Suboxone Treatment: Everything You Need To Know

Suboxone is a combination medication that contains naloxone and buprenorphine and is used to treat many drug addictions, among them opioid addiction. The use of medications to treat opioid use disorder, also known as MOUD, has been proven to reduce the risk of fatal overdose by around 50% and the risk of medically dangerous and traumatic nonfatal overdoses. If you consider suboxone in Richmond VA to break free from the chains of opioid or other drug addiction, this article contains all the information you’ll need to get you started.

What Is Suboxone?

Suboxone has been shown to reverse the negative side effects of opioids such as prescription painkillers and heroin and prevent the challenging withdrawal symptoms from opioid addiction. But what is this drug really?

Primarily, suboxone is a prescription drug used to treat patients with opioid addiction, addiction to other prescription medicine, or addiction to illegal substances. We’ve already mentioned that its ingredients are naloxone and buprenorphine. Naloxone works to reverse the effects of opioids in the patient’s body, while buprenorphine reduces the patient’s cravings by blocking their opiate receptors. When used together, these two ingredients exhibit significant results in preventing opioid addiction withdrawal symptoms.

Due to its tremendous success, suboxone has overtaken Methadone as the go-to alternative medicine for addiction. However, there have been valid concerns about the risk of addiction to suboxone itself. That is why we recommend only taking suboxone under the supervision of a qualified doctor. But first, here are the uses of suboxone;

Uses of Suboxone and Its Safety

Suboxone is used in treating opioid addiction, clinically known as opioid use disorder. If you sign up at a rehab for, say, opioid addiction, you are likely to receive medication-assisted therapy, which includes medications such as Suboxone alongside behavioral therapy and counseling.

But even with all its benefits, we do not recommend self-medicating Suboxone. You should get a Suboxone doctor to prescribe it to treat opioid use disorder or other similar addictions. Provided you use it as directed by your doctor, there should be little to no risk of overdose. The fact that suboxone also affects opioids makes it less addictive.

It’s important to note that misusing suboxone in any of the ways stated below can put you at the risk of experiencing negative effects;

Taking Suboxone too soon after taking other opioids
Using it together with sedatives
Taking it while drinking alcohol
Taking larger doses than what is prescribed
Injecting it

If you take suboxone shortly after taking other opioids, you may experience discomfort in the form of anxiety, stomach upset, shaking and sweating, all of which are also withdrawal symptoms associated with opioid use disorder. Continued suboxone misuse can also cause respiratory difficulties and possible overdose.

Benefits of Suboxone in Medication-Assisted Therap

Effectiveness

Suboxone is a more recent drug specifically formulated to combat opioid use disorder. That is why it has shown tremendous success compared to its alternatives. Also, suboxone elicits no euphoric effects and discourages misuse. Suboxone’s predecessor, Methadone, had habit-forming components, hence suboxone’s specific formulation to mitigate that risk.

Mild Side Effects

Compared to Methadone, Suboxone’s side effects are far less severe, with Methadone posing a greater risk to the health of the patient’s heart.

Accessibility

A certified doctor can prescribe suboxone to you. Since there are no laws limiting its use in opioid treatment programs, you are free to take it at home or the office and go about your day. Methadone must be administered at a specialized clinic, making it a little more challenging to access.

Also, several insurance plans can cover part or all of your suboxone treatment, making it an affordable option.

Potential Suboxone Side Effects

Although most of us dread reading that long list of side effects that comes with the medication, it’s always best to be in the know. These side effects may or may not follow the use of suboxone;

Constipation
Nausea and vomiting
Breathing problems while sleeping
Swollen arms and legs
Redness, burning sensation or numbness in the mouth and tongue, especially after using the dissolvable film
Weakened liver function
Low blood pressure, especially when standing up

Some physical conditions may also affect how suboxone works in your body. Therefore, disclose any of the following issues to your doctor to ensure Suboxone is suitable for you;

Drug addiction or alcoholism
Seizures, brain tumors or head injury
Thyroid, adrenal gland or gallbladder problems
Sleep apnea and other breathing problems
Tooth problems such as present or past cavities
Urination problems such as enlarged prostate
Kidney or liver disease
Irregular curvature of the spine that causes difficulty breathing

How Should You Take Suboxone?

Say you’ve researched thoroughly about suboxone and consulted with a certified doctor. Now you are ready to get your prescription and start your journey to recovery. A crucial step many patients forget is how to administer the prescription. Here’s what you need to do;

You ought to drink water before taking the Suboxone sublingual film. This will moisten your mouth and make it way easier for the film to dissolve in your mouth. If your prescription says to take one film at a time, place it inside your left or right cheek and hold it there until it dissolves completely. If your prescription says 2 films at a go, place each on opposite cheeks and hold until they dissolve.

Avoid chewing or swallowing the film while it’s dissolving to ensure it works as intended. If prescribed suboxone sublingual tablets, place them under your tongue until they’ve dissolved completely. Lastly, talk to your doctor about how to stop using suboxone. Sudden discontinuation can cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

Suboxone has been at the frontline in recent years regarding addiction treatment. While many cases exhibit positive results, we discourage self-medicating this substance. Save for all the information provided in this article; we recommend talking to a certified doctor about your interest in suboxone and its suitability for your condition.