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Suboxone Treatment - New Miracle Drug For Addiction

Traditional treatments for heroin or opiate addicted patients have fallen short of ultimately providing a solution to becoming free from the grips of an insidious addiction. Suboxone treatment has seamed to capitalize on the shortcomings of treatments such as methadone lending hope to those wanting to completely free themselves from a difficult addiction.

Suboxone Treatment is fairly new when it comes to options available for the treatment of heroin and other opiate addictions. Since its approval by the federal government in the USA it has shown some very promising data and has been nick named the "Miracle Drug" by many substance abuse professionals. There are some 1,000 million heroin and opiate addicts in the USA. Before Suboxone Treatment became available there were very few options available for treatment, most of which have not been very successful in getting addicts to abstain and lead normal lives. The success of Suboxone treatment is based on numerous issues that other treatments fail to incorporate.

Suboxone Treatment: Buprenorphine and Nalaxone

Suboxone is made up of 90 percent Buprenorphine and 10 percent Nalaxone. Buprenorphine, a partial agonist opiate has been used as a pain medication. Because it is a partial agonist opiate if taken in large doses it cannot cause overdose, therefore, making it a safe drug to dispense as a prescription for take home use. Buprenorphine when used in treatment for addiction replaces the opiates on the receptors in the brain thus eliminating any withdrawals normally felt when stopping the use of heroin or other opiates. Buprenorphine at certain levels will also block any other opiate from the brains receptors, which will block the effect of any heroin or opiates they may relapse on enabling them to get back on track quickly.

The part Nalaxone plays in the treatment is to ensure that Suboxone cannot be abused if an addict should try to inject the drug. Nalaxone removes all opiates from the receptors in the brain causing severe and immediate withdrawals. Suboxone is administered as an orange hexagonal tablet that is taken orally and dissolved under the tongue. Very small amounts of Nalaxone are absorbed into the body this way allowing the Buprenorphine to take effect.

Suboxone Treatment: Induction

When beginning treatment the patient must go through what is called an "induction". Because small amounts of Nalaxone are absorbed into the body it is suggested the addict wait 4 to 6 hours from the last dose of heroin or other opiate before taking suboxone to ensure there will be no withdrawals. For opiates that have a longer half life such as methadone it is suggested that the patient wait 24 to 48 hours before taking suboxone. There is another drug sometimes used for induction and that is called Subutex. Subutex does not contain any Nalaxone and is usually administered right at the office and not taken home. After a couple of days the patient is then switched over to Suboxone. Subutex can also be used for those that are sensitive to Nalaxone but this is rare.

Suboxone Treatment: Successful Flexibility

Because Suboxone cannot be abused and has little potential for overdose makes it a safe drug to dispense for take home. The tighter regulations that apply to methadone do not apply and suboxone can be administered by a licensed physician’s office. Methadone must be administered at methadone clinics that are federally approved and tightly monitored by the federal government. Patients on methadone must report to the clinic on daily basis to receive a dose of methadone. Suboxone can be prescribed for take home allowing more freedom for the addict to go places. Methadone clinics are sometimes not available to addicts because there are few clinics making it difficult for patients to even seek treatment.

Suboxone Treatment: Methadone Failures

Methadone generally just replaces whatever drug the patient was using so they do not have to continually seek the drug they were addicted to which usually involved doing whatever it took to obtain the drug such as criminal activity. Methadone is normally used as a maintenance treatment meaning the patient will stay on methadone for extended periods of time and is difficult to get off of. Suboxone has been designed to give the patient time to build a support system that will maintain the abstinence of heroin or other opiate then wean down off of the Suboxone with out any withdrawals.

Suboxone Treatment: A Miracle Drug

Suboxone treatment has been very successful in freeing patients from the grips of heroin and opiate addictions to go on and lead a normal life and is quickly becoming the choice of treatment for many addicts. For more information on heroin and addiction visit Heroin Addiction Detox where you can find a wealth of information on Heroin Addiction History as well as Suboxone Treatment, Methadone Treatment and Rapid Detox Treatment Dangers

By Jeremy Berger
Published: 7/8/2008