Posts Tagged ‘buprenorphine’

When you are in the grip of heroin, it seems like you’ll never be free of it. Heroin addiction is one of the most difficult drugs to overcome, it’s true, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. You do need to be prepared for a long haul. And you do need courage and conviction.

What Happens in the Body With Heroin Addiction

Just why it’s so hard to overcome heroin is easy to see when you look at what the drug does to your body. Over time, your nervous system has adapted to accommodate chronic use of the drug. When heroin first infiltrates your body, your brain’s natural chemistry reacts with heroin’s toxins to create the feeling of heroin euphoria. Other effects include a feeling of heaviness and inability to move, dizziness, nausea, change in skin temperature. You feel tired, and the world seems to no longer exist around you. In effect, you are incapable of functioning either mentally or physically.

Heroin also damages the central nervous system, and may also cause short- and long-term harm to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Many users overdose and die from the drug’s toxic effects, while others suffer severe and permanent damage.

A University of California study of 581 male heroin addicts monitored over 30 years (1964 to 1994) found alarming results. After 30 years, more than half (284) of the original participants, had died. Causes of the deaths: 22 percent died from overdose, 15 percent of chronic liver disease, and 20 percent from suicide or homicide. Of the remaining 43 percent of the deaths, the causes were AIDS, cancer or cardiovascular diseases. What about the 297 addicts still alive after 30 years? The sad truth is that 43 percent of them were still using heroin.

You’ve Made the Decision to Enter Detox – Now What?

Just by entering detox you’ve made a powerful first step. You may have finally hit bottom, due to a combination of physical and emotional consequences of the effects of heroin. Perhaps you had an intervention and that’s why you arrived at detox. The point is that you’re here. Now what?

Some of the immediate effects of detoxification from heroin are those you’re already quite familiar with. Every time your high wore off and you didn’t get your fix right away, your body started to feel some of the withdrawal symptoms. You may have even tried to quit cold turkey – not a good idea, as you well know if you’ve tried it.

Physical withdrawal symptoms include: a 3- to 5-day period of intense anxiety, insomnia, flu-like symptoms, cramps, chills, sweating, diarrhea and goose bumps. Muscles start to tighten and twitch, leading to involuntary spasms or kicking. Psychological cravings for the drug become almost unbearable, impossible to fight. Peak withdrawal symptom severity occurs about 24 hours after termination of the drug, and can last a week or more. Without medication to manage the withdrawal symptoms, the pain can be excruciating. But unless other medical problems exist, detox itself is not life-threatening.

Detoxification under medical supervision alleviates the discomfort of heroin withdrawal, managed by administration of medication – if the patient chooses this method. Using medication, the effects can be minimized or even prevented. Drugs used include methadone, clonidine and buprenorphine drugs like Subutex or Suboxone.

By Suzanne Kane

Buprenorphine was initially introduced on the market in the 1980s as an analgesic. Now, its primary use is for the treatment of opioid addiction.

One dose of buprenorphine remains active in the human body for as long as 48 hours, which provides a longer duration than morphine. This is one of the qualities that make this drug ideal for helping opioid addicts to break free of their addiction. Since the drug remains in the body for 48 hours, it also ensures that the withdrawal symptoms that people experience are significantly decreased.

Buprenorphine requires sublingual (under the tongue) administration on a frequent basis. Drug administration should always be supervised by a substance abuse treatment professional, and doses must be strictly monitored. Federal regulations require this in order for treatment centers and medical facilities to be able to administer the drug at all.

There are some side effects that can occur along with the use of buprenorphine. They range from moderate to severe, and it should be pointed out that this drug can, in some cases, produce fatal side effects. The most commonly occurring side effects include the following:

• Headache

• Drowsiness

• Dizziness

• Vomiting

• Decreased libido

• Constipation

• Respiratory depression

Respiratory depression is the side effect that presents the most serious problems with the use of buprenorphine, as it can be fatal in some people. Unfortunately, there is no way to correct or treat this problem should it develop.

While undergoing buprenorphine treatment, all patients are regularly monitored to see how their livers are functioning, as some adverse effects can be caused by using this drug.

Even though buprenorphine is used to treat people with opioid addictions, the possibility does exist for an addiction to the buprenorphine itself to develop. The types of dependencies that can develop include both physical and psychological. People who are considering undergoing treatment with this drug should be aware, however, that instances of people becoming addicted to buprenorphine are quite rare.

Often times, one of the primary questions that people have is whether they should choose buprenorphine or methadone as a treatment option. Both of these drugs are routinely used for short-term and long-term treatment of opioid addiction. Dosing requirements may be a bit better with buprenorphine simply because of the drug’s ability to remain in the body for 48 hours, thereby offering longer-term effects. With buprenorphine, patients typically only have to receive a dose every other day, while methadone requires daily dosing.

Buprenorphine also has an advantage regarding the total amount of treatment time that is required to successfully complete a detoxification program. With buprenorphine, treatments generally last for a few months, while with methadone indefinite or sometimes lifelong treatment is necessary.

It is very important that buprenorphine be administered in an inpatient treatment facility, particularly one that specializes in substance abuse treatment. Inpatient treatment programs not only offer patients detox programs, they also offer treatment or rehabilitation programs that are designed to help people learn healthier ways of living. Some of these treatment programs include counseling, diet and exercise, massage, acupuncture, and group therapy.

The purpose in these additional treatments is to give patients a better chance of maintaining success by giving them the tools they need to lead lives that are free of substance abuse. If patients learn how to be healthy and happy (physically and emotionally) then they will be far less likely to have a relapse.

Sunrise Detox is a free-standing detoxification and substance abuse treatment facility that is licensed by the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Among the exceptional amenities in our facility: Private and semi-private rooms; an entertainment center with wide-screen TV; digital cable; a large DVD collection; enclosed courtyard where clients can smoke; and access to phones. We are located just minutes from I-95 and Palm Beach International Airport in beautiful Palm Beach, Florida and a new Detox in New Jersey. We are also a licensed buprenorphine medical detox center and most clients going through detox for heroin or opiate pain medication (e.g. Oxycontin, Percocet and Vicodin) will be given buprenorphine. We do, however, create individual protocols when our doctors feel it necessary.