Buprenorphine and Suboxone, Treating Opioid Addictions

Buprenorphine and Suboxone, Treating Opioid Addictions

Buprenorphine is an opiod medication used in the treatment of opioid addiction. It is usually dispensed by a physician as a take home treatment. Heroin and other opiate addictions can be safely treated and by the process of gaining American FDA approval it has crossed one major hurdle.

While Buprenorphine is the generic name for a chemical compound, short form for Buprenorphine Hydrochloride and is a semi-synthetic opioid. Suboxone and Subutex are brand names of Buprenorphine-based medications.

Suboxone contains 4 parts Buprenorphine and 1 part naloxone. Only active ingredient in Subutex is Buprenorphine. Most physicians prefer Suboxone because it is less likely to be misused due to presence of the naloxone. Even though Suboxone was invented for the US market, it is available in other countries as well.

Buprenorphine as a Cure

For treating opiate addiction Buprenophine as an analgesic may act as fourth medication other being methadone, naltrexone, and LAAM (l-alpha-acetyl-methadol). Buprenorphine’s unique effects and pharmacology make it an attractive and clinically helpful treatment option. For example, buprenorphine produces less euphoria than morphine and heroin. Significant lower degree of sedation and respiratory depression is caused by buprenorphine than other opiates; heroin overdoses gets dangerous when breathing gets slowed down. Even high doses of buprenorphine–as much as 100 times the dose at which it produces analgesia–do not produce dangerous respiratory effects. “Respiratory depression caused by buprenorphine is not of clinical concern,” says Segal, “which makes it an extremely attractive treatment alternative.”

Buprenorphine being an agonist which are chemicals that bind to and stimulate opiate receptors has limited side effects.

SUBOXONE Treatment

The use of Suboxone as an office based treatment for opioid dependence can be divided into 6 phases:

Pretreatment Screening: The goal in this phase is to determine whether office based treatment is best course of action for a particular patient. It consists of a brief interview conducted over phone or in person.

Intake: patients accepted for treatment in the pretreatment screening are then scheduled for intake. To establish the patient’s medical record showing suitability for office based treatment is the main objective of the intake.

Induction: The chief goal is to safely suppress opioid withdrawal as rapidly as possible with adequate doses of SUBOXONE. The patient should be warned of possible moderate opioid withdrawal symptoms. This stage usually lasts anywhere from 2-5 days and should begin immediately following intake.

Stabilization: During this stage the patient’s SUBOXONE dose is “fine-tuned.” The objective is being to find the minimum dose necessary to hold the patient in treatment and suppress opioid withdrawal effects, and use. This is done with progressive dose adjustments.

Maintenance:

Chief goals are:

Prevent opioid withdrawal symptoms
Suppress opioid cravings
Self-administered opioids are attenuated for use

Medically Supervised Withdrawal: Only when the patient and physician agree that it is beneficial, it is done to them. The patient’s SUBOXONE dose should be slowly tapered at a rate that both physician and patient consider acceptable.

Patients should be prepared for the possibility of mild, transitory withdrawal symptoms, which may include reduced energy, reduced appetite, irritability, or insomnia.

When applying SUBOXONE treatment, therapy and psychosocial counseling should be continued and regularly monitored. Person’s recovery and well being are dependent on these steps.