Buprenorphine is the main ingredient in the opioid treatment drug that is known under the brand name of Suboxone. It is a drug that is also an opioid and therefore can produce the same euphoric effects of said opioids. However, the effects pale in comparison to heroin and methadone.
Buprenorphine is used as a treatment for addiction to opioids. Instead of addicts completely taking opioids out of their systems, causing severe withdrawal symptoms, this drug is taken to slowly help the abuser get off of opioids. It essentially blocks the effects of other opioids. As the dosages of the drug increase, so do the opioid effects. Instead of constantly increasing like other opioids, buprenorphine creates a plateau, so the effects are no longer in existence. This is called the “ceiling effect.”
Because of this plateau, there is little risk of a developing an addiction (though it is still plausible) and it is much safer in an overdose versus full opioids. The risks of this drug are similar to other opioids, including:
- Nausea
- Melancholy mood changes
- Sweating
- Insomnia
- Craving
- Agitation
This type of treatment is essentially a three phase process: introduction, stabilization, and maintenance. In the introduction phase, the patient is diagnosed with the addiction and is first given the drug.
The stabilization phase occurs after the patient is showing significant improvement from treatment is having fewer cravings and withdrawal symptoms, and the amount of buprenorphine is adjusted accordingly.
The maintenance phase begins when stabilization is achieved and the patient is steadily doing well on a given dosage of buprenorphine. This phase must be medically supervised, and involves slowly taking the patient off of the assisting drug.
