Suboxone Clinic Specialist
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GLOBAL FAMILY MEDICINE
Family Medicine located in Bluffton, SC
Addictions to drugs like heroin or prescription opioids can be some of the most challenging to overcome, but you can do it with the right help. If you have a substance abuse problem, the Global Family Medicine and Urgent Care team operates a Suboxone clinic at their office in Bluffton, South Carolina. They use SuboxoneⓇ to help reduce your cravings and dependency, and also provide therapy and ongoing support. To start down the road of overcoming your addiction at the Suboxone clinic, call Global Family Medicine and Urgent Care today or book an appointment online.
Suboxone Clinic Q & A
What is Suboxone?
Suboxone is a combination of two medications called buprenorphine and naloxone. The team at Global Family Medicine and Urgent Care uses Suboxone to help people who have addiction problems with opioids, like heroin and certain prescription painkillers.
Suboxone is a key component of the medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program for substance abuse, along with behavior modification therapy and counseling. This combination of treatments provides a holistic approach to recovery from addiction.
Suboxone treatment comes under the DATA (Drug Addiction Treatment Act) of 2000. This means it's only available from practices like Global Family Medicine and Urgent Care that have a buprenorphine waiver from SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
How does Suboxone work?
The two medicines in Suboxone work by helping to reduce your dependence on opioids so you can overcome your addiction to drugs.
Buprenorphine works by reducing your physical dependence on opioids and helping you to manage your cravings. This drug is an opioid partial agonist, so it gives you less intense feelings of euphoria.
When you start taking Suboxone, the buprenorphine effects increase with each dose, then reach a peak where they level off. At this point, even if you raised your dose further, the effects would be the same.
The result is a greatly reduced risk of suffering withdrawal problems as you come off the opioid. You're also less likely to experience issues with misuse or dependency.
The naloxone in Suboxone medication works by blocking the opioid receptors in your brain that drugs like heroin and prescription opioids target. It helps reduce the risk of overdosing.
What happens when I come to the Suboxone clinic?
Your treatment at Global Family Medicine and Urgent Care's Suboxone clinic starts with your induction. You must stop taking the opioid drug you're using for 12-24 hours prior to attending the Suboxone clinic. This ensures you're in the first stages of withdrawal.
Early withdrawal is the safest and best time to start treatment. You begin taking Suboxone, and the Global Family Medicine and Urgent Care team monitors your progress, working closely with you to gradually reduce your opioid use.
When you're no longer experiencing cravings and the side effects of withdrawal are minimal or gone altogether, you enter the stabilization phase. At this point, you might be able to cut down from a daily dose of Suboxone to a dose every other day, then gradually come off the medication altogether.
If you're affected by a substance abuse disorder, talk to the team to find out how their Suboxone clinic could help you. Call Global Family Medicine and Urgent Care or schedule an appointment online today.
