Recovery from Opiate Addiction

What I’m seeing with Suboxone and other opiate withdrawal medications is both encouraging and worrisome. Suboxone is certainly a great drug to medically treat opiate addiction, but Suboxone is so effective with withdrawal it gives the false impression that addiction is solved by simply taking the medicine. Recovery from opiate addiction is more than taking Suboxone.

At NewDay Counseling we’re seeing more and more people who’ve relapsed after being on a Suboxone treatment regimen and wanting to get back on it because they’re back on the street buying heroin. If an opiate addict never treats the fundamental problem of addiction, and if the addict believes they can go out and use heroin or Oxycontin when they choose, then get back on the Suboxone when the addiction rages out of control again, the addiction will continue to get worse and Suboxone will only act as a substitute when the opiate addict is taking a breather. I suppose it’s best to take a breather than to die in the streets, but there’s another way.

Unless opiate addicts are receiving some sort of addiction treatment to deal with the psychological, behavioral, emotional and spiritual aspects of recovery from opiate addiction, nothing much has changed. Many things can happen, but one is that the addict still associates with other addicts and they’re getting high while the addict on Suboxone is not getting high. The addict on Suboxone might be physically comfortable because of the effects of Suboxone on the opiate receptors in the brain, but if the addict hasn’t come to terms with addiction and learned different ways to deal with life other than use drugs, he/she will become bored, restless, dissatisfied with dull, un-sexy Suboxone and will begin to psychologically crave the high of strong opiates.

There is not yet a medicine that cures addiction and there probably never will be a pill that cures addiction. Once the physical craving associated with addiction has been resolved, there’s the damage done to the psyche and relationships that needs healing. If the addict does not treat the disease of addiction properly, and if the addict believes the calm, normal feeling from Suboxone is the total answer, they’re likely in for much more pain and trouble down the road when their minds trick them again and again into going back to the opiates. Recovery from addiction takes lifelong management, psychic change, development of coping skills and support, not just a pill, no matter how effective the medicine is for withdrawal.