Suboxone, used in Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), is a prescription drug used to help people diagnosed with a substance use disorder. It is ideal for helping people addicted to heroin, Oxycontin, and other opioids. When used properly it helps decrease the risk of relapse significantly when used to enhance a drug treatment program.
Most people who use Suboxone can focus on their recovery by minimizing the withdrawal symptoms. Many people addicted to opioids experience withdrawal when ceasing to use their drug of choice. MAT provides “breathing room” when a person first gets clean.
Suboxone is a combination of two different drugs. It contains buprenorphine, which is a partial opioid agonist, and naloxone, a pure opioid antagonist.
In some studies, Suboxone has shown to help people quit using opioids and cease the use of other drugs as well.
Is Suboxone Safe?
Absolutely! The FDA approves it for treating opioid use disorder. For a long time, there was a stigma attached to Medication-Assisted Treatment because it wasn’t understood. Today, the FDA has designated MAT as a first-line treatment to help people cease using opioids. Unfortunately, few treatment centers offer it. (We do, however.) The drug has been safely administered in the US since 2003, and over a million patients currently take this medication.
An increasing number of people who used Suboxone to get and stay clean have continued to live a sober lifestyle after ceasing its use.
How Is It Administered?
Suboxone is most commonly administered as a sublingual film that goes under the tongue. If you are taking it at treatment, you will usually be given one a day at the prescribed dosage. It should be taken at the same time every day so that you don’t experience withdrawal symptoms. It can usually be taken alongside other medications safely, but if you use another opioid drug (or relapse), it can make you sick.
Suboxone should be used as a part of a therapeutic addiction program. Not every rehab program offers medication-assisted treatment, so you should check with them before deciding what program is right for you.
Getting Help for Addiction
Do you need help with an opioid use disorder? Are you considering drug treatment? Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) like Suboxone can help you achieve long-term sobriety alongside a professional treatment program. We offer MAT alongside traditional treatment and can help you chart your course to a new way of living. You deserve to reclaim your life, and we’re here to help you. Please call us at 1-800-970-8774.