Suboxone (Buprenorphine)
Suboxone (primary ingredient, buprenorphine) is the first drug anti-addiction medicine approved for the treatment of opioid dependence and drug addiction in an office-based setting. Suboxone also can be dispensed for take-home use, just as any other medicine for other medical conditions. At Enterhealth, Suboxone is used during the medical detox or drug detox phase of recovery, as well as during the maintenance phases of drug addiction treatment as needed. This anti-addiction medicine is a safe and effective tool in the treatment of drug addiction.
The primary active ingredient in Suboxone is buprenorphine. Initially developed to treat pain, buprenorphine was adapted for use in treating opioid dependence in cooperation with the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and was approved by the FDA in October 2002.
Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, meaning its opioid effects partially mimic those produced by full opioid agonists, such as oxycodone or heroin, and partially mimic those produced by opioid antagonists, such as naltrexone. Suboxone contains buprenorphine and naloxone, an opioid antagonist to discourage people from dissolving the tablet and injecting it.
Suboxone is used to reduce illegal drug use and to help clients stay in treatment by blocking the effects of opioids, decreasing cravings, and suppressing any major symptoms of addiction withdrawal. Most narcotic addicted patients seem to benefit from Suboxone regardless of their histories of opiate drug addiction.
Suboxone has several advantages over other opiate and drug addiction treatments both for withdrawal stabilization (medical or drug detox) and its long-term maintenance uses. A great number of advantages to this drug anti-addiction medicine are created because of its chemical structure.
With receptor functions (full agonist, antagonist and partial agonist) in mind, one can understand that methadone, which is a full agonist, would bind to the opiate receptor and produce the full response that would help you reduce your cravings, but it also might give you a high. When Suboxone (a partial agonist) binds to the receptor, it completely satisfies the receptor, but it doesn’t produce any high or euphoria. Consequently, the addictive potential of this druganti-addiction medicine is extremely low. If you are taking Suboxone and then use heroin to get a high, Suboxone blocks the heroin from causing a high because the heroin can’t get to a receptor.
Suboxone has several inherent safety mechanisms. First, it is very safe in overdose because of the way it interacts with the receptor. If you try to take too much of Suboxone, it actually becomes a full antagonist and punishes you by putting you into withdrawal. This is quite the opposite of most agonists, such as heroin or Lortab, where the more you take, the higher you get. Yet eventually, you not only get a high, you also shut down your breathing and die inadvertently. Because of the way Suboxone interacts with the receptor, you can easily take it once a day or sometimes every other day and still achieve a certain “normal” feeling where you do not have cravings for the drug. Also, if you forget a dose on a particular day, you will not go into a full opiate addiction withdrawal, so you can wait until the next day when you can get your anti addiction medication. Finally, not only is buprenorphine safe inherently on its own, the drug anti-addiction medicine Suboxone is actually a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone. Naloxone is an opiate antagonist like naltrexone, but it is a very short-acting one that only works if you inject it intravenously in your veins. Consequently, the naloxone, when taken by mouth with the buprenorphine in the Suboxone tablet, does not cause any addiction withdrawal symptoms or even cause any uncomfortable feelings for the individual.
So not only is this combination tablet a deterrent for the people on the druganti-addiction medicine,it is also a deterrent for people trying to steal the anti-addiction medication and use it on the street. This and all of the above attributes make Suboxone an ideal, even revolutionary, anti-addiction medicine that has come to the aid of clients with opiate drug addiction.
Buprenorphine, Suboxone – Dosage and Effects - Drug anti-addiction medicine for treatment of opiate addiction.
It is very important that Suboxone is started for the first time when a person addicted to opiates is in withdrawal or medical detox. If Suboxone is started while he or she still has opiate in their system and are not in withdrawal, the Suboxone will act like an antagonist and put them into chemical withdrawal immediately. However, if the opiate addict waits for several hours or until the withdrawal begins, when they begin Suboxone, the drug anti-addiction medicineacts as an agonist at the receptors and they calm down and feel much more comfortable.
The first 2-3 days of being on Suboxone are a period of adjustment while determining the proper anti-addiction medicine dosage for that particular client. Once the client is on a stable dose of Suboxone, they are very comfortable, they have no cravings, they have no desire to use, and they actually feel quite normal. These feelings of normalcy allow our guests to actively participate in Enterhealth’s addiction treatment program. We help them learn the coping skills that they need in to maintain a sober lifestyle going forward.
Once the drug addiction patient stabilizes, it is up to the client and the Enterhealth physician to decide how long the patient needs to be on the Suboxone. It is generally accepted that most individuals will need to be on Suboxone for approximately 9 months to 1 year, as a starting point, in order to allow their system to get stabilized, and then taper off slowly. Many patients – 40% to 50% – are able to remain sober without Suboxone long-term.
Enterhealth’s medically driven alcohol addiction treatment and drug rehabilitation treatment offers personalized residential and outpatient programs in Texas, uniquely suited to where you are in your recovery journey.
Call Enterhealth 24/7 at 800.388.4601 or email us at info@enterhealth.com for more information. Don’t just get clean/sober. Get well.
