Is Suboxone Addictive?

Suboxone — a combination of naloxone, an opioid antagonist, and buprenorphine, an opioid agonist — is a drug that’s often used to help people finally get past an opioid addiction. It’s difficult to understand how suboxone works to treat addiction, but it’s been successful for many patients.

If you’re ready to take this step toward recovering from an opioid addiction, you may have several questions. One of the main questions running through your head is whether suboxone is addictive.

Dr. Lori Scott is an addiction specialist who’s happy to answer your questions. When you’re tired of being addicted to opioids, she offers personalized suboxone therapy to allow you to finally put addiction behind you. Here, the team at Lori Scott Family Care in Kinston, North Carolina, explain this treatment and addiction risk.

Understanding suboxone

Suboxone is considered a Schedule III controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This means that it has a low to moderate chance of dependence or addiction.

Suboxone is used as a treatment option for opioid addiction. It works by both reducing the symptoms of withdrawal from opioids and decreasing your cravings for opioids. There are two main components of the drug suboxone — buprenorphine and naloxone. 

Buprenorphine is a type of opioid agonist, meaning it acts like an opioid while blocking the “high” of other forms of opioids. Buprenorphine helps lessen the symptoms of withdrawal when you begin to wean off addictive opioid drugs.

Naloxone is considered an opioid antagonist. When taken properly, it remains inactive, but if you use opioids or attempt to abuse suboxone, naloxone kicks in, blocking the “high” effect of opioid drugs.

Is suboxone addictive?

The chances of you becoming addicted to suboxone are low because it has a slow onset and the overall effects on you are mild. It also has a much longer duration of action than other forms of opioids that you’re trying to detox from.

Although it’s not likely that you’ll become addicted to suboxone, you’re monitored closely by Dr. Scott and our team to ensure success when using suboxone therapy.

While suboxone has a low addiction rate, it’s still abused on the street for the buprenorphine to prolong the highs of heroin and other opioids. It’s used to get through withdrawal symptoms only to start using opioids again when they subside.

When you take suboxone under the supervision of Dr. Scott for the treatment of an opioid addiction, she monitors your reactions and can adjust your dose. As your opioid cravings diminish, she decreases the amount and frequency of suboxone you take. Eventually, she tapers you off the medication completely.

Signs of suboxone abuse

Although our suboxone therapy is closely monitored, abuse may still happen as a result of long-term opioid addiction or suboxone therapy. If you’re concerned that you or someone you love is abusing suboxone, it’s important to understand the signs. These are symptoms associated with suboxone abuse:

• Slurred speech
• Blurred vision
• Drowsiness
• Shallow breathing
• Nausea
• Trouble thinking
• Itching
• Upper abdominal pain
• Weakness
• Coordination problems

In most cases, suboxone therapy is a step in the right direction when you’re suffering from opioid addiction. Dr. Scott evaluates your condition to determine if it’s the right form of treatment for you.

To learn more about suboxone therapy, don’t hesitate to call our office today at 252-238-7079 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Scott, or book an appointment online. You can beat your opioid addiction. We can help.