Is Suboxone a better treatment for opioid addiction than methadone?

1. 83

   liladybugz26posted 10 years ago

   Is Suboxone a better treatment for opioid addiction than methadone?

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2. 69

   Sharp Pointsposted 10 years ago

   It depends on the situation the person is in. If the tolerance to whatever other opiate is high enough then Suboxone a.k.a. Buperenorphine will not have any effect on them. This is because somewhere between 24mg & 32mg there is a ceiling effect.
   
   Basically that means that you can keep on taking them and will not feel any different. In this case people would either use Methadone to taper down and then switch to Suboxone, or find an alternative method.
   
   Methadone has no ceiling effect, so it can be used to handle any level of tolerance. This also means that there is a higher risk for abuse, as you can misuse the medication and get high from it. This is why Suboxone is prescribed to many to use from home, while most Doctors will not openly prescribe Methadone.
   
   I personally believe that Suboxone is better for treating addiction due to the reasons above. That being said, Suboxone is not a magical fix to addiction. A person with no tolerance to any type of opiate would feel high from Subs. A doctor once told me it was originally used for people recovering from surgeries. That should tell you how strong of a medication it is.
   
   Just remember that with either drug, they are most efficient when taken for only one to three weeks. After that, they can and often do become counter effective. From what I have been told by people who have experienced it, doctors, and from reading various articles online, Methadone withdrawal is MUCH more intense than for example heroin or oxycodone withdrawal.
   
   Either way, when coming off these medications, one will experience withdrawals for an extended amount of time. This is from the half life of the two drugs, which is the same reason they are used for opiate maintenance. Please e-mail me if you have any more questions.
   
   And for whoever wants to make an attempt at quitting either "cold or warm turkey", I have created a hub that should help them.
   
   http://sharppoints.hubpages.com/hub/At-Home-Detox
   
   Hope my answer was of some help!

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