How Does Suboxone Work for Opiate Addicts?

Why do Treatment Centers Use Suboxone?

How Does Suboxone Work for Opiate Addicts?

Suboxone is being used as a treatment medication for opiate addiction. Suboxone, a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, is prescribed by doctors to curb opiate cravings and help severe addicts end their dependency on opiates at substance abuse treatment centers across the nation. In the past, drug detox centers have had little prescription medications specifically available to opiate addicts that wasn’t extremely addictive.

How Does Suboxone Work?

Suboxone contains buprenorphine, an opioid medication similar to opioids such as codeine, heroin and morphine. This drug produces euphoria. However, the "high" is less potent than other opioids. Therefore, drug rehab center professionals believe suboxone may be easier to stop taking.

Suboxone contains Naloxone, a drug that blocks the effects of opioids such as codeine, heroin and morphine. When a person takes suboxone orally, as recommended, naloxone will not affect the effects of buprenorphine. However, if suboxone is injected, naloxone will cancel the effects of buprenorphine, which leads to withdrawal symptoms.

Facts About Suboxone

Suboxone must be used only as directed. Patients should not try to combine suboxone with other drugs or medications in order to produce a high. A patient must never inject suboxone with a tranquilizer. This combination can cause death from overdose.

Suboxone must be used only as directed. Patients should not try to combine suboxone with other drugs or medications in order to produce a high. A patient must never inject suboxone with a tranquilizer. This combination can cause death from overdose.

Despite its use by drug treatment center doctors to treat opiate addicts, suboxone may cause dependence upon the drug. Withdrawal symptoms may occur if a patient stops using the drug too quickly. Often, doctors gradually reduce their patients’ suboxone dose over time to produce the best results for stopping use without withdrawal symptoms.

Additionally, patients at drug and alcohol treatment centers may experience withdrawal symptoms from the start of a suboxone regiment, simply because they may be withdrawing from other, more potent, opiates such as heroin.

The use of suboxone may cause dependency in unborn children. Therefore, pregnant women should not take suboxone.

In time, the long-term results of using suboxone as a pharmaceutical method for treating opiate addiction may reveal more information about its relevancy as a viable treatment option. Currently, the drug is in its infancy as a treatment option at drug detox centers, compared to traditional medications used to curb opiate cravings, such as methadone.