Ever wondered why Buprenorphine (aka Suboxone) is so helpful in individuals struggling with opioid addiction? Well, buprenorphine acts like an opioid on the same receptors that other opioids work on and provides instant relief when someone is experiencing cravings or withdrawal symptoms. It also has a very long half life which means it stays in your body for upto 2-3 days. And finally, it only partially activates the opioid receptors in the body, which makes it a relatively safer alternative as compared to other medications for the treatment of opioid addiction like methadone. All in all, these properties make buprenorphine an excellent option for the treatment of opioid addiction!
And this is supported by data from multiple clinical studies that show that the use of medications like buprenorphine can help patients stay much longer in treatment and improve patient outcomes.
So why am I talking about buprenorphine today? Well, at our annual conference of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry just a few weeks ago, we presented a workshop on how to start someone on buprenorphine and how to manage individuals struggling with opioid addiction with buprenorphine. It was a lot of fun teaching child psychiatrists from around the country about the use of this medication and the issues that surround treatment.
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