Buprenorphine Addiction and Abuse
Siobahn Morse, the executive director of the National Institute for Holistic Addiction Studies, discusses Buprenorphine addiction and abuse.
What is Buprenorphine?
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSA), Buprenorphine is an opioid partial agonist.
This means that, although Buprenorphine is an opiate and can produce typical side effects such as euphoria and respiratory depression, its maximal effects are less than those of full agonists like heroin and methadone.
Buprenorphine was designed to be taken at low doses and produce sufficient effects to enable opioid addicted individuals to discontinue the abuse of opioids without experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms.
Buprenorphine Addiction and Abuse
What is Buprenorphine abuse?
Buprenorphine is available in the United States as Subutex or Civoxone.
It is taken to relieve the symptoms that are caused by opiate abuse.
Even though it was intended as a safer option to methadone, it can also be abused and misused which can lead to dependence.
For example, tablets can be ground and snorted to receive instant euphoric feelings, and users can easily obtain the drug from the black market.
What are some of the side effects and withdrawal effects of Buprenorphine?
Side effects of Buprenorphine are similar to those of other opioids and include: nausea, vomiting, and constipation.
The withdrawal effects of Buprenorphine include dysphoric mood, nausea, vomiting, muscle aches and cramps, sweating, diarrhea, yawning, mild fever, insomnia and irritability.
Medical research recently published by the National Institute for Holistic Addiction Studies reports that Buprenorphine withdrawals may include severe depression, severe anxiety and even suicide.
For these reasons care should be taken when deciding on the safest, most appropriate opioid addiction treatment program.
Buprenorphine Addiction and Abuse
Click Here to Download a PDF version of this report.
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