New form of Buprenorphine — implant

There’s new form of Buprenorphine coming out that should be approved soon by the FDA. Buprenorphine is a drug used for the treatment of opiate addiction. Suboxone is the best known market name for Buprenorphine, and Suboxone has been used since around 2002. There’s been a controversy surrounding Suboxone because it can be abused. Used correctly, Suboxone is a tablet or a film strip that has been a life saver for opiate addicts who before Suboxone didn’t respond very well to treatment. This new drug, Probuphine, is an implant that lasts up to six months — it’s touted as a solution to abuse and resale.

It’s great that new drugs are being developed and refined so that addicts have a better chance at recovery, and physicians have the comfort of knowing the drug  is used for its stated purpose, but there should be caution too as we go forward in the brave new world of medicine. So far, no drug has substituted for counseling when it comes to addiction. Addiction is far more than physical dependence to a drug. Addiction becomes a mental obsession that if left untreated will likely drive the addict back to their drug of choice.

Buprenorphine has been great to stop physical cravings for opiates, but unless an addict learns to cope with reality without a mood-altering drug, they’ll most likely continue using. There’s much to understand about addiction that will help healthcare professionals care for addicts in more effective ways. Any physician who prescribes Suboxone or some other form of Buprenorphine, or any other drug prescribed to treat addiction, without insisting the person also receive counseling, is doing a disservice to the patient. Physicians don’t have to maintain counselors on staff, but physician can refer the patient to addiction treatment professionals.

When an addict is simply given a drug and doesn’t receive any counseling, they usually have serious problems with relationships, employment, self-esteem, guilt and shame, and so forth, that can require months of counseling and years of recovery management. Addiction breaks a person down, and that person needs a period of rebuilding or they’ll likely return to their drug out of panic from mental pain and emotional confusion. Counseling helps a person understand what recovery entails. A good treatment plan gives the addict guidelines, a set of actions to rebuild what’s been torn down. No, there’s no drug that cures addiction — but there are drugs, like Suboxone, and perhaps Probuphine, which are good tools to make treatment and recovery more likely.