What Is Suboxone? Video
Questions about Suboxone are some of the most frequent I get at work.
Many people suffering from addiction have been prescribed Suboxone (or Subutex) either in order to detox from other opioid medications, or as a maintenance treatment.
The opinion and feedback on the treatment is varied and passionate. Some claim that Suboxone is a miracle drug that has saved their lives; others feel like zombies and cannot get off the medication.
People who have been prescribed Suboxone, and the people who love them, often wonder how it works In the two minute video below, the folks over at The Fix discuss the mechanics.
For a more comprehensive discussion about the effectiveness and various uses of Suboxone and other buprenorphine-based medications, check out the recent Ask an Expert article, "Should I Go Off Suboxone? If So, How?" in which 11 experts in the addiction field give their opinion on if, when, and how to get off opiate replacement therapies.
Unfortunately, there's a lot of controversy in recovery communities around medical assisted treatment (MAT). I came across this meme on a Facebook recovery page that claims to have been created to help people in recovery. It was posted by someone working with people in recovery and who claims to be dedicated to helping people.
This is obviously and thankfully not the opinion of everyone in recovery, but as in any field, organization, or community we're going to continue to come across and be confronted with ignorance and misinformed opinion.
As The Fix writes in their corresponding article:
"There is some prejudice in recovery communities against Medication Assisted Treatment. On the opposing side, critics of 12-step programs often complain that complete abstinence should not be the definition for recovery. We believe that everything should be available to everyone, and applaud and encourage programs like the recent one in Gloucester, MA in which the police department is offering help instead of punitive measures. The OD-reversing drug Naloxone should be easily available to everyone, and programs which have proven records of preventing illness and deaths (like needle exchanges) should be welcomed in all communities. Some of us would not have made it to a happy and healthy drug-free life if it weren't for earlier harm reduction measures that were easily accessible to us."
Read more about medical assisted treatment in our resource section article "Detox Medication"
