Suboxone - A Miracle Drug?
Home » addiction recovery » Suboxone - A Miracle Drug?If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed.
I have no issues what so ever with pharmaceutical help for addiction such as Methadone or Suboxone. What I do take issue is with newspapers reporting that a drug like Suboxone is a miracle drug because now small town people won’t have to go to the big city for treatment, they can get treatment on an outpatient basis from their own physicians.
While I understand that physicians must first become certified to be able to prescribe Suboxone, I’m just a little skeptical about the type of recovery program a patient will be expected to participate in while they are taking their Suboxone if it is being prescribed by their primary care physician.
If you have been keeping up with your local news at all, I’m sure you will agree that arrests involving possession of Suboxone is becoming more and more common (at least it’s that way in Massachusetts). How is this Suboxone getting in the hands of people on the streets? Someone is given a prescription for it by their primary care physician, they go get it at the pharmacy, and then proceed to sell it to someone for some pretty good money.
Why is this? Because taking Suboxone does not require daily attendance to your doctors office. You get a prescription for it, right from the start, and have your medication at home. This is unlike a methadone program where for a while you have to go to the clinic to be given your daily dose under supervision.
I do understand that there are some positive aspects of being able to prescribe Suboxone to patients and have them be responsible for self dosing. Not everyone is near a treatment facility. If we want people to start recovery with the use pharmaceutical help, we can’t make it impossible for them to get to it.
Being able to take your medication at home instead of staying in an inpatient facility makes treatment possible for those who cannot afford the inpatient facilities.
I guess my main concern is that people are going to see Suboxone as a quick fix kind of drug. If they are addicted to opiates, they can go to a doctor who is certified to prescribe Suboxone and they can get themselves enough of a supply to get through the acute withdrawal stages. But what happens after that?
If they are not actively pursuing recovery…they will go right back to opiates once their prescription for Suboxone runs out. Getting the drugs out of your system isn’t the problem with most people it’s keeping them out of your system that is the hard part.
So while I do agree that when coupled with a strong recovery program, Suboxone is a really good aid in helping someone stop their addiction. I think it’s giving people the wrong idea to be calling this a miracle drug.
***UPDATE***
Since I have been learning more and more about Suboxone in the past couple of weeks I figured I would share an informational video about Suboxone which was created by our friend Ted.
Posts
August 7th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
hey whereve u been?
July 7th, 2008 at 3:47 am
hey erin. long time no here from. howve you been? oh! great news! i quit smoking cigarettes. i was a pack a day smoker since i was 16,and im now 26. pretty cool huh? the last day i had one was june 8th,and never gonna look back. i used the patch for about 4 days,then smoked cigars,of which i didnt inhale. thats just for the habit part of it. now im completely smoke free and i feel great. i can taste and smell better already! whats new w/you????
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:36 am
oh by the way,its Ted!
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:35 am
hey erin, theres someone on these blogs i can relate too,he live in the same area i do,now atleast,since i hail from nyvc. crazy huh?
June 14th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
hey,did u get my email? i didnt ignore u.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
I’m sorry Lewis. That sucks. It’s weird but my grandfather went into the hospital last night too. Strange right?
The whole thing with the economy is pretty scary but we’ll get through. We struggle to keep our bank account from going into the negative each pay period but we’re managing.
I’m sorry you’re down.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
well,not all is well im afraid. due to the economy downfalling and the prices of everything from gas to milk rising quickly,im not making as much money as i used to. the type of job i have requires the economy to work almost harmonicly. plus my grandfather,whos 75,is in the hodpital right now. had another panic attack on saturday night. which sucked. i fell down and hit my head. but besides all that everythings peachy keen!
May 17th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Everything is going really well. I’m not too familiar with either of those drugs. Kind of keeping myself out of the loop these days. So how is everything going Lewis?
May 17th, 2008 at 10:10 am
hello everyone! hows recovery life going for u people,especially u erin. quick question,i was offered adderell and amphetamine salts(?) the othe day but obviously declined,can anyone tell me more about these 2 drugs? he was telling me its like cocaine. ill never ever do them,im just curious.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:37 am
hey erin, remember i was telling u about matisyahu’s first album but i couldnt remember the name of it? well i do! its called: “Shake Off The Dust…Arise” spelled out just like that. i dunno if u download music or not,theres 17 tracks. i can send u a track list if u wish. peace.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:51 am
i made the decision to get off effexor. i talked to my doc a week or so ago,i know now of these “brain zaps” of what u speak of. awful. i get it not only in my brain,but it feels like my entire top half of my body. have a blessed day today erin. cya
May 6th, 2008 at 8:29 am
You have to make time Lewis. You’re not always going to be on the Suboxone and you need to develop some coping skills.
If your sobriety is your top priority as it should be in recovery then attending 3 meetings per week is not too much to ask in the beginning.
I think you need to do this in order to get used to the idea of focusing on your recovery. After a while as you get some sobriety time under your belt you can tweak your schedule if the 3 meetings is truly too much.
I think that this will help you with your benzo problem too. You’re going to see people that live successfully without any type of drugs and you will realize that you can have that to. It will teach you to do what the winners do.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:27 am
hey quick question,i mightve asked this already. but did u read my story? and what did u think?
May 6th, 2008 at 12:20 am
hey erin,i told my doc about u and these forums and he said its good. to share and vent with other addicts. but he also said its not enuff,he wants me to attend like 3 NA meetings a week!! i have NOOOOOO time for that.
May 5th, 2008 at 9:55 am
oh matisyahu is great! i got into him about 2 years ago,seen him live at bonnaroo in tennessee. amazing. he has 2 more albums,Youth which is newer,and his first one which i cant remember at the moment. when i recall ill let you know. i grew up on hip hop so thatll never leave me,and i loike rock as well, Radiohead happens to be my all time favorite band.
May 5th, 2008 at 8:14 am
It’s weird but I never know how to answer that question. I like all kinds of music. Not really into polka or country but I would say that I’ve been able to enjoy just about anything else.
One album that I find myself still listening to often is Matisyahu Live at Stubs. I would say that his album is my go to album when I need a little cheering up.
I’m not sure if you’ve ever listened to any of it but it is very spiritual… to me anyway.
But honestly I like rock and hip hop a lot. I’m not really into R&B but I get caught singing along with a song here and there.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
hey what kinda music u like? just curious. i believe music has the ability to move the soul and change moods. me personaly,my fav is electronic music,any type.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I did it Erin! I finally subscribed at the Suboxone Help spot. (finally right)
May 4th, 2008 at 8:37 am
If I could only get you to post over at The Suboxone Help Spot
You never know… it could help you out in just the ways you need.