Treating Addiction to Heroin and Other Opiates with Suboxone
Suboxone is a safe, effective, and increasingly popular addiction medication used to treat addiction to heroin and other opiates.
Suboxone is the name brand of a drug that uses a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone. It comes in two forms that are made to dissolve in your mouth: a tablet, and a sublingual film.
The buprenorphine component of Suboxone is an FDA-approved medication used to treat Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). Its pharmacological properties help:
- Diminish the effects of physical dependence on opioids, such as withdrawal symptoms and cravings
- Increase safety in cases of overdose
- Lower the potential for misuse
Naloxone is an opioid antagonist, meaning that “it attaches to opioid receptors and reverses and blocks the effects of other opioids.” It has no effect on someone that does not have opioids in their system, and is only absorbed and activated when injected, not when dissolved in the mouth as instructed with Suboxone. Naloxone is added to Suboxone with the aim of discouraging intentional misuse of buprenorphine.
How does Suboxone work?
Suboxone is a medication for addiction treatment that is often used with counseling and other forms of treatment in a “whole-body” approach to addiction recovery. Suboxone works by “tightly binding to the same receptors in the brain as other opiates, such as heroin, morphine, and oxycodone,” a process which prevents cravings and helps people with OUD to regain a normal lifestyle.
Benefits of Suboxone treatment include the following:
- Increased overdose safety
- Decreased risk of misuse
- Long-acting effects may allow for alternate-day dosing
We are proud to offer medication assisted treatment at our outpatient treatment programs in Bessemer, Muscle Shoals and Huntsville. It is also available at our residential treatment for men and women in Birmingham. For more information, check out this link: https://www.specialkindofcaring.org/services/medication-assisted-treatment/
