Bryan Wood, M.D. and Robin Peavler, M.D., together offering more than 40 years of Emergency Medicine experience, founded SelfRefind. With a staff of caring physicians, nurses, intake specialists, psychologists, and laboratory technicians, they offer patients a clinical experience unlike any other. Comfortably appointed clinics offer immediately available appointments in confidential settings designed to treat those with substance dependence like patients, not like problems.
How Does SelfRefind Treat Dependence with Suboxone®?
Suboxone is composed of buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine, the primary active ingredient in Suboxone, is a partial opioid agonist with a high affinity for the opioid receptor and lower intrinsic activity than full opioid agonists.
These properties enable Suboxone to:
- Eliminate opioid withdrawal symptoms, decrease cravings, improve treatment retention and drastically reduces illicit opioid use.
- At adequate doses, block the effects of subsequently administered opioids by keeping them from binding to the receptors.
- Simply create a physical feeling of “normalcy” patients usually have not experienced in many years.
- Suboxone has a half-life of 36 hours.
- Cause less physical dependence than full agonists.
- Allow patients to focus on normal life activities, important to successful recovery, instead of just fighting withdrawal.
The Role of Naloxone
If Suboxone is intentionally misused (i.e., crushed and injected intravenously or snorted), the naloxone component attenuates the effects of buprenorphine and precipitates withdrawal in a person dependent on a full opioid agonist. When taken sublingually, naloxone does not exhibit a clinically significant effect thus encouraging appropriate use in recovery treatment.
Notes for Community Healthcare Providers on Suboxone Therapy
SelfRefind patients and Suboxone Therapy in general, creates questions and treatment issues for physicians in the community that we regularly need to address. We hope this page will address these issues most of the time. PLEASE do not hesitate to contact your patient’s SelfRefind physician to address any question, even those covered here. In our opinion, physician-to-physician communication is always best, and we strive to meet that need.
Remember one very important fact - the typical reason you know your patient is on Suboxone/Subutex is because they told you. They are being honest about a stigmatized chronic disease called opiate addiction. More important than being honest, they are clearly seeking treatment for their disease state. We ask, as their treating physicians, that you treat them with dignity and respect. Use this information to provide them with well-informed treatment decisions and goals, not stereotyped behavior from the frustration all physicians feel from addiction issues. Please review and disseminate this information.
Medication Conflicts
Many medications have minor interactions with buprenorphine (the main active ingredient of Suboxone and Subutex), either very slightly increasing or very slightly decreasing the serum concentration levels of buprenorphine.
Other Issues
We are sure other issues and discussions may arise for our patients and their care by other providers. Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions or concerns about any patient on Suboxone . Our desire is to provide the best, most compassionate care for this particular patient population.