Suboxone Detox

Suboxone, a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, is typically introduced as part of a treatment plan for opioid addiction. It is often used in the treatment of heroin or narcotic painkiller addictions because using it can prevent withdrawal symptoms caused by quitting these drugs. However, because Suboxone is itself addictive, the recovering addict can easily develop an addiction to the treatment drug. Other individuals develop a Suboxone addition through illegal use. Fortunately, most people can successfully overcome a Suboxone addiction with the help of a trained medical professional.

Recognizing the Need for Suboxone Detox

If you have successfully recovered from opioid addiction by using Suboxone, it can be disheartening to know that you might have to detox yet again. If you have remained clean of the original drug for months or years and are still taking Suboxone, this could be a sign that you are addicted and should wean yourself off the treatment drug. Any use of Suboxone outside the prescribed frequency and dose recommended by your doctor is also considered drug abuse and indicates that you should taper your dose and wean off Suboxone. Even legitimate users may need to undergo a detox program to stop using Suboxone, especially if they have used the drug every day for a long period of time.

Detoxing from Suboxone

Suboxone detox is typically not dangerous and doesn’t usually produce severe withdrawal symptoms. In most cases, the doctor works with the addict to reduce the intake of Suboxone gradually, which reduces the chances of significant withdrawal symptoms even more. Withdrawal symptoms may include a loss of appetite, insomnia, irritability, and fatigue. In most cases, withdrawal symptoms only last a few days. One major danger of Suboxone detox is the possibility of relapsing and starting to take the original opioid drug again as your Suboxone dose decreases. Carrying out your Suboxone detox in an inpatient clinic can help prevent this possibility during the tapering phase. Your doctor may also want to perform regular blood tests during detox to help determine whether the drug has completely left your system and to ensure that you don’t relapse and start taking painkillers or heroin again.

Suboxone Detox Schedule

You can work with a trained medical professional to develop a Suboxone detox schedule that is effective for you. In most cases, this means halving the dose every three to four days until you are weaned off the drug. However, the specific withdrawal schedule you need may have to be worked out using trial and error. Intensive monitoring during this process can vastly improve your chances of success. If you experience severe withdrawal symptoms or return to using the drug that Suboxone was originally prescribed for, you might need to slow the detox schedule and wean yourself off more slowly.

If you need to speak to someone about Suboxone detox and how to develop a dose-tapering schedule that is right for you, call us at 1-800-660-0986 for a free, confidential referral.