How Long Does Suboxone Rehab Take?

Opiates have a way of warping the brain’s chemical make-up over time. While intended for medicinal purposes, opiates can cause serious problems when not taken as prescribed, not unlike the consequences that result from using heroin, an illegal opiate. Suboxone rehab works along the same lines as methadone maintenance treatment while offering certain benefits that methadone lacks.

For someone recovering chronic opiate addiction, Suboxone rehab offers a range of therapeutic benefits in terms of providing much needed relief from the physical discomforts often experienced in recovery. Suboxone rehab also helps recovering addicts develop the type of lifestyle that supports ongoing abstinence. As addiction affects different people in different ways, certain key factors determine how long Suboxone rehab will take for any one person.

Suboxone’s Mechanism of Action

Group therapy is beneficial while in Suboxone rehab.

Over the course of a developing opiate addiction, the drug’s effects over-stimulate chemical-producing cells in the brain, which causes damage to cell structures over time. Over time, this damage impairs the cells’ ability to produce needed neurotransmitter supplies in the absence of the drug.

Suboxone contains two active ingredients: buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine, a synthetic opiate drug, interacts with the same brain cell receptor sites as addictive opiate drugs. In effect, buprenorphine supports damaged cell receptor sites enabling them to produce needed chemical supplies, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Naloxone, the second active ingredient, works to prevent the abuse of Suboxone by inactivating the drug’s effects in the event it’s snorted or injected.

Opioid Addiction Severity

In general, the longer a person abuses opiates the more damage done to the brain’s chemical system. When used for ongoing maintenance purposes, Suboxone rehab effects help wean the brain off addictive opiates while allowing it to repair and restore normal chemical functioning.

For people recovering from chronic addiction problems, residual withdrawal effects and persistent drug cravings become the greatest obstacles to maintaining ongoing abstinence for any length of time. Suboxone effects provide considerable relief from withdrawal and cravings effects, allowing a person to feel “normal” again.

Overall, Suboxone treatment is needed for as a long as withdrawal and cravings effects pose a threat to your progress in recovery. While 12 months mark the minimum amount of time a person should remain on Suboxone, the longer the treatment duration the greater your chances of a successful recovery outcome, according to the U. S. National Library of Medicine.

The Suboxone Maintenance Treatment Process

Behavioral Treatment Component

Suboxone rehab includes a behavioral treatment component that works to undo the damaging effects of addiction on one’s thinking and emotional responses. This damage results from opiate effects on the brain’s reward system, which ultimately skews a person’s motivations, priorities and thinking towards drug-using activities.

Suboxone rehab programs employ a range of interventions to address these issues as the mechanism of addiction takes root inside the mind and not the body. Interventions commonly used include:

• 12 Step support group work
• Group therapy
• Drug education and counseling
• Individual psychotherapy

If you or someone you know has been in and out of drug treatment with little to no progress to show for it, Suboxone rehab treatment may well provide you with the types of physical and psychological supports needed to overcome addiction. If you have any further questions or concerns about how Suboxone rehab works, please feel free to call our toll-free helpline at 888-646-0865 (Who Answers?) for more information.