Suboxone – Kansas City, KS
Helping You Fight Your Addiction
As great as medication-assisted treatment may sound, perhaps you're afraid to try it. Many would-be patients worry that the drugs involved could lead them to relapse. Well, we at B&L Medical Group have good news: our office can provide you with Suboxone in Kansas City. Even as this medicine treats opioid use disorder (OUD), it also discourages its own misuse. Just read below to learn more about how it works, or book a consultation visit to see us.
What’s Suboxone?
Some people fear that medication-assisted treatment could cause a relapse. Still, you needn’t have this worry about Suboxone.
Suboxone combines two drugs – buprenorphine and naloxone – to treat OUD. The first of these is a partial opioid agonist, which has greatly reduced opiate effects compared to full agonists (Vicodin, heroin, etc.) On the other hand, naloxone is an opioid antagonist; it stops opiates from attaching to brain molecules to discourage misuse.
Given the facts above, patients aren’t likely to have issues with Suboxone. Its naloxone would make you sick if injected, so the drug doesn’t work as a legal substitute for an illegal addiction.
How is Suboxone Administered?
How we administer Suboxone will partly depend on your case – your addiction type, the state of your withdrawal, etc. That said, the process does have a few set points.
The Suboxone a patient takes will come as a tablet or as a thin film. In either form, it’s placed under the tongue at a starting dose of 4 mg buprenorphine and 1 mg naloxone. This tablet or film should dissolve after 5 to 10 minutes, curb any cravings, and serve as the day’s dose. Nurse Laura will then slowly reduce the dosage until your treatment eventually stops.
Based on a patient's response, the starting dose can be increased as needed. However, you should consult your doctor about the rate of dosage decrease.
What are the Benefits of Suboxone?
Compared to other drugs used for medication-assisted treatment, Suboxone has benefits like:
- Reduced Cravings – As a partial opioid agonist, Suboxone blocks the effect of full opioids. That means taking it should reduce your cravings.
- Little-to-no Withdrawal – Because Suboxone takes the place of riskier drugs, it eases the withdrawal symptoms you have from quitting opioids.
- Low Risk of Misuse –Suboxone has a rather low risk of misuse. Because it includes naloxone, injecting the drug would cause patients to feel sick.
- High Effectiveness – Suboxone is as effective as buprenorphine alone at reducing opioid use. Those taking it are also more likely to be sober, be employed, and have a good quality of life.
Contact us for Details
Suboxone is an excellent way to overcome an opioid addiction, so it’s worth learning about in detail. If you’d like to find out more, just contact our team at 913-713-1238 or visit our website. We’ll gladly advise you on potential treatment options and help you live a healthier life now!
