Alcohol and mental health are closely connected, with a strong link between alcohol misuse and…
How Suboxone Treatment Works and Why You Should Seek Treatment
Sadly, opioid addiction is on the rise worldwide, and the United States is one of the countries with many opioid addicts. Health experts estimate that about 23% of individuals who abuse heroin develop opioid addiction. Even so, the good news is that people with opioid addiction can seek suboxone treatment from a suboxone clinic in Fort Lauderdale or a city near them.
If you or your relative is fighting opioid addiction, you’ll be interested to learn about suboxone treatment and its benefits. On that note, let’s discuss suboxone treatment and its advantages.
What Is Suboxone?
Suboxone is a partial opioid agonist that is made of buprenorphine and naloxone. These are two of the three active ingredients found in FDA-approved medications to treat opioid dependency. Apart from suboxone, the other medication approved to treat opioid addiction is methadone. Treating opioid addiction with suboxone or methadone is commonly referred to as medication-assisted therapy (MAT).
How Does Suboxone Treatment Work?
Being a partial opioid agonist, suboxone binds to the opioid receptors in the brain. In so doing, it blocks the euphoric effects of other opiates such as morphine, oxycodone, and heroin. This way, if a patient has abused any opiate, suboxone will help suppress the craving of getting more opiates. Also, suboxone treatment dilutes the intoxication caused by opiates, and this helps a patient transition from addiction to normalcy without experiencing severe withdrawal effects.
Now that you know what suboxone is and how it works, let’s explore the benefits of suboxone treatment.
No Chances of Getting Addicted to Suboxone
Suboxone does not trigger opioid effects like respiratory depression, sedation, and euphoria when taken as prescribed. Seeing that suboxone contains naloxone, an opioid antagonist, it is an effective abuse-deterrent. As such, it’s hard to get addicted to suboxone when you take it as prescribed by your doctor because the naloxone will be dominant.
You may only get addicted if you alter the suboxone and inject or snort it. In such a case, you’ll experience opioid withdrawal symptoms. However, if you complete suboxone treatment as prescribed, you’ll not get addicted, and it will be effective in treating your opioid dependency.
Suboxone Treatment Gives You More Freedom and Less Stigma
Unlike methadone treatment that can only be dispensed through an opioid treatment program, suboxone treatment can be prescribed from walk-in clinics. Additionally, an opioid treatment program must be certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This makes the treatment public, and you must get your dose at the methadone clinic daily. Hence, you’re exposed to stigma and public ridicule, which doesn’t help your opioid addiction recovery.
Conversely, suboxone treatment doctors will see you in their private clinics and write you a prescription. You can then pick your medication from your local pharmacy and take it from the comfort of your home. This allows you to take your medication privately in peace, and this boosts your recovery time.
The Suboxone Treatment Cost Is Affordable
Although methadone may look like the more affordable treatment option in the short term, that is not the case from a long-term perspective. Given that there are higher chances of getting addicted to methadone and the fact that you may have to deal with stigma, recovery may take longer.
On the other hand, suboxone treatment is more effective, and you’re likely to take less time to recover. Suboxone treatment costs may be higher, but recovery is faster. You’ll spend less time in treatment with no risk of getting addicted to suboxone. When you’re looking to kick away opioid addiction, the sooner you do it, the more time you’ll have to deal with post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS).
If you or a close friend or relative is dealing with opioid addiction, you’ll get an effective solution through suboxone treatment. You don’t have to suffer and let your opioid dependency destroy your life. Instead, visit one of the suboxone treatment centers near you.