals, and just people in general who could really relate to you and your story. When you do become a nurse, your background and your clinical training could uniquely qualify you to advocate for others in similar circumstances, so being a detox/recovery nurse may be a field well suited for you. Again, best of luck, and you have a lot to look forward to.

[Mavrick, BSN, RN]

I've been in a suboxin treatment center for over a year now.

I am legitimately prescribed Suboxin by a medical doctor, I attend group and individual counseling sessions twice a week, every week.

Will being a Suboxin patient/in recovery prevent me from going to nursing school in Ohio?

I know suboxin is a crutch, I realize that.

Is suboxin a generic form of Suboxone?

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Is suboxin a generic form of Suboxone?

I'm guessing that is a typo. The generic name of Suboxone is buprenorphine/naloxone.

Subutex (just plain buprenorphine) is often used for managing chronic pain, but that is almost never used for opiate replacement therapy. Suboxone (with the added naloxone, the opiate antagonist) is the best choice for that purpose.