5 Things You Need to Know About Suboxone vs. Methadone

1. Treatming Opiate Addiction

There is much inherent risk in abusing opiate drugs such as heroin, morphine, Codeine, Vicodin, OxyContin and Dilaudid. Addiction, overdose and exposure to diseases spread by the sharing of intravenous needles, like HIV and hepatitis, are just a few of those risks. Methadone has been used for decades in the treatment of heroin addiction as a way to keep addicts in treatment, avoid withdrawal symptoms and reduce the risk of sharing needles.

Suboxone was introduced in 2000 when it became legal to administer maintenance medication in an office-based setting, rather than only in a regulated treatment clinic. Suboxone diminishes the discomfort of withdrawal and reduces powerful drug cravings opiate addictions often experience, which often make it difficult to stay clean.

2. Both Are Highly Addicting

It might seem strange to treat drug addicts with addicting drugs, and there has been a long-standing controversy in the treatment field about whether using methadone to treat heroin addiction is simply trading one drug for another. Opiate dependence is unique in that the brain adapts to these drugs in a way that make the user highly susceptible to relapse. Suboxone and Methadone occupy the receptors in the brain that would otherwise be occupied by the person's drug of choice.

It's important to understand that people following a prescribed methadone maintenance program or using Suboxone as directed by their physician are not getting high from these drugs. They are able to function at work and home. Methadone is administered in liquid form and Suboxone tablets are dissolved under the tongue. Suboxone contains an ingredient that discourages users from dissolving the tablet and injecting it. If they did so, they would go into immediate withdrawal.

If someone stops using methadone or Suboxone, they will have withdrawal symptoms, but symptoms are less severe with Suboxone.

3. Suboxone Less Frequent Than Methadone

Some recovering addicts stay on Methadone indefinitely. They visit a licensed clinic every day to receive their dose. Suboxone is typically used only in the intensive phase of treatment to avoid withdrawal and reduce cravings to the person can succeed in treatment. However, some people do receive Suboxone from their doctor and take it at home. It lasts longer in the body than methadone, so it's taken less frequently.

4. Methadone Is Cheaper Than Suboxone

Methadone is very inexpensive, making it a viable option even for those without insurance or limited resources. Some methadone clinics offer financial assistance as well. Suboxone, however, is more expensive. Those who take it while in an outpatient program or at home under the care of a doctor will need to have insurance or the means to pay for it.

5. Both Options Are Only Part of Recovery

Addiction is devastating to every aspect of a person's life. Recovery, therefore, must address healing in every part as well. Using a medication such as methadone or Suboxone to aid in the recovery process can be part of a treatment plan, but support groups, counseling and making changes in one's life to ensure recovery are also necessary. Otherwise, it would be simply substituting one drug for another.