While methadone maintenance goes back to the 1970's, buprenorphine first became available in 2002 to treat heroin addiction. Doctors use both drugs to ease withdrawal from heroin.
Benefits
A 2005 Cochrane Review recommends buprenorphine over methadone because buprenorphine "may include an easier withdrawal phase."
Withdrawal Symptoms
Methadone and buprenorphine are both opiates. Drug rehabilitation specialists at Support System Homes state that opiate withdrawal symptoms include muscle aches, runny nose and eyes, sweating, gastro-intestinal distress, cravings and irritability.
Timing
Anecdotal reports from addicts writing in on-line forums such as the one appearing in Drugs.com state that withdrawal from buprenorphine is not as prolonged as withdrawal from methadone.
Comparative Study
A study performed at the Centre for Research in Primary Care in Leeds, England compared patients withdrawing from methadone to those withdrawing from buprenophine. Patients withdrawing from buprenorphine required less intervention during withdrawal and were more likely to be drug free at the end of withdrawal.
Relapse
A 2006 article in American Family Physician shows that patients who take buprenorphine are as likely to relapse as those that take comparable doses of methadone.
References
- Doctor's Guide: Buprenorphine Favoured Over Methadone for Opiate Addiction in Pregnancy: Presented at ACOG
- Cochrane Collaboration: Buprenorphine maintenance versus placebo or methadone
- Drugs.com: Discussion Board
- Drug and Alcohol Dependence: Cessation of methadone maintenance treatment using buprenorphine
- American Family Physician: Managing Opioid Addiction with Buprenorphine
