Opioid Addiction: Buprenorphine Treatment

Image via Opiatecare.com

Opioid addiction is currently one of the largest issues in America. It is estimated that up to 36 million people in America abuse these drugs. When abused, its effects, both short term and long term, are extremely detrimental to a person's health and possibly even deadly. Opioids are substances derived from the opium poppy and is grown mostly in southern Asia. They are used most often medically as pain relievers, such as OxyContin. A very common recreational opioid is heroin, one of the most addicting drugs ever created. Every person has opioid receptors, which are specific proteins, found in the brain, spinal cord, and other organs in the body. Opioids act by attaching to these proteins which then leads to the euphoric high and reduces the awareness of pain. Buprenorphine is a drug to help treat opioid addiction. It works by attaching to the opioid recptors in the body, which then prevents any opiods from attaching to the receptors. If an opioid addict uses buprenorphine, even if they consumed opioids, they would not get any effect from it because the buprenorphine prevents it. Another advantage of buprenorphine is the reduction of withdrawal symptoms, which can be extremely uncomfortable and lead people to go back to the use of opioids. Also, the dose of the drug is titrated until cravings are eliminated. Initially, when it was first approved by the FDA in 2002, it was very controversial because essentially, buprenorphine is also an opiod. Although technically it is also an opioid, it does not produce a high that opioid abusers would ever be satisfied with. There are ongoing studies that support the use of buprenorphine to help an addict maintain their recovery when taken over long periods of time. Furthermore, Vivitrol, the injectable form of buprenorphine, can be prescribed monthly to end the daily decision and hastle of taking the pill form.