You may have heard of Suboxone but have very likely heard of Methadone. Both are used to treat opioid addiction but each has their own unique attributes and how they differ is important to know. Here is everything to know about suboxone vs methadone. How they are unique, what each one does, their history, and their use, as well as any adverse side effects.
Suboxone is a prescription drug used to treat opioid addiction. It doesn’t matter if the addiction is due to legal opioids or illegal substances – this drug is used to treat both. There are two main ingredients in suboxone – naloxone and buprenorphine. Each of these ingredients have a different purpose. The naloxone works reverse the effects of opiods. The buprenophine minimizes a person’s urges by acting as a partial opioid agonist as well as blocking opiate receptors. Both components work together to provide a better chance of fewer withdrawals from opioids. Suboxone does not treat chronic pain like methadone does.
Methadone is a little different from suboxone. How it works is that it is a synthetic opioid but not really an opiate. If that’s confusing it is easier explained by it not being made naturally. Opiates use natural components like morphine and codeine – derived from opium. Yet, methadone is created in a laboratory and is man-made. What it does is help with withdrawal symptoms and cravings for opioids like heroin. It is important to understand that while suboxone only treats dependence on opioids, methadone treats that and chronic pain.
How it works is by binding to the brain’s receptors. These are the same ones with other substances like OxyContin or heroin. It helps to stave off the euphoria from other opiates and makes withdrawal from these drugs easier. This is because it stays in out body’s system for longer periods of time.
There is always a risk though. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2009, methadone contributed to one in three prescription painkiller deaths.
Both suboxone and methadone have similar treatments but each have their own rules when it comes to prescriptions and useage.
According to Healthline:
When you use methadone for addiction treatment, you can only get it from certified opioid treatment programs. These include methadone maintenance clinics.
When starting treatment, you have to go to one of these clinics. A doctor observes you receiving each dose.
Once the clinic doctor decides you’re stable with methadone treatment, they may allow you to take the drug at home between visits to the clinic. If you take the medication at home, you still need to get it from a certified opioid treatment program.
Suboxone is a little different in how it is used. With this drug, you can get a prescription right from your doctor instead of visiting a clinic for it. But, this is a drug that is watched closely. This means that you may have to see your doctor to get your medication and will be closely monitored. In some cases, the doctor or their staff will want to watch you take the prescription to ensure it is being taken right and is not kept to store up a stockpile. Or in some cases, to sell.
Some patients are allowed to take their suboxone prescription home but do not expect to get many at one time if you are allowed. Eventually, with proper usage, the monitoring will lessen.
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Both drugs have the potential for abuse. For example, methadone can cause euphoria when abused. However, suboxone has a lower risk of being abused.
In the past when methadone was created to help combat opioid addiction, it was found that some people may become addicted to it. The difference between how methadone works to create a high is different from an opioid. The difference is that methadone doesn’t provide a rush like opiates and takes hours to kick in with the full effects.
As far as suboxone, its onset is slower than methadone. It also has a long duration so it is less addictive than other drugs like morphine, heroin, and other opiates. And in fact, the naloxone in suboxone only works if it finds opioids already in the user’s system. It also works to counteracts what opioids do to the central nervous system and the lungs so the patient can breathe normally. It has no abuse potential and has been used for those who have overdosed on either opioid-type substances or heroin.
With that said, there is a difference between having an addiction to something and having a compulsion. In that variance, there is the possibility of a compulsion to take suboxone – it is just not addictive physically. But there is a caveat. Suboxone works so slowly that it has a lesser chance of addiction triggers because typically, the higher potential addictive drugs are those that reach the brain faster. It’s like an opioid but does not trigger dependency because of its ceiling effect. This means that the effects level off so a person does not have to keep increasing their dose.
Methadone though does have addictive qualities. Of course, if the patient is on a methadone scheduled treatment plan and is monitored by a doctor, then this is an effective way to taper off of opioids. Yet, if the patient uses methadone outside of their treatment plan, there is that potential to become addicted. Plus, while methadone is a synthetic opioid, it is still an opioid and those are addictive.
Methadone has fewer side effects than opioids like heroin. Yet, there are a few. These include things like sweating, runny nose, insomnia, fever, chills, and even vomiting.
The regular side effects have similarities with other opioids like drowsiness, nausea, forgetfulness, and constipation.
A crucial point is that it is easier to overdose on methadone than other opioids. There are apparent symptoms before an overdoes like the aforementioned vomiting, coma, convulsions, shallow breathing, and clammy skin that has a blue tinge.
The side effects with suboxone have some similarities like rapid heart rate, constipation, and cramps. Yet, there are some unique side effects like back pain, redness of the mouth, headache, and a burning tongue.
There can be serious side effects but this is not the norm. In fact, these are usually do to an allergic reaction or something similar. These include coma, liver damage, and even dependence. Some may have an allergic reaction that causes anaphylaxis.
Since suboxone has effects like opioids, it can have dependency and abuse potential. As mentioned before, this is not necessarily the usual but it can create drug-seeking behavior and cravings for drugs in some people. The good news is that even if someone has a dependency on suboxone, it is typically mild. This means the withdrawal symptoms are mild as well like headaches or nausea. But the drug can be tapered off slowly to avoid this from happening.
There is no easy answer to which works best because each is different and works differently. Both are effective when used according to the doctor’s specifications and both help decrease the cravings and withdrawal symptoms from opioids. The main difference is as stated earlier – suboxone has a lower percentage for abuse. This is due to the naloxone.
One of the important takeaways is that neither are effective alone in a person’s sobriety. While these are effective aids in getting off of the abuse of opiates, they need to be combined with an effective treatment plan from a professional who deals with substance abuse.
There are addiction treatments that include things like detoxification, rehabilitation (both inpatient and outpatient), and support groups. A combination of medication and in-person addiction treatments are paramount in a person being less likely to relapse.
