Suboxone and no addictions

[t_ann]

Is it safe to take suboxone when you are not addicted to or have not abused any drugs. Also, when you are prescribed this drug dosent it lable you as a drug addict?

[sandee1818]

  The recent approval of office-based treatment for opioid addiction using buprenorphine expands treatment options for opioid addiction. However, the utility of this drug in controlling chronic pain in those suffering with chemical dependencies, although intuitively elegant, has yet to be fully explored. Buprenorphine’s clinical efficacy results from its unique molecular structure: it is a partial μ opioid agonist and a weak antagonist. Although it has a high affinity for the μ receptor, with slow dissociation resulting in a long duration of action and an analgesic potency 25 to 40 times greater than morphine, most physicians outside the addictions field have yet to exploit buprenorphine as a therapeutic alternative, particularly in patients with a family history of addiction, or past history of opiate abuse or dependency. The primary reason to consider the drug in populations with addictive predisposition is that, at higher doses, its agonist effects plateau and antagonist effects predominate limiting the drugs desirability as a substance of abuse and decreasing the potential for respiratory depression resulting in a high safety profile. Even so, abstinence syndromes do develop and withdrawal symptoms, although mild constitutionally, can be as psychologically harrowing as with other narcotics. Thus, cessation after prolonged administration should be monitored. In conclusion, buprenorphine both structurally and clinically provides an elegant alternative to the dilemma of treating legitimate chronic pain in the patient with whom addictive predilections may be an issue. Physicians using the drug should consider getting the special DEA number to protect themselves in those cases where the fine line between treatment of chronic pain and management of opioid addiction is ambiguous.

[Sasha341]

Always one to correct wrong information for people reading in the future.

Suboxone contains "Buprenorphine" which is a Partial Opiate Agonist.(or your could say, a partial opiate, I suppose.)
and "Naloxone" which is a Complete Opiate Antagonist.(blocker)

NOT  "a potent synthetic opiate (narcotic) and partial opiate blocker."

In England, they are allowed to prescribe Subutex (Suboxone without the Naloxone) and Suboxone for pain.

It's true that you can't take opiates for pain and Suboxone for pain at the same time. It's true that if you needed opiates for surgery, you would have to wait a bit for the Suboxone to leave your receptors. It wouldn't take all that long, I wouldn't think. It stays in the body for 37 hours, is what I've heard.

[Jaybay]

Suboxone was approved by the FDA for short-term use only - not for use in chronic pain patients.  It contains both a potent synthetic opiate (narcotic) and partial opiate blocker.  It's intended use is to prevent withdrawal symptoms in anyone who is dependent on narcotics, be it from a necessary therapeutic use for pain, or addiction and abuse.  

Because of the partial opiate blocker, it is a bad medication for chronic pain patients (in my opinion anyway).  If you have a pain crisis and need more meds, they won't work and you may even go into withdrawal.  Same thing if you need emergency surgery.  The suboxone will interfere with the effectiveness of your post-op pain meds until it's out of your system.  I hate to hear these stories of pain docs going the suboxone route for those reasons.  Nobody knows what the long-term effects of this drug are, and at some point you still have to get off the suboxone just like you would any other narcotic.

[danners]

This drug can be taken as a pain reliever as well just like methadone can be taken for pain but is meant for drug addiction. Suboxone might be a better pain reliever than say Percocet, or Vicodin because it is extremely good with pain relief without getting you all high thus preventing addiction. So if you are on it for pain this doesn't at all classify you as a drug addict.
                              -Danners