Best Treatments for Addicts who Snort or Inject Suboxone

Suboxone misuse is much more common than I realized, as I’ve learned from people who write comments to this blog. These opioid addicts have described how they snort, inject, and even anally insert the Suboxone that’s meant to treat their addiction.

Not every addict can be treated with Suboxone from a doctor’s office. For some patients, the addiction is too strong, and they are unable to use the Suboxone as instructed. If a patient is injecting or snorting the medication meant to help them, they aren’t in recovery. These addicts need to be referred for another form of treatment. They aren’t being helped with Suboxone, except that perhaps it’s a little safer then other abused opioids, since at least there’s a ceiling on its opioid effects.

 What are the best options for these addicts? 

Most aren’t willing to go to inpatient detox followed by prolonged (one to six months) residential drug rehabilitation. It’s costly, and no one likes to be away from home for that long. However, this form of treatment can be life saving and gives the best chance of drug-free recovery.

Or they could enroll in an opioid treatment program, called OTP for short. In the past these facilities were called methadone clinics, because that was the only medication offered, but now many clinics also use buprenorphine. I’m glad to see this trend. For many patients, buprenorphine is a better drug. Patients tend to feel less medicated, and are less likely to feel any euphoria from buprenorphine. And the clinic gives patients more structure than I can from my office.

At OTP (opioid treatment programs) the patients are seen every day. Most clinics are open at least six or seven days per week. That way, patients can be given an observed dose each day. They won’t be able to misuse their medication, since a nurse places the tablet or film under the tongue, with buprenorphine. Methadone, dispensed as a red liquid, is swallowed each day in the presence of the nurse. Diversion to another person certainly isn’t impossible, but it’s much less likely to occur.

 So to all of the addicts now using Suboxone in unorthodox ways, snorting, injecting, and other ways, tell your doctor what you are doing. You can get your addiction treated by going to a clinic each day. Counseling is built into the opioid treatment program system. Patients there must see their counselors, and many clinics also make group sessions mandatory.

 I’ve become gradually more selective about who I’m willing to treat with Suboxone in my office. I’m more vigilant about medication misuse, since this blog taught me that it happens much more frequently than I previously thought. I now believe that only very stable opioid addicts should be treated in an office setting. Older addicts with jobs, families, and no other addictions appear to do the best in this type of treatment. From now on, if I have openings for new patients, I’m going to screen more rigorously. Many addicts have an addiction that’s too severe to treat with office-based therapy.

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