How Does Suboxone Work
If you are currently addicted to opiates such as Heroin, morphine, oxycontin, vicodin or percocet, you may want to consider or know how does suboxone work. Suboxone is an opioid pain medication manufactured by the British drug company, Reckitt Benckiser, and works to alleviate pain that is associated with opiate withdrawal syndrome. Suboxone can only be prescribed by a licensed physician and is administered sublingually, which means under the tongue. Suboxone is used to treat opiate addiction and dependency and can be very helpful in getting over one of the hardest parts of an Opiate addiction, which is acute opiate withdrawal pain.
Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms
Because of the way that opiates interact with the brain, if a person has taken an opiate for an extended period of time, their body will become physically dependent on the drug. This means that the body has become so used to the increased dopamine levels in the brain; it can no longer produce the same levels naturally and depends on the opiates for this pain relief. If a person has grown dependent on opioids and suddenly quits taking them, the body will go through what is known as opiate withdrawal syndrome.
Opiate withdrawal syndrome is characterized by flu-like symptoms, insomnia, runny nose, sweating, excessive yawning, agitation, and muscle aches. As these withdrawal symptoms become more severe the individual may start to have abdominal cramping, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. While opiate withdrawal syndrome is not life threatening, it can be dangerous to individuals who are already in poor states of health.
How Does Suboxone Work to Treat Withdrawal Symptoms
Suboxone can be very helpful in treating opiate withdrawal pain and is widely regarded as a safer and less addictive alternative to methadone. Suboxone works by binding tightly to the opioid receptors in the brain, so much so, that it knocks all other opiates off the brain receptors. This is why it is extremely important to only take suboxone when you’re already in a state of moderate withdrawal. This is because, when the opioid receptors are already saturated by another opiate, it will knock off the stronger opioid and replace it with the weaker suboxone, which will cause the individual to go into rapid withdrawal.
However, when taken properly, this stronger attraction gives suboxone a much longer duration of effect, which results in a longer period of relief for the patient. Because these opioid receptors stay occupied by suboxone for a longer period of time, the effects do not wear off as quickly, causing withdrawal symptoms to be almost completely diminished for the duration of that treatment. For more information on suboxone contact your local California suboxone physician.