Buprenorphine is a man-made drug that shares some properties with opioid medications. It is frequently found combined with another medication, naloxone, under the brand name Suboxone®. Generally, this compound is used to assist people with stopping their use of opioid painkillers if they have developed a physical dependence on those drugs. Patients usually take an initial Suboxone® dosage that varies depending upon their previous daily opioid dosage. People may choose to decrease this dose over time until they can stop usage altogether without having physical withdrawal effects.
Opioid painkillers and some other drugs derived from the poppy plant may cause physical dependency in some people with frequent or prolonged use. Medications containing buprenorphine and naloxone are sometimes used as a replacement therapy to help people taper off opioid drugs without physical withdrawal effects or the potential for abuse. Usually, the starting Suboxone® dosage taken by an individual depends on the amount of opioids they were taking beforehand. This dose may be calculated by an opioid conversion calculator.
People that have been taking high levels of opioids, equivalent to at least 90 milligrams (mg) of morphine before beginning therapy will normally have a relatively high initial Suboxone® dosage. This amount can be as high as 24 to 32 mg of this combination drug. Dosages above this are not generally used, because research performed by the manufacturer has revealed that amounts over 32 to 40 mg do not produce an additional effect.
Lower levels of this medication are generally used with individuals that were taking lower amounts of opioids. For example, a person that was taking opioid doses equivalent to between 30 and 60 mg of morphine will often have an initial Suboxone® dosage between 8 and 16 mg. This dosage can be raised, however, if the initial amount does not adequately help suppress symptoms of withdrawal.
In many cases, individuals taking this drug will slowly decrease the amount over time, until they reach a Suboxone® dosage that they can stop taking without experiencing withdrawal symptoms. The rate at which a dose of this medication is lowered often varies by individual, but generally involves a small decrease in dosage once every few weeks. Suboxone® pills come in both 2 mg and 8 mg dosages, allowing the exact amount of the medication taken to be carefully controlled. Often, people will use a doctor's assistance to determine how frequently they should lower their dose.
