Is Buprenorphine the Same as Suboxone?

Methadone Withdrawal Symptoms And Treatment

What Is Buprenorphine?

Buprenorphine naloxone Vero beach is a synthetic opioid used to treat addiction to both heroin and prescription opiates like OxyContin, Vicodin, and Percocet. It should not be confused with Suboxone or Subutex, which are similar buprenorphine products prescribed as an alternative to methadone to help recovering heroin addicts avoid relapse. Buprenorphine’s addiction-recovery applications are covered in this article.

Buprenorphine is a partial opiate agonist. It has milder effects and produces less of an intense ‘high’ than full opiates (i.e., heroin), but is still effective in blocking cravings and withdrawal symptoms when used as part of addiction treatment.

It has been successfully used to help addicts transition from addiction to more powerful opiates like heroin, OxyContin, Vicodin, and Percocet without experiencing severe withdrawals or intense cravings. Fears of relapse are often the most debilitating obstacles for recovering addicts. If you’re trying to quit on your own or have tried other medications to help and just can’t seem to stay off ‘the stuff,’ buprenorphine may be right for you.

What Is SUBOXONE?

What is Suboxone? – SUBOXONE® is the brand name of a prescription medication used in opioid addiction recovery. It’s also known by its generic name, buprenorphine-naloxone. This drug choice for opiate addiction treatment involves taking buprenorphine (the main ingredient) every day and then taking an additional dose of naloxone (the antagonist) sublingually (under the tongue) once or twice a day. Naloxone is there to prevent buprenorphine from being abused as an opiate-type high since it can produce euphoric effects when taken in larger doses than prescribed for pain relief and drug detoxification. Physiologically and pharmacologically, the two substances in SUBOXONE work together to block opiate receptors in the brain and body while helping your mind and body break free from addiction.

How Are Buprenorphine and Suboxone Different?

Buprenorphine is a partial agonist. The body responds to it by producing enough natural endorphins to manage pain and relieve withdrawal symptoms without getting you ‘high.’ Suboxone contains a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, which works as an antagonist that blocks any euphoric effects from the naloxone. Thus, you need only take SUBOXONE to feel relief from withdrawal symptoms and cravings, with the bonus of staying normal without experiencing a ‘high.’ Since Suboxone is made up of two different substances that work together in your body, buprenorphine will help you manage addiction by keeping withdrawal symptoms at bay and stop cravings. In contrast, the naloxone will make sure you don’t get a ‘high’ off your own Suboxone.

Teens and adults alike have turned to prescription opioid medications for relief from pain. SUBOXONE® has been developed as an alternative solution that is less likely than buprenorphine to be abused due in part to its inclusion of the anti-opioid drug naloxone, which temporarily blocks receptors when too much medication is taken at once. When patients take their medicine home with them after a stint in treatment programs, they are more safe thanks partly to this misuse deterrent; however, it also means that clinics may not refer patients back out into society until they’ve achieved stable sobriety by way of therapy sessions or other social services offered through MATs (medication-assisted treatments).

Feris Criss

Feris Criss