When To Start Suboxone Treatment

Suboxone treatment is known to prevent death from an opioid overdose, provided that it’s administered in time. The key ingredients in suboxone, buprenorphine and naloxone, help overcome unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when attempting to stop using drugs such as morphine or hydrocodone. Buprenorphine, approved for clinical use in October 2002 by the FDA, blocks the opioid receptors in the body and reduces the person’s urges. Naloxone, on the other hand, rapidly reverses opioid overdose.

At present, suboxone treatment is used in clinics across the United States and is the preferred treatment medication for opioid addiction. In this article, we’ll discuss when to start suboxone treatment.

Find a suboxone clinic and seek medical care

If you’re a victim of opioid addiction, you most likely understand the devastating consequences that accompany this disease. Opioid abuse puts a tremendous amount of strain on the body, affecting vital organs and leading to high-risk health issues. As your casual substance use becomes a full-grown addiction, it destroys social relationships, as well as having serious financial and legal consequences.

If you’re unable to reduce or quit using prescription pain medicines or illegal drugs on your own, it’s recommended to seek addiction treatment. Treatment with suboxone is a safe and effective way to help people struggling with opioid addiction.

To begin your journey towards recovery, it’s necessary to go to a suboxone clinic for medical advice and treatment. The outpatient rehabilitation center combines behavioral therapy with prescription medication to treat opioid addiction. Expert practitioners know how to make this therapy work. Rather than taking pain pills or street opioids, the patient takes a daily dose of Suboxone. It prevents intoxication, eliminates cravings, and, most importantly, allows people to regain control of their lives. At the end of the treatment, you can enjoy relative normalcy and safety.

When is it safe to withdraw from opioids with the help of suboxone?

Precipitated withdrawal, which is caused by the administration of a receptor antagonist, takes place instantaneously and with peak intensity. The symptoms are so intense that they lead to health problems and can even send the person to the hospital. Examples include diarrhea, vomiting, intense sweating, and other severe side effects that can lead to serious health issues. To prevent something like this from happening, patients should be in mild or moderate withdrawal prior to the administration of the first dose of suboxone.

It’s not safe to administer suboxone treatment to patients that are high on opioids. If you want your treatment to be successful, stop using opioids for a certain period. Being opioid-free comes with many advantages such as protecting yourself from undesirable side effects like reduced pain relief, which delay healing. It’s paramount to be honest with yourself and your health care team about when you last used prescription pain medicines or illegal drugs and what you used. Depending on the type of drug and you’ve been using and for how long you’ve abused it, it might take a couple of weeks to reduce your dose and get off opioids.

When to start Suboxone treatment

To determine the ideal moment to start suboxone treatment, the doctor will wait until you’ve scored a minimum of 5 to 6 on the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale, which is consistent with mild withdrawal symptoms. This is very important in terms of opioid withdrawal management. If the symptoms aren’t effectively tracked and managed, the patient may likely relapse into opioid abuse. It might be necessary to increase the dosage of suboxone based on your needs and tolerance. Generally speaking, a long term treatment is prescribed, which is designed to permanently end the addiction. The harmful substances are removed from the body and, thanks to counseling and support, you can overcome negative thoughts and cravings.

Given the fact that it’s difficult to determine exactly when to administer suboxone, detoxification and withdrawal should never take place at home. As a regular person, you don’t have the necessary medical training to successfully complete this process. Just quitting taking opioids isn’t easy. Attempting to detox at home is extremely risky, not just because there’s a strong chance you’ll relapse into opioid abuse, but also because you may require hospitalization or even die. It’s important to enter a professional facility, such as a suboxone clinic, and begin the recovery process. Medical detox is the safest option.