LICR Blog
How Does Suboxone Make You feel?
February 23, 2023 | Category: Addiction Treatment
Heroin and opioid addictions are matters of extreme importance. Lives are on the line every day and part of the lifesaving efforts for patients around the world include medication assisted treatments (MATs) such as Suboxone. Despite Suboxone being approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for opioid addiction treatment, many clients have questions surrounding addiction treatment and Suboxone itself. One of the most common questions we receive at our inpatient treatment facility in Long Island, New York is, how does Suboxone make you feel? It is important to receive treatment for these addictive drugs but equally important to understand your treatment plan, knowing what to expect with treatment, and seeing your addiction treatment all the way through. We will explain how Suboxone will make you feel during treatment, the positive benefits it entails as well as the potential side effects, so you feel reassured going into your recovery.
How Does Suboxone Make You Feel – The Benefits
Suboxone is a method of treatment, and while it has some aligning effects to opioids themselves there are valued benefits which make Suboxone the first line medication assisted treatment for heroin and opioids. Below is a comprised list of the benefits Suboxone might make a patient feel:
- Suboxone should make you feel more alert during your addiction, as it is less sedating than methadone/heroin
- Suboxone dosing is flexible, allowing different clients to appropriately adjust their dosage based on the level of their distinct addiction within 2-3 days, providing more streamlined relief for clients
- Suboxone reduces temptations to use heroin and other opioids, cutting cravings and driving clients through the withdrawal phase which would otherwise be very difficult to cope with such addictive cravings
- Suboxone reduces withdrawal symptoms, making for milder effects, adding comfort as clients reduce and stop their drug use
How Does Suboxone Make You Feel – The Side Effects
As we mentioned earlier, heroin and opioids are powerful drugs, and to combat the effects of such highly addictive drugs, Suboxone and other MATs come with their own list of potential side effects. It would only help patients as they prepare for treatment to know how Suboxone might make you feel and what the most common side effects of Suboxone are, as seen below:
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Headaches
- Respiratory Depression
The majority of these side effects are manageable, non-life threatening effects, however, respiratory depression is the most severe and one of the most common side effects of Suboxone. It is no more likely to occur when taking Suboxone than it is to occur when taking heroin or opioids themselves, but respiratory depression is a condition in which breathing becomes too shallow or slow, causing a lack of oxygen in the body.
Suboxone can make you feel better during withdrawal symptoms and help aid a patient’s addiction treatment but has serious side effects which need to be monitored closely during treatment. It is Long Island Center For Recovery’s recommendation that you listen to your prescribing doctor and addiction treatment team, but seek help from a licensed inpatient treatment facility, as they will monitor you closely during treatment to make sure you are feeling ok from the effects of Suboxone.
We hope you found this information helpful, and if you need any additional assistance, or know someone in need, please reach out to Long Island Center for Recovery at 631-728-3100, and we’d be happy to assist you or your loved ones in any way possible.
References:
American Addiction Centers: Suboxone Side Effects https://americanaddictioncenters.org/suboxone/side-effects
NHS Ayrshire & Arran: Suboxone Information For You
https://www.nhsaaa.net/media/1932/20160628suboxone.pdf
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Addiction TreatmentDrug DetoxInpatient Rehab