How Long Does it Take to Detox Off Suboxone?
As one of a handful of medication therapies used to treat opiate addictions, Suboxone offers an effective treatment approach for weaning addicts off the effects of addictive opiate drugs. Similar to methadone, Suboxone helps reduce the ongoing withdrawal and drug cravings addicts experience in recovery, according to the U. S. Food & Drug Administration.
Suboxone contains buprenorphine, an opiate-based drug, and an added ingredient known as naloxone. Unlike methadone, the naloxone ingredient acts as an antagonist. Antagonist agents produce uncomfortable withdrawal effects whenever a person attempts to abuse opiates while in treatment.
As a medication therapy, Suboxone treatment can run anywhere from six months to several years depending on a person’s treatment needs. Since Suboxone contains an opiate ingredient, there’s a definite risk of becoming physically dependent on the drug when it’s taken for long periods of time.
Suboxone is used to treat opiate addiction.
Consequently, some people may actually have to enter into Suboxone detox treatment in order to stop taking the drug. As Suboxone is formulated to produce slow, long-acting effects, the duration of Suboxone detox can vary depending on how long a person has been on the drug.
Suboxone Detox
Suboxone produces long-acting effects that last for up to three days at a time compared to methadone’s one-day duration. Consequently, Suboxone has a longer half-life than methadone. In general, a drug’s half-life duration determines how long before withdrawal effects start to develop.
At the start of Suboxone detox, withdrawal symptoms will likely kick in within 36 hours. Withdrawal symptoms typically take the form of:
- Sweating
- Yawning
- Aches and pains
- Restlessness
- Insomnia
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
The longer a person has been on Suboxone the more severe withdrawal symptoms will be. Detox symptoms will persist until all traces of the drug leave the system. While naloxone also exits the body during this time, naloxone carries no addictive effects and produces no withdrawal symptoms.
Suboxone Withdrawal Timeline
The Suboxone withdrawal timeline marks the different stages of detox as well as the types of symptoms that develop along the way. During the first 24 to 72 hours, withdrawal symptoms peak in severity and tend to lessen in severity after the 72-hour mark.
- Week One – leaves a person feeling achy most of the time, with frequent stomach cramps. Problems sleeping and fluctuations in mood also persist. Feelings of anxiety and depression are also common.
- Week Two – this time period comes with ongoing aches and pains as well as low energy levels. At this point, a person’s emotions start to experience the brunt of withdrawal in the form of extreme anxiety and depression feelings.
- Week Three and Four – while symptoms are typically least intense during this time, feelings of deep depression come with a high risk of relapse. Drug cravings also intensity further aggravating the desire to resume Suboxone use.
Considerations
On average, Suboxone detox lasts a month or so, though the psychological aftereffects of the drug can last long after the detox period ends. In actuality, the drug’s psychological aftereffects pose the greatest risk for relapse. To guard against this, it’s best to join a support group or attend therapy sessions to work through the mind’s ongoing dependency on Suboxone’s effects.
Is Tapering Off Suboxone an Effective Way to Detox? -
Chronic opiate addictions often leave those in recovery to contend with ongoing withdrawal and drug cravings effects. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, medications such as Suboxone and methadone help relieve addiction’s aftereffects and restore normal chemical functions in the brain. Suboxone acts a medication therapy that usually requires months or ... 
Suboxone Detox Symptoms -
According to the NLM, “The combination of buprenorphine and naloxone [brand name Suboxone] prevent withdrawal symptoms when someone stops taking opioid drugs by producing similar effects to these drugs.” In most cases, Suboxone is used for this purpose, especially because it can trigger withdrawal symptoms when abused. But what happens when an individual is ready ... 
Is Suboxone Detox Safe? -
As of 2002, Suboxone was approved by the U. S. Food & Drug Administration for use as an opiate addiction treatment, according to the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration. While still considered fairly new, Suboxone detox treatment has proven to be an effective opiate addiction treatment approach. As with most any medication treatment, ... 
How Suboxone Detox Differs From Methadone -
As opiate addiction rates continue to rise, new treatment approaches for helping addicts in recovery continue to be developed. Methadone, a long-standing treatment for opiate addiction, offers an effective treatment solution. In spite of the in-depth research and field data obtained regarding methadone’s effects, this treatment approach does still have its drawbacks. Suboxone, a fairly ... 
Overcoming Challenges in Suboxone Detox -
Suboxone, a fairly new medication treatment for relieving opiate addiction cravings, carries its own potential for addiction. As one of two brand name medications derived from buprenorphine, Suboxone offers certain benefits that methadone treatment therapy lacks. That being so, according to a Columbia University report, emergency-room visits for buprenorphine-related problems increased from 3,161 to 30,135 ...