Gaining freedom from addiction can be a road with many false starts, stops, and retracing of steps. You don’t have to do it alone. Suboxone can help you safely break free of opioid addiction.
The numbers tell the story: A staggering 130 Americans die every day due to an opioid overdose.
Four out of five heroin users turned to heroin after becoming dependent on prescription opioid medication, whether they were unable to refill their ordinary prescription and became desperate, or a doctor overprescribed.
At Houston Medical-Mental Health Clinic in Houston, Texas, Lucas Egebe, PMHNP-BC, DNP, offers safe Suboxone® treatment to help heroin addicts safely step down from their dangerous addiction and achieve stability to live an addiction-free life.
Why it’s so hard to kick a heroin habit
Opioids can relieve pain — that’s their intended purpose — but when you consume too many opioids, your body can become dependent on side effects, like feelings of euphoria. That’s because opioids work on receptors in your brain, and both dull pain and enhance pleasure.
This can be very addictive, especially for anyone who already has an addictive personality. Someone who drinks a lot or smokes cigarettes might be more susceptible to opioid addiction, because they are already accustomed to chasing the good feelings.
When your body becomes dependent on opioids and then you stop taking them, you might experience withdrawal symptoms such as:
These symptoms can make stopping a highly addictive drug even harder. All you can think about is that if you only had one more dose, you’d feel better. That’s where Suboxone comes in.
The secret of Suboxone
Suboxone contains two active ingredients: buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist. It blocks receptors in your brain that keep seeking the opioid side effects, which can reduce or eliminate withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings.
Naloxone reverses or blocks the effects of opioids, which has a twofold purpose: to ensure that if a patient does get their hands on heroin, that they are less likely to overdose and die, and also to eliminate the desired effect, so the patient doesn't get the good feeling they are chasing.
We reduce the dose of Suboxone slowly over time until you are free from addiction and past the point that there is a strong danger from relapse. From there, behavioral therapy and counseling can help you avoid taking heroin again.
To learn more about breaking free of opioid addiction with Suboxone, call or contact us online today.