Physicians who treat opioid addiction also have the option of utilizing ‘medication-assisted treatment,’ and the most common medications used in the treatment of opioid dependence today are methadone, naltrexone, and buprenorphine (Suboxone). Barrier Islands offers suboxone treatment.
Most people cannot just walk away from opioid addiction. They need help to change their thinking, behavior, and environment. Unfortunately, “quitting cold turkey” has a poor success rate – fewer than 25 percent of patients are able to remain abstinent for a full year. This is where medication-assisted treatment options like methadone, naltrexone, and Suboxone benefit patients in staying sober while reducing the side effects of withdrawal and curbing cravings which can lead to relapse.
WHAT IS MEDICATION-ASSIST TREATMENT?
Medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence can include the use of buprenorphine (Suboxone) to complement the education, counseling
Other support measures that focus on the behavioral aspects of opioid addiction. This medication can allow one to regain a normal state of mind – free of withdrawal, cravings and the drug-induced highs and lows of addiction. Medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction and dependence is much like using medication to treat other chronic illnesses such as heart disease, asthma or diabetes. Taking medication for opioid addiction is not the same as substituting one addictive drug for another.
SUBOXONE
In 2002, the FDA approved the use of the unique opioid buprenorphine (Subutex, Suboxone) for the treatment of opioid addiction in the U.S. Buprenorphine has numerous advantages over methadone and naltrexone. As a medication-assisted treatment, it suppresses withdrawal symptoms and cravings for opioids,
Does not cause euphoria in the opioid-dependent patient, and it blocks the effects of the other (problem) opioids for at least 24 hours.
Success rates, as measure by retention in treatment and one-year sobriety, have been report as high as 40 to 60 percent in some studies. Treatment does not require participation in a highly-regulated federal program such as a methadone clinic. Since buprenorphine does not cause euphoria in patients with opioid addiction, its abuse potential is substantially lower than methadone.
WHAT IS SUBOXONE AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
There are two medications combines in each dose of Suboxone. The most important ingredient is buprenorphine, which is classified as a ‘partial opioid agonist. The second is naloxone which is an ‘opioid antagonist’ or an opioid blocker.
WHAT IS A ‘PARTIAL OPIOID AGONIST’?
A ‘partial opioid agonist’ such as buprenorphine is an opioid that produces less of an effect than a full opioid when it attaches to an opioid receptor in the brain.
When a ‘partial opioid’ like Suboxone is taken, the person may feel a very slight pleasurable sensation. Most people report that they just feel “normal” or “more energized” during medication-assisted treatment. If they are having pain they will notice some partial pain relief.
People who are opioid dependent do not get a euphoric effect or feel high when they take buprenorphine properly. Buprenorphine tricks the brain into thinking that a full opioid like oxycodone or heroin is in the lock, and this suppresses the withdrawal symptoms and cravings associated with that problem opioid.
Buprenorphine is a long-acting form of medication assist treatment, meaning that it get‘stuck’ in the brain’s opiate receptors for about 24 hours. When buprenorphine was stucks in the recept, the problem ‘full opioids’ can’t get in. This gives the person with opioid addiction a 24-hour reprieve each time a dose of Suboxone were takes. If a full opioid is taken within 24 hours of Suboxone, then the patient will quickly discover that the full opioid is not working.
They will not get high and will not get pain relief (if pain was the reason it was taken).
This 24-hour reprieve gives the patient time to reconsider the wisdom of relapsing with a problem opioid while undergoing medication-assisted treatment.
Another benefit of buprenorphine in treating opioid addiction is something called the ‘ceiling effect.’ This means that taking more Suboxone than prescribed does not result in a full opioid effect. Taking extra Suboxone will not get the patient high. This is a distinct advantage over methadone. Patients can get high on methadone because it is a full opioid. The ceiling effect also helps if buprenorphine is take in an overdose.
There is less suppression of breathing than that resulting from a full opioid.
What Is Recovery, and How Can Family and Loved Ones Help? Put simply, recovery is restoring the life that was lost during active opioid addiction. As a complement to medication-assisted treatment, there are many ways that family and loved ones can help the person suffering from addiction. Family and significant other involvement is an important part of a recovery program. The following is a list of 10 ways you can help:
- Learning about the disease – the biology, psychology, and sociology of addiction.
Understanding that addiction is not a problem of poor willpower or poor self-control. - Understanding that this is a hereditary disease that results in long-term changes in the structure and function of the brain that lead to behaviors that are potentially fatal.
- Learning about the behaviors that occur during addict, why they occure, and how they can be change.
- Learning how living and social environments play a key role in triggers, cravings and relapse.
- Learning how easy family members can get drawn unwiten into supports their loved one’s addiction (co-dependency).
- Encouraging and motivating your loved one to attend and complete treatment even when they don’t feel like it.
- Understanding that you cannot make the addict get better, but you are not helpless. You can make changes that promote recovery for your loved one, and for you.
- Participating in support groups that help the family of the addict recover (such as Al-Anon or Nar-Anon).
- Attending the family education sessions with your loved one.