Many people seeking to break free from an addiction to opiates or opioids turn to Suboxone to help them on their recovery journey. This medication has helped many to succeed in this realm and keeps many people on a straight and narrow path to health and freedom for the rest of their lives.
However, as with any medication, Suboxone comes with a set of pros and cons and some addiction recovery professionals and individuals in recovery consider it to be controversial in some ways. What is Suboxone? What are its benefits and pitfalls? What other options are available to people wishing to end their dependencies on opioids? Read on to learn more about Suboxone.
What is Suboxone?
Suboxone is the brand name for an FDA-approved medication that is used to help people overcome addiction to opioids. It is a combination of two medications: buprenorphine and naloxone. Together, these drugs help to combat cravings for opioids and deter people from using more dangerous opioids.
Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist. This means that this drug blocks the opioid receptors in the brain; in doing so, it reduces withdrawal symptoms, thereby reducing users’ desire to continue using.
Naloxone has an entirely different function. It is an opioid antagonist and is a drug that reverses opioid overdose. The fact that Suboxone includes nalaxone makes it difficult to abuse Suboxone. Buprenorphine, on its own, produces some effects similar to shorter-acting opioids but is much weaker than those more addictive opioids; however, if used alone, it might make some users crave faster-acting, more dangerous opioids or could become habit-forming.
The inclusion of naloxone in Suboxone deters people from injecting Suboxone for a more intense high – it makes the buprenorphine ineffective if administered in this manner. These two drugs work together to provide a slow, long, nearly indetectible stream of low-dosage, safer opioids to protect the individual from suffering from withdrawal, while at the same time keeping that person’s addiction safe and under control by keeping cravings at bay.
Although Suboxone has been very successful in keeping thousands of people away from stronger, fast-acting opioids in both the short and long term, some people in recovery and some addiction recovery professionals express hesitations about its use in addiction treatment. While it does save many lives, some people consider it to still be an addiction. It is prescribed by doctors and is used under medical supervision, but it’s still an opioid. It needs to be used daily to be effective. Some people feel that this is just a continuation of addiction, albeit a much safer alternative to heroin or other opioids.
Unlike methadone, Suboxone can be prescribed by a doctor and an individual can self-administer the drug at home. Methadone can become habit-forming and people receiving methadone treatment must visit a methadone clinic daily. The long-term plan for individuals using Suboxone is that they will eventually be weaned off the drug completely and will be able to live a life without it and will be able to remain free from opioid addiction for the rest of their lives.
Benefits of Long-Term Suboxone Use
The benefits of long-term Suboxone use are obvious. If someone can stop using dangerous street drugs or abusing opioid prescriptions, that’s certainly a win. This drug has saved countless lives since it was first developed.
Furthermore, the fact that individuals can self-administer Suboxone at home daily is a major convienience when compared to the time required to receive methadone treatments on a daily basis.
Most of all, though, the fact that some people working on their recovery are eventually able to taper off Suboxone without further risk of relapse is a major benefit. This is a long-term goal of all Suboxone patients, although many will need to use the medication for a long time before this becomes something that can work for them.
Potential Long-Term Effects of Suboxone
Like most medications, Suboxone comes with a number of common side effects. People who take Suboxone may suffer from headaches, abdominal cramps, depression, anxiety, insomnia, nausea, constipation, weakness and fatigue, and back pain.
Suboxone side effects may not be present during the early stages of use, but may present as time goes on. The longer that someone uses Suboxone, the more likely it is that they will suffer from these side effects. The severity of these side effects of long term use of Suboxone will vary from person to person.
Side effects can make it difficult to stay the course when it comes to taking any medication. It’s crucial that people attempting to break free from addiction continue to take Suboxone until their doctor helps them taper off from it. However, side effects may encourage them to quit sooner, and that can mean a return to active opioid addiction.
Doctors and patients must work together to ensure that side effects do not become severe before the patient is ready to taper off and live opioid-free.
Suboxone vs. Other Opioid Addiction Treatments
Suboxone is a very popular treatment for opioid addiction because it is very effective and safe. It’s also affordable and can be administered by an individual at home on his or her own schedule.
The most popular opioid addiction treatment prior to the development of Suboxone was methadone. Methadone is still used to treat addiction to opioids, but it has its own set of side effects and issues, and patients must visit a methadone clinic to receive treatment – a process that can be time consuming and cumbersome.
Today, many people struggling with opioid addiction are turning to ibogaine treatments to break free from their addictions. This type of treatment is not currently approved in the United States, but people travel to other countries for treatment. An ibogaine experience can help people to discover the root cause of their addiction and can help them overcome their dependencies on the drug through a medically supervised, psychotropic treatment.
Risks of Prolonged Suboxone Use vs. Benefits of Tapering Off
As mentioned above, the biggest Suboxone long term side effects can vary in severity. If someone wishes to avoid these side effects, or if the side effects become difficult to manage and bear, that individual should work with his or her doctor to begin tapering off in a safe manner, and in a way that will help him or her to avoid returning to dangerous, active, opioid addiction.
Alternative Approaches to Opioid Addiction Recovery
Suboxone can be very effective when it comes to opioid addiction recovery needs. However, alternative approaches to opioid addiction recovery may be more effective for some. Ibogaine is a fantastic option that is very helpful to many people that wish to break free from dependency to opioids.
FAQ section: What Are the Side Effects of Long Term Use of Suboxone?
Does Suboxone Cause Memory Loss?
Suboxone does not usually cause memory loss in individuals taking the drug. However, some long-term users report that Suboxone can cloud their thinking and can negatively affect cognitive function to some degree after long-term use.
Does Suboxone Affect Your Kidneys?
Fortunately, renal damage is not a side effect of Suboxone use. In fact, even patients with existing kidney disease can take Suboxone safely. It is very unlikely that Suboxone will cause any problems to one’s kidneys.
Does Suboxone Affect Your Liver?
Suboxone can potentially harm a user’s liver. Like other drugs, Suboxone is metabolized in the liver. There, it is broken into its two components: buprenorphine and naloxone. In rare cases, this process can result in damaged liver cells and inflammation. However, this is most likely in people who have pre-existing liver disease, people who continue to use other drugs or drink alcohol, and people who take Suboxone for long periods. Most people will not experience liver damage from Suboxone use.
Does Suboxone Cause Depression?
One of the long term side effects of Suboxone use might be depression for some. Not everyone who uses Suboxone will experience depression, but because depression can be a symptom of opioid withdrawal, and due to Suboxone’s affects on brain chemistry, some users may feel depressed. Also, people who have a history of depression may find that Suboxone exacerbates their pre-existing depression. In these cases, individuals taking Suboxone should work with their doctors and mental health professionals to manage their depression through other methods and in a healthy way.
Does Suboxone Make You Lose Weight?
Although weight gain – or loss – does not seem to be a side effect of Suboxone use in clinical trials, some users do report some weight gain when taking Suboxone. It’s likely that there is no direct connection between Suboxone and weight gain, but rather that people experience weight gain while using Suboxone due to other lifestyle changes that come with addiction recovery.
Does Suboxone Cause Mood Swings?
Because Suboxone alters brain chemistry, it can sometimes cause its users to experience mood swings. The fact that Suboxone works to combat withdrawal symptoms can cause tumultuous feelings, especially in the early days of use, that may be difficult to control. However, individuals experience this type of side effect can work with mental health counselors to determine healthy ways to deal with these feelings.
Does Suboxone Cause Nightmares?
Unfortunately, in some cases, Suboxone can cause nightmares and other sleep problems. The buprenorphine can change sleep patterns and can disrupt sleep in a variety of ways.
Suboxone is a very helpful medication to help those who are struggling with addiction to break free from their dependencies on dangerous opioids or opiates. It is very effective and has helped many thousands of people to stay clean and sober for long periods from drugs that could easily kill them with continued use. For this reason, many people are very thankful for Suboxone – whether they continue to use Suboxone under a doctor’s supervision or if they have managed to taper off from it completely to eventually live an entirely drug-free life.
This method of opioid treatment is not for everyone, but it has helped many people. Talk to your doctor if you think that you could benefit from Suboxone treatment. If you feel that it is not right for you but are interested in learning more about ibogaine treatments, we are standing by at Transcend Ibogaine to answer any questions that you may have. Give us a call today. We can’t wait to hear from you.