Your safety will be a top priority, but your uncomfortable symptoms may also be eased as much as possible. Unpleasant withdrawal symptoms and powerful drug cravings will compel you to use the drug again. In many cases, this compulsion is as difficult to resist as it is to resist drinking water when you’re thirsty.
Suboxone is designed to melt under your tongue or inside your cheek. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you’re not sure how to take it. However, if symptoms are severe, they should call 911 or immediately go to their nearest emergency room. This method may be more beneficial than other how alcohol can affect your heart rate the new york times methods that are impractical or unaffordable or that a person does not respond well to. A person can drink water to moisten their mouth before taking Suboxone to help the films dissolve easily. Your treatment team can help you spot and address some of these factors before you quit.
- Withdrawals are common among those who engage in detox, and they occur as a result of attempting to stop the intake of a drug, either via cold turkey or tapering.
- If a person notices symptoms of Suboxone misuse in themselves or others, they should contact a doctor.
- Your brain also releases chemicals called endorphins that make you feel pleasure.
- Individuals following a Suboxone regimen might not have experienced the challenges of opioid withdrawal, particularly the debilitating effects of substances like heroin.
- Because of these unique effects, it’s called an opioid partial agonist-antagonist.
- Based on how Suboxone affects the body and brain, taking this substance can result in dependence without addiction.
However, sometimes, neither methadone nor buprenorphine products can be used. In these cases, patients can use other non-controlled antidepressants and alcohol interactions medications to overcome addiction. These medications include clonidine and lofexidine, which can ease withdrawal symptoms.
Factors That Impact Withdrawal Timeline
But you may be less likely to want to take a full opioid, because buprenorphine satisfies your cravings and eases withdrawal symptoms. Suboxone is one of several drugs that may be prescribed in medication assisted therapy or treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. Suboxone is a prescription brand-name medication used to help people recover from opioid use disorder. Substance misuse of Suboxone can affect a person’s health, so people should only take it as the doctor prescribes. Suboxone can help people recover from opioid use disorder, and most people use this medication for this purpose.
Suboxone vs. Vivitrol
Suboxone and Zubsolv contain the same drugs and are used in the same way to treat opioid dependence. In a 2013 study, Suboxone and methadone were found to be equally effective for reducing the use of opioids and keeping users in their treatment program. There are no brand-name sublingual forms of buprenorphine available that are used to treat opioid dependence. When certain opioids are used long term for treating pain or for a “high,” tolerance to those effects can happen over time. This means your body gets used to the drug and you need higher and higher doses to get the same effect. Buprenorphine has some of the same effects as opioid drugs, but it also blocks other effects of opioids.
How to Manage Suboxone Withdrawal Symptoms
Following withdrawal, the person may use the opioid reversal agent naltrexone to maintain sobriety. Misusing Suboxone in any way can similarly lead to physical dependence, just like any other opioid, and increase the risk of withdrawal when attempting to stop using it. Hence, symptoms of Suboxone withdrawal do not set in as quickly as other opioids, and withdrawals generally last longer. Certain factors determine the duration of Suboxone withdrawal, including if the medication is gradually tapered down or quit cold turkey.
We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers. In one study, Suboxone and buprenorphine were equally effective for reducing withdrawal symptoms during the induction phase (the first phase) of opioid dependence treatment.
Are you a good fit for an intensive outpatient program?
MAT is treatment for opioid use disorder, or recovery from addiction to opioids, such as heroin, morphine, fentanyl, hydrocodone (Vicodin, Lortab, Lorcet), or oxycodone (OxyContin). MAT combines a medication to ease your opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms along with behavioral therapy and counseling. Often, doctors do not administer Suboxone until a person’s body has metabolized the opioids and they have begun experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
