What Is Buprenorphine?
Buprenorphine was previously used as a pain reliever. It is a partial opioid antagonist that binds with opioid receptors in the brain, causing reduced pain and feelings of wellbeing. While buprenorphine isn’t a full opioid, it acts much like one, causing moderate receptor site activity, except it does not create a euphoric state or disorientation. As a result,buprenorphine will prevent withdrawl symptoms from,and reduce cravings for opiate drugs.
There are several advantages to using a medication like buprenorphine in the treatment of opiate abuse. Buprenorphine can:
- Help the individual to remain safe and comfortable during detox
- Reduce or eliminate cravings for heroin or other opiates
- Minimize relapse since the individual is not experiencing uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms
- Allow the individual to focus on therapy without being distracted by withdrawal symptoms and cravings
What’s the Difference between Subutex and Suboxone?
Both Subutex and Suboxone contain buprenorphine. While both drugs were developed at around the same time, Subutex was formulated first. Many users sought to inject the drug intravenously in order to obtain the high they had become accustomed to with heroin or prescription painkillers. They often succeeded in doing so, giving rise to the need to develop another drug to address this issue: Suboxone.
Suboxone contains both buprenorphine and naloxone, whereas Subutex contains only buprenorphine.
Naloxone is considered to be an opiate antagonist. This means that it fills opioid receptor sites and will not allow other drugs to activate them. With these receptor sites full but not activated, a person attempting to abuse Suboxone will not experience any pleasurable effects. Hence, if a person attempts to snort or inject Suboxone, the burprenorphine won’t be able to activate the receptor sites. Since no euphoria or pleasurable effects can occur, this knowledge discourages abuse.