What is Buprenorphine?
Buprenorphine is an opioid medication that is used to treat opioid use disorder. Buprenorphine is used in Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Addiction – helping people to quit using opioids and/or lower the dosages used (weening-off).
Buprenorphine For Medication Assisted Treatment
Doctors and addiction treatment centers use Buprenorphine in patients suffering from opioid use disorder to help them in a number of ways, including:
- Buprenorphine to keep you from using heroin or other illicit opioid drugs.
- Buprenorphine to prevent opioid overdoses.
- Buprenorphine for opioid use disorder maintenance programs.
- Buprenorphine for opioid detox and quitting opioids.
How Buprenorphine Can Help to Prevent Overdoses
In the 2020s, the majority of fatal opioid overdoses come from illegal opioid drugs like heroin or or pills bought on the streets. These street narcotics are often mixed with fentanyl and other powerful synthetic opioids that increases the risk of accidental overdose.
Buprenorphine can act as a replacement drug for those addicted to opioids, easing the withdrawal symptoms of opioid withdrawal. This can help the individual start to ween-off opioids altogether, or its continued use (through a maintenance program) can offer protection from having to use dangerous street opioids. This is particularly of help in those patients that are using opioids to control severe pain.
Buprenorphine as a Pain Management Option
Buprenorphine is an opioid itself — though considered more stable and controlled than other more powerful opioids like heroin, morphine, etc. Therefore, Buprenorphine holds many of the same pain-blocking properties that heroin and prescription opioids offer. Many opioid treatment programs for those suffering from chronic pain utilize Buprenorphine as the preferred medication for both pain management and opioid use disorder management.
Buprenorphine to Prevent Relapse
Aside from the risk of overdose associated with street drugs like fentanyl, those have quit using opioids are at a higher risk for overdose if they relapse. Even 1 small slip and relapse can bring on an opioid overdose in the bodily system that has lost its tolerance for opioids. This means that the body is no longer used to opioids in its system and the presence of a low amount of opioids is enough to cause overdose.
Those on Buprenorphine Maintenance Programs have a lower risk of relapse. Additionally, many Buprenorphine-Based maintenance medications will also include low-dose Naloxone or opioid blockers. these opioids blockers prevent opioid overdose and can revers opioid overdoses (by knocking opioids off of the opioid receptors in the brain that the opioids are attached-to).
Buprenorphine Availability
How do you get on Buprenorphine if you are addicted to opioids and are looking to quit or engage in an opioid maintenance program? The first step will be to talk with a doctor — as their evaluation is necessary to begin the process of medication assisted treatment.
At Active Recovery Care, we meet with patients and perform this first step of opioid evaluation in Mesa, AZ — at our Arizona Opioid Treatment Facility. Based on the doctor’s evaluation, they will give a recommendation on the type of maintenance program needed, and help you to take the necessary steps for treatment.
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