Over the years, Suboxone has gained much attention due to its effectiveness in helping people with an opioid use disorder recover from their addiction. This treatment is quite popular because it dramatically reduces a patient’s risk of an opioid overdose. If you are in doubt, you can check out recovery delivered in rehab centres across the country.

It can also help prevent cravings from developing, enabling individuals to get back to their lives free from addiction. Despite being quite effective in treatment, there are still several myths about Suboxone as an opioid treatment method.

These myths include:

1. You are not Really in Recovery if you Take Suboxone

Addiction is a health condition like any other disease that requires the right medical treatment. And just like any other illness, you need to have the right treatment and drug prescription for the recovery process. And while the use of suboxone goes against the traditional form of opioid addiction treatment as it uses medication, it has helped lower the risk of opioid abuse.

This treatment method also has a proven success rate in helping opioid addicts individually wean off from an opioid addiction gradually. The best part about this is that they get to do it with no withdrawal symptoms.

This aspect makes suboxone a safe and effective way to transition from an opioid addiction life to a normal and more productive one.

2. It is Easy to Overdose on Suboxone like Opioids

This myth isn’t true. Unlike opioids, it is pretty difficult to overdose from the use of suboxone alone. This drug is a partial opiate receptor agonist that doesn’t fully bind your body’s opioid receptors like oxycodone, heroin, or morphine.

Suboxone has a built-in limit effect that causes your receptors to activate less and give you an analgesic activity. It also limits the effects on your opioid receptors, which, in turn, lowers your chances of sedation.

An overdose from the use of suboxone might result from mixing the drug with other medications like benzodiazepines. Such a mixture can slow down your breathing. As with any other medicine, it is never safe to combine suboxone with different types of medications.

So, always ensure that you inform your doctor about any type of medication you are on before you start a suboxone treatment program.

3. It can be Abused

The reality is like any other opiate, Suboxone can be misused or abused. However, the difference between suboxone and other opiates is that it causes less euphoria. Its less euphoric ability makes it hard to abuse the drug. In most cases, people who use suboxone do so to help themselves manage withdrawal from opioids.

4. It isn’t a Treatment for Addiction, especially if you aren’t Going for Therapy as well

It’s no secret that any ideal addiction treatment should include therapy, support groups, recovery coaching, and employment support. However, that doesn’t mean that using one component of addiction treatment without the others isn’t a valid treatment method.

According to statistics, about 10 to 20% of people with an opioid use disorder don’t get adequate treatment for their addiction. This might be because of the shortages of qualified healthcare providers or the flaws in the healthcare system.

And while receiving a combination of treatments is an admirable goal, not everyone can realistically receive all the aspects of addiction treatment. Therefore the use of suboxone alone can serve as an effective opioid addiction treatment method. However, it will be more effective if you combine it with other forms of treatment like recovery coaching or therapy.

5. It should be Taken for a Short Time

There is still insufficient evidence that can support the claim that for suboxone to be effective, it has to be taken for a short period. How long to take suboxone to manage your opioid addiction depends on the patient.

However, for you to have successful results from the use of suboxone treatment, you should be closely monitored by your doctor. This ensures that you receive the right dosage and that your consumption of suboxone is reduced over time.

One of the major obstacles people face when using suboxone treatment for opioid addiction is the stigma. Over the years, the perception has changed, and more people have had a more humane view of suboxone treatment. Also, thanks to the available information, eliminating myths about this treatment has become pretty easy. It has also made it more accessible to people in dire need of this form of treatment, as they may not have the treatment they need to handle their opioid addiction.

By Manali