How Does Suboxone Medication Work?

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Suboxone is the brand name for the medication of Buprenorphine and Naloxone. There are many manufacturers and variations of the medication such as Subutex and Zubsolv.  Sublocade is an injectable version of Buprenorphine that also has equal success rates and great benefits besides missing the Naloxone part. However, this version of the medication is not possible via online telehealth treatment and therefore not offered at Recover Clarity. It is the view of Recover Clarity that Suboxone is one of the best medications to assist with addiction treatment recovery from Opioid Use Disorder. The reason is that it is only a partial opioid agonist combined with an opioid antagonist. So, what does that mean? First, to learn about the Buprenorphine component in Suboxone.

Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, which means it activates the opioid receptors in the brain but to a much lesser degree than that of full opioid agonists like Methadone. The advantage is that Buprenorphine will eliminate withdrawal symptoms and cravings while being an easier medication to taper off, which being medication free should be the goal with any opioid addiction treatment. Also, being a partial opioid agonist means there is a ceiling effect to Buprenorphine. This means that there is a decreased chance for abuse of the medication as it cannot produce the euphoric “high” that a medication such as Methadone can produce, or that of other opioids. Therefore when looking at Suboxone vs Methadone, many believe that Suboxone is the better medication for the reasons listed here along with the Naloxone component in the medication.

How Buprenorphine assists in the treatment of opioid addiction is that it binds to the same receptors that full agonist opioids work on. This assists with two aspects of concern when looking at opioid addiction treatment. The first is it will assist in decreasing cravings for opioids, which in turn will assist with relapse prevention. There is no magical medication to fully remove cravings, and this is where traditional therapy or the Psychoeducational Therapy platform at Recover Clarity will provide additional assistance. Cravings are both physiological and psychological, in which both aspects need to be treated.

The second benefit of Buprenorphine is that it assists with withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Many seeking addiction treatments are at a point where their usage is largely to just keep away withdrawal symptoms. These can be very severe and extremely unpleasant. Again, by binding to the same receptors as full agonist opioids, Buprenorphine will alleviate the withdrawal effects. Allowing a person to go about living their life without the pain the withdrawal effects cause. And through medically advised tapering of Buprenorphine (Suboxone or Subutex), as provided here at Recover Clarity, decreasing off Suboxone is feasible with minimal discomfort.

A third advantage of Buprenorphine treatment is that it is allowed to be prescribed by online Suboxone Doctors. Methadone still requires in-person appointments. For those that have transportation issues, scheduling issues, or just do not have clinic options near them due to living in a rural area, online Suboxone doctors such as at Recover Clarity make a great treatment option. Outside of these again it is the view of Recover Clarity that Suboxone is the preferred method of treatment for Opioid Use Disorder, which vast medical research supports this view. Studies have shown that individuals using the assistance of Suboxone in their opioid addiction recovery are three times as successful in their recovery.

The second component of Suboxone is Naloxone. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist which means it blocks the effects of opioids, however how it is combined in Suboxone it will allow the Buprenorphine to work. The Naloxone part of the medication assists in preventing relapses and can decrease the chance of an overdose in the event of a relapse. Naloxone is the active ingredient in Narcan, which is commonly used to reverse the effects of opioids and used to save individuals from fatal overdose. Because of the safety net that Naloxone offers in treatment, this is the preferred medication for Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) treatment. Medications of Subutex and Sublocade do not have this valuable component of Naloxone.

Many patients have questions about the dosage of Buprenorphine that they should be prescribed. When it comes to treatment for opioid addiction, the maximum dosage should be 16 mg. Some doctors have written prescriptions for more than 16 mg but this does not serve any benefit to the patient for assisting with withdrawal and cravings. The difference of opioid receptor coverage between 16 mg and 24 mg is below one percent. The additional medication only has the patient at a higher dosage which would take them time to decrease back down to normal doses. Many physicians that write these larger dosages may only have the drive to keep patients addicted to medication and not have a full recovery treatment plan in mind.