Suboxone is a new drug that aids the detox of Oxycontin and other opiates. The cold turkey detox off of full opiate agonists like oxycontin can be excruciating and the fear of the pains of detox is more than enough to keep a lot of people using for far too long. What suboxone can do is lessen the intensity of these pains, making a short detox far more bearable. The detox may still be uncomfortable but nowhere near as tough as it would be unmedicated.
Patients go into detox and as soon as they enter into the beginning of full withdrawal they are given either suboxone or subutex which once appropriately dosed takes away all of the immediate and intense withdrawal symptoms of the more severe withdrawal from pain pills such as Oxycontin. Patients are stabilized at a dosage of suboxone for a few days and then the dosage of suboxone is gradually tapered off down to nothing within a day of the end of a detox period.
Patients will still feel withdrawal pains because suboxone is an opiate and therefore has a syndrome of withdrawal of its own. By transferring onto the longer acting and less intoxicating opiate the transition through withdrawal pains of detox become far more manageable.
After about 10 days the worst of withdrawal symptoms from the suboxone will have ended, although some lingering symptoms can endure for a month or more. Following the end of detoxification, most patients transition into a residential treatment phase, learning strategies they’ll need to stay clean over the long haul, and avoid another painful period of detoxification.
Using suboxone for a transition detoxification off of opiates of abuse makes the process far more humane, and by ending suboxone therapy within days, you lessen the need for an intense and difficult detox off of the suboxone…truly the best of both worlds.
Detox is never easy, and although suboxone can help a lot, it’s still a challenging period; but with suboxone you can make it, and once you’ve detoxed you’re truly ready to participate in the therapies and education of relapse avoidance that will ensure that you’ll never get hooked again.  You can get clean, suboxone can help.
