"i am 47 years old, &amp; a recovering addict. around 1999 i hurt my lower back &amp; began taking opioid based medications. as the years when by i required stronger &amp; stronger opioid medications in order to relieve the pain. i&rsquo;m talking over 365 pills a month. it had gotten out of control. so i put myself into rehab in order to get off opioids all together. but unfortunately, the pain still existed. so, i relapsed because i couldn&rsquo;t handle the pain. once again i put myself into rehab. but this time i was prescribed a buprenorphine base medication, and it was a god send! i have been taking a buprenorphine based medication about 5 years now and it controls my pain without needing to increase the dosage. i take one to two doses a day and i feel great!"