Suboxone is a medication used to treat opioid dependence. It works by preventing withdrawal symptoms as the primary ingredient in Suboxone is buprenorphine. Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, meaning it stimulates activity at opioid receptors but doesn’t produce the same maximum effects as a full opioid agonist. An agonist is a compound that will bind to the drug receptors that elicits a full response of the drug.
Oxycodone and heroin are classified as full opioid agonists.
Suboxone also contains naloxone, an opioid antagonist. An antagonist is a compound that will bind to receptors that will not elicit any response. The purpose of naloxone is to discourage patients from injecting the drug. When Suboxone is taken under the tongue little naloxone reaches the bloodstream, so the patients mainly feel the result of the buprenorphine. If the naloxone is injected, it may cause the patient to start to go through withdrawal.
Dopamine is released within one’s body when opioids attach to the mu receptors, creating a euphoric feeling. When opioids leave the receptors, the euphoria fades and withdrawal symptoms, including cravings, begin.
Opioids are leaving the mu receptors which leaves the person in a moderate state of withdrawal. When a patient starts to take Suboxone, the buprenorphine attaches to the empty opioid receptors which suppresses withdrawal symptoms and reduces cravings. Since it is a partial opioid agonist, Suboxone controls withdrawal symptoms and limits the high one feels from the opioids.
When buprenorphine attaches to the receptors at a moderate dose, it fills receptors and blocks other opioids from attaching to the receptors; halting withdrawal.
The goal of prescribing Suboxone to a patient is to switch one off of their current opioid, whether it is heroin or prescription pills. Patients should arrive to the introduction appointment while experiencing moderate withdrawal symptoms. Again, if one takes Suboxone before they are in withdrawal, the medication may cause withdrawal symptoms for the user.
Initially, the psychiatrist or physician will perform an initial screening and assessment of patients with opioid addiction. Next, the treatment of opioid addiction with Suboxone will be determind. Treatment will be provided according to established protocols, along with arranging proper and appropriate treatment for comorbid medicial conditions.
The history of the addict’s interactions with opioid addiction will help the psychiatrist determine the most effective and proper treatment.
After the intake appointment, the patient will set up a daily or weekly schedule with the psychiatrist to stabilize the Suboxone dose. This is to find the optimal dose where there are minimal to no side effects and where the cravings are suppressed.
Most people are familiar with Methadone as a drug to help treat opioid addiction. While it enabled people to lead functional lives, several years after its introduction laws such as the Methadone Regulations in 1972 and the Narcotic Addict Treatment Act of 1974 limited Methadone maintenance treatment to the Opioid Treatment Program setting, like a methadone clinic. The new laws established a closed distribution system that made it difficult for physicians to use methodone to treat opioid addiction in an office setting or drug rehabilition program.
To receive Methadone, patients had to attend an Opioid Treatment Program, sometimes on a daily basis. Therefore, the stigma associated with participating in a Methadone rehab clinic led fewer addicts to seek treatment. In the United States, it is estimated that fewer than 25% of the individuals with opioid addiction receive any form of treatment.
The benefits of Suboxone is that physicians are licensed to distribute it in an office setting. Therapy is additionally helpful because character defects don’t disappear when the addict stops using. If the addict was using as means of alleviating pain, the pain still exists without heroin in the system. Therapy helps to decrease the opiate obsession within the client.
An overdose of buprenorphine does not appear to result in lethal respiratory depression in noncompromised individuals.
The two main models for opioid addiction treatment are pharmacotherapy and psychosocial therapy. Patients younger than 18 years of age with a short addiction history are at fairly high risks for serious complications of addiction. Many experts believe that buprenorphine should be the treatment of choice for these young patients.
The psychiatrists certified to prescribe Suboxone at Apex Behavioral Healt , Dr. Chung from Westland, Dr. Ramesh from Dearborn and Dr. Kwon from Brownstown.
