What is it?
Buprenorphine's high-dose pill Suboxone and Subutex has been FDA approved for for opiate addiction. Buprenorphine is a partial opioid receptor agonist and is generally viewed to have a less euphoric effect compared to the full agonist methadone. Buprenorphine tablets have a long duration of action which allow for dosing every two or three days compared with the daily dosing required to prevent withdrawals with methadone.
Can it Hurt?
It can be dangerous to mix suboxone with drugs like benzodiazepines, alcohol, sleeping pills and other tranquilizers, certain antidepressants, or other opioid medications. Mixing these drugs can lead to drowsiness, sedation, unconsciousness, and death, especially if injected. Suboxone can cause drowsiness and slow reaction times. Highly reported side effects include withdrawal syndrome, insomnia, nausea, and constipation.
In the recent years, buprenorphine has been introduced in most European countries as a patch for the treatment of chronic pain.
Falling asleep while abusing this drug, especially while combining it with other central nervous system depressants, can be extremely dangerous and thus greatly increases the chance of serious complications or death.
The “good” stuff:
- Milder withdrawal syndrome than that of full agonists.
- Opioid drug with partial agonist actions
- In terms of efficacy , high-dose buprenorphine has been found to be superior to 20-40 mg of methadone/day (low dose) and
equitable
to 100 mg a day.
Do you get High?
Several opioid subjects identified the drug they were injected with as heroin when it was actually buprenorphine. It should be noted that, in an effort to prevent injection of the drug, the Suboxone formulation includes naltrexone in addition to the buprenorphine.
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Suboxone Addiction Information - 