Anyone taking opioid medications is at risk of addiction, since there’s no way to predict who will develop dependence. About three-quarters of drug overdose deaths in the country result from the use of opioids. While short-term use can be beneficial for pain management, even then there’s a risk of addiction due to the powerful way that opioids affect your brain’s reward centers.
While that’s part of the pain relief process these drugs offer, a void can open when you discontinue their use, creating cravings for the effects of the missing opioid. Your body may be producing fewer endorphins, your natural reward center stimulators. You’re now under the control of the opioid drug.
Premier Psychiatry specializes in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) of opioid addiction using Suboxone® Therapy, a drug preparation that uses a combination of two medications to ease the transition away from the opioid to which you’re addicted. Suboxone reduces the risk of fatal overdoses by half while easing the symptoms of opioid withdrawal. Here’s how Suboxone can help you make the break from opioids.
Suboxone basics
A combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, Suboxone is one of the most-used medications for treating opioid addiction. As an opioid antagonist, Suboxone works in an opposite way than the problem opioids, which are instead agonists to your body.
An opioid drug like heroin, morphine, or oxycodone, activates receptors in your brain that block pain and release pleasure-mimicking endorphins. Buprenorphine is also a partial opioid agonist, so you retain the opioid pain relief value, while naloxone blocks the effects that encourage dependence and addiction, making it easier to resist cravings while it reduces symptoms of opioid withdrawal.
Developed expressly for fighting opioid addiction, Suboxone has a dependency risk that’s much lower than other MATs, including methadone. Side effects of Suboxone are more mild and tend to be physical rather than psychological.
Part of an addiction treatment program
Unfortunately, simply taking Suboxone as a pill or under-the-tongue film isn’t all it takes to break an opioid addiction. Suboxone is a strong medication that’s used as part of a MAT program that includes substance abuse counseling, primary health care, and behavioral and psychological counseling.
Every patient’s treatment is different, and while Suboxone is a powerful addiction breaker, some people don’t respond to medication assistance in any useful way. Most need a combination approach to successfully navigate the opioid recovery journey.
Key to success is working with doctors and therapists you can trust, making it easier to be open and honest about your addiction and recovery. Reach out to the team at Premier Psychiatry to start or continue your opioid treatment plan. You can reach our offices by phone or online so book your consultation now.