We’ve chosen Suboxone^® especially because of its effectiveness and safety profile. The drug helps beat addiction by acting on opiate receptors in the body, helping our patients return to a “normal” feeling. The sensation of being high or feeling withdrawal is replaced by a feeling of simple balance. The treatment replaces the drugs of addiction and eliminates the symptoms of withdrawal with rapid results. Most of our patients experience relief from the symptoms of withdrawal before leaving their first visit.

Suboxone is designed to fool the same receptors, or pathways, in the brain that are affected by opiate drugs. By doing so, Suboxone allows the patient to enjoy a normal life without the withdrawal symptoms and cravings that come from other methods of quitting addictive substances.

Suboxone is the first opioid medication approved for the treatment of opioid dependence in an office-based setting. Suboxone also can be prescribed for take-home use, just as any other medicine for other medical conditions. The primary active ingredient in Suboxone is buprenorphine. Because buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, its opioid effects are limited compared with those produced by full opioid agonists, such as oxycodone or heroin. In other words, Suboxone stops withdrawal but will not get the opiate dependent person high. Suboxone also contains naloxone, an opioid antagonist. The naloxone in Suboxone is there to discourage people from dissolving the tablet and abusing it. When Suboxone is placed under the tongue, as directed, very little naloxone reaches the bloodstream, so what the patient feels are the effects of the buprenorphine. However, if naloxone is injected or snorted, it can cause a person dependent on a full opioid agonist to quickly go into excruciating withdrawal. Suboxone at the appropriate dose is used to reduce illicit opioid use, eliminate cravings for opioids and help patients stay in treatment by suppressing symptoms of opioid withdrawal.