How Suboxone Helps Patients Beat Opioid Addiction

Among the biggest challenges in breaking the bonds of opioid addiction is enduring the miserable withdrawal period. That is where Suboxone® comes in. Under medical supervision from the experts at Health Solutions, this treatment gives patients a chance to gain the upper hand on the substance use problem once and for all.

Our board-certified physicians offer the following overview of how Suboxone helps beat the addiction.

Your brain on opioids

To better understand how Suboxone works, it’s helpful to understand opioids’ addictive effect on the brain. Opioids attach themselves to certain receptors on the nerve cells in your brain, which disrupts pain signals and provides a euphoric and calming effect.

Opioids trigger the pleasure centers in the brain. From there, the brain rewires itself to receive more of the drug for ongoing pleasure. This leads to both dependence and addiction.

As a result or the brain’s new wiring, any effort to deny your body the drug can lead to some fairly awful withdrawal symptoms, such as:

• anxiety and agitation
• fatigue
• runny nose
• watery eyes
• hot and cold sweats
• aching and painful muscles
• nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea

These symptoms can last from a week to a month, driving many people to relapse.

Battling back

Suboxone eases the symptoms of withdrawal considerably. , Suboxone contains two ingredients — buprenorphine and naloxone — and each works in different ways.

Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist. As such, it blocks the opiate receptors in your brain, reducing cravings while simultaneously minimizing the effects of withdrawal. This ingredient delivers enough of the opioid to prevent extreme discomfort but not enough to get you high, keeping the receptors in your brain quiet.

The second ingredient, naloxone, is an opioid antagonist, which shuts down the opioid receptors in your brain, preventing you from feeling the effects of the drug.

Combining the two ingredients is designed to deliver what your body needs to ease physical withdrawal while keeping your cravings in check by overriding your receptors.

Moving ahead

Generally, we recommend Suboxone to help get patients through the early most vulnerable stages of recovery. This FDA-approved medication offers a gentler transition, providing enough space to take the necessary steps to overcome substance use disorder.

Every patient is different. For that reason, it’s impossible to put a timeline on Suboxone treatment. But rest assured, our goal is to get you off all drugs and leading a clean and sober life as soon as possible.

To learn more about how Suboxone, call the office most convenient to you — Tinley Park, Rockford, Olympia Fields, Illinois, and Munster, Indiana — or book your consultation using the online button.