When is Suboxone used or discouraged in a Florida drug rehabilitation center? The truth is, Suboxone has become the medical treatment of choice by just about all legitimate drug treatment centers. It’s effective for many people, and it’s safer than methadone. Once you’re discharged from the drug rehab, you can take Suboxone at home. Methadone requires daily visits to a methadone clinic to receive a single dose, which will last for at least 24 hours. Not all states allow Medicaid to be used for methadone treatment. However, Florida does. Florida also covers Suboxone under its Medicaid plan, although there may be certain limitations. It’s highly unlikely that any reputable Florida drug rehab would discourage the use of Suboxone without a good reason. These reasons may include an allergy to the ingredients or a past unsuccessful experience with it. Suboxone only works for opioid addictions.
What is Suboxone?
Suboxone is a combination medication with two ingredients. These are buprenorphine, a synthetic opioid and naloxone, a drug used to reverse narcotic overdose. The buprenorphine works on the same opioid receptors as any other opioid. However, it’s not a full opioid. It’s a partial agonist opioid. This means that it’s doesn’t work in the same exact way as a full agonist opioid does. It binds to the brain’s opioid receptors enough to suppress drug cravings and withdrawal symptoms, but it rarely causes euphoria in people already tolerant to other opioids. Naloxone is included to discourage intravenous abuse of the buprenorphine. The small amount of naloxone is unlikely to counter the effect of the buprenorphine when taken orally, but if the Suboxone is dissolved in water and injected, the naloxone would not only stop the buprenorphine from working, but it would also cause sudden and severe withdrawal symptoms.
Buprenorphine also has a blocking effect. If other full opioids, like morphine, for example, are ingested, there will be little to no effect. This is because buprenorphine has a higher affinity, or preference, for the brain’s opioid receptors than other opioids do. Only one molecule can occupy a receptor site at a time. Suboxone occupies the receptor, exerting its own effect but not allowing any other opioid to work. This effect continues for as long as 48 hours. It could be even longer. Buprenorphine, like methadone, has a long half-life. This means that it takes the body a long time to break it down. This makes both drugs ideal for drug maintenance treatment, because they only need to be taken once a day.
Disadvantages of Suboxone
Like all medications, Suboxone has disadvantages. It may not work for everyone, especially those with high-level addictions to very powerful opioids like fentanyl or certain synthetic opioids sold as research chemicals by rogue chemical suppliers and others online. These people need help the most, but Suboxone just may not be strong enough to help them. There are really only three options for these people:
- Cold turkey withdrawal
- Tapering
- Methadone
Cold turkey withdrawal isn’t really much of an option. The symptoms would be so severe that few could stand them. Tapering the drug dose downward over time isn’t viable, either. Few addicts, if any, have the ability to control their own drug use. If they did, they wouldn’t be addicted to begin with. And no drug rehab is going to allow tapering with a powerful opioid like fentanyl. However, methadone is a good option. At the correct dose, it will alleviate withdrawal symptoms from just about any opioid for virtually everyone. Some Florida drug rehabs may offer this option. Others may not. If you have an opioid addiction, especially a high-dose, long-standing one, to a very powerful opioid, be sure to be honest about it. Even if the drug is illegal, it’s not a problem. No one is going to tell on you. Rehabs are there to help you.
Suboxone has another major disadvantage. It cannot be given right away. If it’s taken too soon into the withdrawal process, it can actually cause a severe syndrome called Precipitated Withdrawal Syndrome, or PWS. This will make you feel far worse and can continue for several days. For this reason, Suboxone treatment must wait for at least 24 to 48 hours after the last dose of any opioid other than buprenorphine itself.
Looking for Help in Florida?
If you need help with opioid addiction and would like to attend a Florida rehab center, we are here to help you. Just call us anytime at 844-639-8371. A trained counselor will listen to your needs and help you find the perfect rehab facility for you.