Is Suboxone Harder to Stop than Heroin? 

Is Suboxone harder to stop than heroin?

No.

But some people feel that way.  And why is that?

I’ve heard people comment that buprenorphine was the devil.  Or that it was only created to make money for big Pharma.  But this is ridiculous.

Suboxone/buprenorphine helps save lives.  That’s the truth.

But stopping can be difficult.  And it’s easy to confuse the difficulty stopping Suboxone with addiction.

Let’s look at the definition of addiction.  Addiction is a condition in which a person continues to use a substance despite negative physical or psychological consequences.

Now let’s look at the definition of drug dependence.  Dependence is a condition in which a person’s body has adapted to a drug in a way that there are withdrawal symptoms when the substance has been stopped.

So you can see that there is a difference.

If you are taking Suboxone as prescribed, not chasing a high, not stealing to keep a supply, not lying and destroying relationships…then you are not addicted.  This is important to distinguish.

“Okay, Doc.  We got it.  But the question was is it worse than heroin to stop?”

No.  It’s not.

Most Heroin addicts that take Suboxone, do it because they couldn’t stop heroin.

Most people I know that had issues stopping Suboxone did not follow any type of doctor’s plan.  They just stopped.  And then when they had withdrawal they restarted at the same dose or higher.

I won’t lie.  The withdrawal from Suboxone can be bad.  But it is possible to taper off Suboxone with minimal withdrawal.

It just takes a plan.

And it takes determination.

And it may take a little bit of flexibility.

But rest assured, you can stop Suboxone.

So no, Suboxone is not the devil.  And right now we have way too many people dying from Heroin and Fentanyl overdoses.

So let’s stop criticizing treatment options.

And let’s work together to end this madness of opiate addiction.

p.s.

I wrote a book of devotions, but it’s not a normal book of devotions.

It’s not theology. It won’t cure a disease or get you into heaven. I’m not a theologian, preacher, teacher, or any one else with qualifications to write such a thing.

The book isn’t for baptists, methodists, catholics, calvinists, dunkers, or sprinklers.

It’s for misfits, pill heads, lawyers, prostitutes, junkies, manic depressives, shut-ins, zealots, anarchists, tax-collectors, thieves, and insomniacs.

In other words, it’s not for those that have it all figured out.

It’s for the rest of us.

The ones looking and searching.

The ones that know HOPE is the most dangerous idea of all.

You can pick up a copy at Amazon.