If there’s one good thing that’s come out of the opioid addiction epidemic, it’s a changed view of addiction. Addiction is now widely recognized as a medical problem, not a moral failing, and it’s treated as a medical condition by physicians.
Suboxone, which combines buprenorphine with naloxone, was formulated to help people addicted to opioid drugs maintain abstinence from their addictive drug and lead healthy lives.
Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) occurs after opioid use, either from using prescription opioids like oxycodone and morphine, or street opioids like heroin, changes the brain. Using is no longer a choice, it becomes a necessity. Suboxone is prescribed as a maintenance medication much like insulin is prescribed to diabetics.
How Does Suboxone Work?
Buprenorphine is a partial-agonist which binds to the opioid receptors in the brain, much like heroin and other opioid drugs. However, it is milder than other opioids, and the milder effects allow the patient to function normally. Also, because it binds to the same receptors as opioid drugs like heroin and morphine, it blocks the effects of these stronger drugs. Patients who suffer from OUD can lead healthy, productive lives with the help of this replacement medication.
Naloxone binds to the opioid receptors and blocks drugs like heroin, fentanyl, and oxycodone. It is widely used as an emergency treatment for opioid overdose. It also blocks the effects of misusing buprenorphine.
Suboxone combines buprenorphine and naloxone to substitute a milder opioid effect and prevent/block the effects of misusing opioids.
Suboxone Has Drastically Raised the Success Rate for Addiction Treatment!
Despite common myths about MAT, the reality is that Suboxone has given new hope to millions of people suffering from OUD. It even helps people with alcohol use disorder to withdraw from alcohol safely.
Patients who combine physician-prescribed Suboxone with therapy and ongoing support groups have been shown to have three-times the rate of success in achieving lasting relief from OUD. While Suboxone is a schedule III narcotic, it’s effects are much milder than other opioids and, when prescribed as part of a recovery program, can allow somebody whose brain function has been altered by addiction to lead a normal, healthy, productive life.
Under the Biden administration, federal guidelines have been updated to increase access to Suboxone, a decision that has been met with much applause by the overwhelmed addiction treatment industry.
Do You Have to Continue to Take Suboxone to Maintain Relief from OUD?
Addiction is a chronic disease which usually requires ongoing medication and treatment. Once a patient is stabilized, the dosage is gradually lowered. Every patient is unique, and for some patients ongoing medication is necessary, while other patients can gradually lessen their dosage under a doctor’s supervision and care until they can safely stop taking this medication.
Give Yourself the Best Chance to Recover!
The best thing to do if you or somebody you love suffers from addiction is to follow the recommendation of your physician. Solas Recovery provides treatment for opiate addiction to anyone in North Carolina, regardless of financial situation. Studies overwhelmingly show that patients who use MAT are much more likely to achieve lasting recovery. Suboxone reduces withdrawal symptoms and cravings, and also blocks overdose in those patients who relapse. With over 49,000 deaths a year due to opioid overdoses, Suboxone is a crucial tool in the fight to save lives.
Throughout the year, our writers feature fresh, in-depth, and relevant information for our audience of 40,000+ healthcare leaders and professionals. As a healthcare business publication, we cover and cherish our relationship with the entire health care industry including administrators, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and more. We cover a broad spectrum from hospitals to medical offices to outpatient services to eye surgery centers to university settings. We focus on rehabilitation, nursing homes, home care, hospice as well as men’s health, women’s heath, and pediatrics.
