Suboxone is a schedule 3 prescription medication that is used for opioid addiction recovery. It comes in different forms: tablets, film, and injectable formulations. Overdose with Suboxone in adults is less common and mostly occurs in adults using alcohol or benzos. There is a ceiling effect in which further increases above 24mg in dosage does not increase the effect on respiratory or cardiovascular function.
Suboxone consists of 2 components. The first component is called Buprenorphine, and the second is called Naloxone. Buprenorphine is an active ingredient and is considered to be a partial opioid agonist. What is a partial opioid agonist? It means that Suboxone binds to the opioid receptor and activates it to a much lesser degree. Think of it as dimming lights switch in the bedroom. When opioids such as Oxycodone, and Norco bind to the receptor, the light is very bright in the bedroom, and when Suboxone binds to the receptor, the light looks dimmed. That is why when patients take Suboxone, they don’t feel high, or euphoric. They feel stable, they rarely have cravings for other opioids, and they can function daily. Naloxone is the second component of Suboxone. It could be absorbed during Suboxone intake. If absorbed, the blood levels are usually very low and insignificant. Occasionally patients would complain of a headache, or in rare cases can, develop a rash. However, this is not very common. The main reason why they add Naloxone to Buprenorphine is to prevent the Intravenous use of Suboxone.
Of course, we don't have a specific number, but unfortunately, one thing's certain. The number continues to rise at an alarming rate! Indeed, as per studies, more than 16 million people from all over the world suffer from opioid dependency, with over 2.1 million being in the US! (1)
And if these statistics weren't worrisome enough, there are the increasing opioid overdose deaths that warrant attention. Do you know that more than 120,000 deaths in the world can be attributed to opioid overdose annually? (2)This is exactly why we need more opioid addiction treatment clinics. So that timely intervention can be sought, and lives can be saved.