Suboxone Treatment

With the use of Subxone we help recovering addicts with the battle against opiods.

What Is Suboxone, and Why Use It?

Suboxone is a medication used to treat opioid dependence, containing buprenorphine and naloxone. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 15 million people suffer from opioid dependence. Buprenorphine and naloxone, formulated as Suboxone, are used to treat this dependence.

Buprenorphine is considered a “partial opioid agonist,” meaning that it produces a milder form of the effects produced by opioids (which are “full opioid agonists”). It essentially fills the brain’s opioids receptors without producing the same high as full opioids. One of the advantages of using Suboxone is that it cannot be taken to achieve a full opioid effect, making it more difficult to abuse than other forms of medication-assisted treatment, such as methadone.

Added to Suboxone is naloxone, which is an opioid antagonist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Suboxone is a medication that will relieve symptoms of opioid withdrawal by filling the opioid receptors in the brain partially.
As such, it can help users of heroin transition into treatment more effectively by preventing them from having the painful withdrawal symptoms associated with heroin. The drug typically prescribed during this time is Subutex, which is then transitioned to Suboxone. The only difference between these two medications is the presence of naloxone, which is used to discourage abuse of the medication.
Should users attempt to take other opioids while taking Suboxone, these opioids will be blocked from the brain’s receptors by Suboxone, preventing the normal high that comes from these drugs. This can assist in undoing the positive reinforcement loop that previously caused the addiction, because users will no longer receive the same reward for opioid use. They will also not experience the withdrawal from stopping opiate use, making it easier to stick to a treatment program.
  • Lower potential for abuse
  • Greater accessibility
  • High success rate in the treatment of opiate dependence

While Suboxone is an excellent resource for those seeking recovery from opiate addiction, like all medications, it has its disadvantages. Aside from possible side effects, Suboxone is typically a drug that users take for a long time to maintain recovery. As a partial opioid agonist, it still allows some opioid dependence in users. As a result, when users aim to get off Suboxone, they should taper their dosage under medical supervision.

Like other medication-assisted treatments, Suboxone does not “cure” addiction.

It should only be used in accordance with a comprehensive treatment program. The drug can produce dependence in users, so it’s important that all taking the medication remain under professional medical supervision.

However, Suboxone is less likely to produce the same addictive behavior as full opioid agonists because it has a slower onset than full opioids and a milder effect. In early treatment, where Subutex is usually prescribed instead of Suboxone, users can potentially increase the high from buprenorphine by injecting or crushing the Subutex, causing a faster onset of the opioid reaction and more of a pleasurable reaction. Suboxone, with the naloxone added, does not have this potential. While addiction can be a danger with this medication, it is a low-risk danger.