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Buprenorphine Treatment
( Suboxone ) INFORMATION FOR PATIENTS
Specific information for patients who are considering treatment with Buprenorphine, known also as Suboxone and Subutex.
BUPRENORPHINE – A NEW TREATMENT FOR HEROIN ADDICTION
Addiction medicine doctors consider addiction to be a chronic disease and treat it accordingly. Buprenorphine is one of the medications, which can be used to treat opioid addiction. Opioids are drugs like heroin, opium, morphine, codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, etc., which can be abused and lead to tolerance and dependence. This means that the user's body becomes accustomed to ever-higher amounts, and, when the drug is stopped, there are symptoms of withdrawal. Even after the worst physical part of withdrawal is over, some patients still don't feel right for a long time and may relapse to using drugs again, just to “feel normal.”
Some of the medical research shows that after abusing drugs for a long time the brain is thrown off balance, and the goal of treatment is to encourage stability, both in the body and in the patient's life.
Not all patients who abuse opioids need medication to treat their addiction. Many addicted persons do very well with counseling, or residential therapeutic treatment, or in NA groups. But in some cases these approaches alone are not enough to keep the person stable, and maintenance medication is used. Maintenance medication is slower and longer acting in its effects on the brain than heroin or other drugs of abuse. This allows for a steadying of brain function, which is part of treatment. So, the best way to use Buprenorphine in maintenance treatment is to find the correct dose, where the patient feels normal, and keep that dose steady for a long time. This means taking the medication on a regular schedule as prescribed, in the same way as taking a blood pressure medication, or diabetes treatment.
Besides Buprenorphine, there are two other maintenance medications, which are used to treat addiction: Methadone and LAAM. These medications are also long acting and work by stabilizing the brain. These medications are given in specially licensed clinics called Opioid Treatment Programs, and their use is carefully regulated by federal and stage agencies.
Buprenorphine also is bound by some regulations. For this reason, patients on Buprenorphine will be asked to give urines for drug screens, and bring their bottles in for pill counts.
Buprenorphine is be started when the patient is suffering withdrawal, and the dose is adjusted over several days. It is given as a pill, which dissolves under the tongue. The take-home Buprenorphine pills also have a small amount of naloxone (Narcan) in them, which is an opioid antagonist. The purpose of the naloxone is to discourage illicit injection of the pill. The patient would not feel the effects of naloxone by mouth, but if it were dissolved and injected, it might cause severe withdrawal.
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