A combination of two drugs, buprenorphine and naloxone, Suboxone is prescribed for opiate detox and opiate addiction treatment. If you are addicted to prescription painkillers like OxyContin, Vicodin, Percodan, Percocet, Dilaudid, Darvocet—any opioid-based medication—then a prescription for Suboxone as part of an individualized treatment plan is a great way to break your physical addiction to the drug and stop taking it without feeling sick.

How To Take Suboxone

A sublingual tablet, Suboxone is placed under the tongue where you let it dissolve. Don’t swallow! It won’t work. If your prescription is for multiple tablets of Suboxone, then put them all under your tongue at once and let them dissolve. If there are too many to do this comfortably, then take them two at a time until you’ve completed your dose. Try taking it at the same time every day so that you don’t forget.

How Not To Take Suboxone

No matter what, do not try dissolving the tablet in water and injecting it. The naloxone in the medication is in there precisely to prevent people from abusing the drug in this way: the naloxone is an opiate blocker and when it is injected, it binds to your opiate receptors and stops the buprenorphine from doing its job. Instead of getting high, you could immediately go into withdrawal. It’s not pretty, and it doesn’t feel good.

Follow Your Suboxone Treatment Plan

Make sure you take the exact amount prescribed. Don’t suddenly stop taking it or increase your dose without discussing it with your doctor. You should have a treatment plan which outlines for you when you should decrease your dose and by how much. Ultimately, your treatment plan should end with you no longer taking Suboxone. This can take as few as six weeks, depending upon the dose of painkiller you are currently addicted to.

If you miss a dose, don’t double up next time to make up for it. This drug doesn’t work that way. If you remember within a few hours of when you normally would take it, go ahead and take your regular dose. But if it’s close to the time that you would take the next dose anyway, just skip it and wait for the next dosing time.

A Few More Notes on Suboxone Treatment

* Not that you would want to, but don’t share your Suboxone prescription with anyone else. It won’t do them any good without taking it regularly and you will feel sick if you suddenly stop taking it or decrease your dose.

* Make sure that you tell your family physician, dentist—any and all doctors who treat you medically—that you are taking Suboxone. This includes paramedics or emergency room staff should you suddenly need emergency treatment. If you’re on the medication for a long time, your doctor should give you some lab and medical tests to make sure that your liver and other organs are functioning as they should.

* Store Suboxone at room temperature and keep it away from bright light and moisture. That means that the bathroom is out, even if it’s in the medicine cabinet. And definitely keep it in a childproof container well out of reach of small children and pets and out of sight of teenagers.

If you like this post subscribe to the feed

"Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Using Suboxone…But Didn’t Know To Ask" posted in Addiction Recovery, Detox, Drug Withdrawal, Opiates, Outpatient treatment, Painkillers, Prescription Drug Addiction, Suboxone, Suboxone Treatment.
Subscribe: comments.