Suboxone

As with almost all medications, Suboxone could possibly have side effects. However, this should not be a reason to not use Suboxone if you are trying to withdraw from an opioid addiction. If you are under the care of a physician, you'll likely not have any considerable, life-threatening side effects.

When I decided to get sober, Suboxone wasn't on the market. How unfortunate was that for me? Well, for me personally, Suboxone wouldn't have actually been part of my story. I'm a garden variety drunk. I messed around with drugs like marijuana and dabbled here and there with harder stuff like cocaine and all, but my drug of choice was booze.

Last weekend I attended the All California Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous (ACYPAA) conference in San Diego. I ran into some people I hadn't seen in a number of years. The conference was great and it gave me ample opportunity to find out more information on Suboxone treatment. Suboxone is used in the treatment of opiate addiction.

Researchers have shown that Suboxone, which is a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, is effective in treating opioid addiction. The Suboxone pill is delivered sublingually, which under the tongue until it dissolves.

Suboxone is one of the leading medications being used to help during detoxifications for opioid dependence. Suboxone, which is a pill and taken sublingually, which means under the tongue, has risen in popularity because it truly helps with withdrawal pain while at the same time minimizing a patient's ability to become addicted to it.

Initially marketed in the 1980’s by Reckitt Benckiser, a British bases consumer health products company, Suboxone began as a pain reliever for treating severe, chronic pain. In very small doses it proved to more effective than morphine. With a similar chemical makeup to heroin and morphine, its reason for success is that it doesn’t give the patient or user the euphoric feeling that other opioids give.

It seems that lately one of the most popular questions besides what actually happens in an alcohol drug treatment program is whether or not a patient will need to be medically managed using Suboxone or Subutex. It certainly depends on the type of drug(s) the person has been abusing. If it is not an opioid then the answer would be no.

Both Methadone and Suboxone are used in the treatment for opioid (narcotic) addictions as a way to keep addicts in treatment, avoid withdrawal symptoms, and also reduce the risk of sharing needles. Use of opiate drugs can lead to exposure to diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.

Suboxone is a medication used to treat narcotic addiction and primarily works by preventing withdrawal symptoms. It contains a combination of buprenorphine, pronounced ‘byoo-pre-NOR-feen/nal-OX-own) and Naloxone. Buprenorphine is similar to other narcotics (opioids) like morphine, codeine and heroin, but the euphoric feeling is less and therefore easier to stop taking. Naloxone on the other hand actually blocks the effects of buprenorphine, but only when injected.

It really all comes down to accepting the fact addiction is not a moral weakness, and it takes much more than willpower to just up and quit. This chronic medical condition, whether it is alcohol or opioid drugs like painkillers, results from changes in the brain with certain people. This circular pattern of drug detox, buprenorphine treatment, and then relapse can become a life long struggle once it begins.