Is Suboxone a Safe Choice for Recovery?

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, “In October 2002, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two buprenorphine products (Suboxone® and Subutex®) for the treatment of narcotic addiction.” Over the past few years, Suboxone has become a safe and beneficial choice for many individuals in opioid addiction recovery, and the medication has helped a number of people stop abusing narcotics and restart their lives.

Is Suboxone a Safe Medication?

The drug causes the usual side effects experienced by opioid users––including nausea, constipation, muscle aches, sleep disturbances, and irritability––but it is much safer than continued opioid abuse and, in some cases, safer than other addiction treatment medications.

Suboxone isn’t often abused by those using it for addiction treatment.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, “Buprenorphine’s opioid effects increase with each dose until at moderate doses they level off, even with further dose increases. This ‘ceiling effect’ lowers the risk of misuse, dependency, and side effects.” It also makes the drug much safer in an overdose situation than full opioid agonists such as methadone.

In addition, the naloxone in the medication provides another safeguard against abuse. Most people who hope to abuse the drug would do so by breaking and crushing the sublingual tablet and then injecting it into the bloodstream. However, when this occurs, naloxone precipitates withdrawal, causing the individual to immediately experience the severe withdrawal symptoms caused by their opioid dependence. This diminishes a considerable amount of the abuse associated with most other opioid drugs, and while Suboxone is still abused, it is not one of the more often misused narcotics.

Safe, Beneficial Treatment with Suboxone

Suboxone, like any medication, has its issues. While it is not recommended for use with pregnant patients or with those who still have strong physical dependencies on opioids, it is a much safer option in other ways than those medications that currently exist and very beneficial when compared with the option of continued drug abuse.

If you are beginning your opioid addiction rehab and believe Suboxone may be beneficial to you, call 888-646-0865 (Who Answers?) . We can answer any questions you may have about the medication and help you find treatment programs in your area or doctors who can prescribe you Suboxone as part of a well-rounded treatment program.

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