Why Choose Suboxone?
So, you have decided it is time to end your abuse of opiates and/or opioids. Researching various treatment options must be completely overwhelming given all the advances in recent years.
There is traditional inpatient rehab, outpatient rehab, and medically assisted treatment. You can even opt for a blend of the three. Within each of these options lie another series of options. If you choose to go the medically assisted route, you have options like methadone, buprenorphine, and suboxone. Which should you choose?
Suboxone is relatively new to the treatment market, but it has demonstrated remarkably positive results in studies and has a lot of related benefits, including the option of receiving the prescription directly from your doctor, rather than having to go to a treatment center.
If suboxone seems like a treatment method you would like to pursue, contact SuboxoneDrugRehabs.com at 888-646-0865 (Who Answers?) . We have the connection to resources that you need to make informed decisions about your treatment.
Medication-Assisted Treatment
Suboxone can be prescribed in a doctor’s office, without the need to visit a treatment center.
Medication-assisted treatment is a proven method for helping people with opioid addiction rehabilitate themselves from their substance abuse disorder. It is important to note that medication alone is not the only component of this type of treatment. There are three primary components:
- Medication
- Counseling
- Support from loved ones
In many cases treatment with medication is the best for the circumstance and offers the patient the greatest chance of recovery. Medication enables an addict to regain balance; they no longer suffer the highs and lows associated with drug use. MAT also lessens withdrawal and cravings, letting you completely focus on the other parts of your treatment.
The Basics
Suboxone is made up of the drugs buprenorphine and naloxone, which are used together to treat opioid dependence. According to the US National Library of Medicine, “Buprenorphine is in a class of medications called opioid partial agonist-antagonists and naloxone is in a class of medications called opioid antagonists … buprenorphine and naloxone work to prevent withdrawal symptoms when someone stops taking opioid drugs by producing similar effects to these drugs.”
Suboxone is available both as a sublingual (under the tongue) film and in tablet form. It is generally taken once daily, around the same time every day.
As an added advantage, suboxone is prescribed by a doctor and can be taken in private. You don’t have to enter a treatment center to have access to it.
In most cases, treatment begins with buprenorphine, which is taken in a doctor’s office. Your doctor will start you on a low dose of buprenorphine and increase the dose for 1 or 2 days before switching patients to suboxone. The doctor may have to increase and/or decrease doses until the medication works properly. You may go through multiple medication changes, but they are all designed to give you the best possible treatment.
If you decide that suboxone doesn’t meet your needs, do not stop taking the medication without the help of a doctor. Quitting cold turkey, without supervision will cause withdrawal symptoms, including
- Hot and/or cold flashes
- Restlessness
- Teary eyes
- Runny nose
- Sweating
- Chills
- Muscle pain
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
The Results
Yes, the convenience of using the medicine at home, its ability to ease you through withdrawal, and its easy usage in film or tablet form are all positive aspects of suboxone. But, does it work? That’s the real issue, right?
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) medication-assisted treatment, like that which includes suboxone, has been shown to:
- Improve patient survival
- Increase retention in treatment
- Decrease illicit opiate use and other criminal activity among people with substance use disorders
- Increase patients’ ability to gain and maintain employment
- Improve birth outcomes among women who have substance use disorders and are pregnant
SAMHSA also notes: “Unfortunately, MAT is greatly underused. For instance, according to SAMHSA’s Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) 2002-2010, the proportion of heroin admissions with treatment plans that included receiving medication-assisted opioid therapy fell from 35% in 2002 to 28% in 2010. The slow adoption of these evidence-based treatment options for alcohol and opioid dependence is partly due to misconceptions about substituting one drug for another.”
It is unfortunate that misunderstanding would stop patients from accessing such a potentially life-saving method of opioid treatment. If you are ready to move beyond misinformation and seek out medication assisted treatment with suboxone, you should contact SuboxoneDrugRehabs.com at 888-646-0865 (Who Answers?) .
