How Long Should Suboxone Treatment Last?

If you’re looking for ways to get clean from a heroin or opioid addiction, you may be overwhelmed by the options available to you. Depending on the level of your addiction as well as your personality, some treatments are more suitable than others. One such treatment is the use of Suboxone to help you rid your body of the opioids you are addicted to. However, what exactly is Suboxone, and how long should a Suboxone treatment last? Is it quick or does it take a longer term process to get clean?

In this article, we look to answer those questions as well as compare Suboxone treatment to Methadone so that you can ascertain which may be better for you. Whatever treatment you do decide to go ahead with, it’s imperative to work closely with your doctor or a healthcare professional. They will be able to guide you through the tough times as well as keep you strong at moments of weakness.

What is Suboxone treatment?

Suboxone is actually an opioid itself that’s used to help those with a bigger opioid dependence. For that reason, it too can be habit forming if not used as directed as a doctor prescribed.

Doctors prescribe it as treatment as it can help alleviate and prevent the withdrawal symptoms that come from stopping using other opioids. Suboxone is a brand name for a generic drug that is made up of buprenorphine and naloxone.

While other brands may differ in form, Suboxone comes in the guise of an oral film. Users take it by simply putting it in their mouth — under their tongue or in between their cheek and teeth. Doing so will let the drug infiltrate their body to help deal with the withdrawal symptoms a user may be feeling. It’s for that reason that Suboxone is used as a course of treatment for wider opioid usage.

How does Suboxone treatment differ from Methadone treatment?

Suboxone treatment and Methadone differ from each other in a number of ways, even though both are widely used as a treatment for opioid dependence. Methadone can also be used to alleviate chronic pain, which Suboxone cannot.

 

It’s also taken in different ways to Suboxone. While Suboxone is only available in an oral film, methadone can come as a tablet, it can be injected, swallowed as a liquid or as a tablet which can be dissolved in liquid. Suboxone can be more expensive than Methadone, although either course of treatment is available through insurance companies on certain policies.

Additionally, when Methadone is being used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms, methadone can only be used in the company of doctors or healthcare professionals at registered centers. After you have been using Methadone for a while, a doctor may allow you to take the drug at home. Suboxone, however, does not have to be taken at a center to begin with (though many doctors will recommend that). It only needs a prescription.

How long should Suboxone treatment last?

As with any drug recovery program, the length of treatment will depend on the patient. Patients should have their usage closely monitored so that they can be slowly weaned off the drug to become clean once and for all. If you’re uncertain about the length of treatment that your Suboxone treatment will or should be, talk it through thoroughly first with your doctor or treatment manager. They will be able to explain how the drug will work for you and your particular circumstances — while taking into account all your other medical needs.

Suboxone treatment – key takeaways

Suboxone treatment can be a highly effective way to manage the withdrawal from opioid dependence. However, it’s still not easy and it needs to be closely monitored to ensure that it is doing the job it needs to. Monitoring will also ensure that no larger dependence on Suboxone takes place which will only cause more problems further down the line for a patient. For this reason, a patient and doctor need to work together to make sure that the best possible result is reached as quickly as possible.