Living with opioid addiction is an overwhelming experience, and for many, finding a way out feels impossible. You may have heard about Suboxone, a medication designed to help people overcome opioid dependence. But, like many others, you might also wonder: Does Suboxone get you high? If you or a loved one is considering Suboxone treatment, it’s crucial to understand how this medication works, its potential for misuse, and its real purpose.
What Is Suboxone?
Suboxone is a prescription medication that combines two active ingredients: buprenorphine and naloxone. It’s used as part of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. The goal of Suboxone is to help manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings, allowing individuals to focus on recovery without the intense physical effects of opioid withdrawal.
Buprenorphine
Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, meaning it attaches to the same receptors in the brain that other opioids, like heroin or prescription painkillers, bind to. However, because it’s only a partial agonist, buprenorphine activates those receptors much less strongly than full agonists like oxycodone or fentanyl. This provides some relief from cravings and withdrawal symptoms without producing the same “high.”
Naloxone
Naloxone is an opioid antagonist, meaning it blocks the effects of opioids. It’s added to Suboxone to discourage misuse. If someone tries to inject Suboxone instead of taking it as prescribed (dissolved under the tongue), naloxone will block the effects of buprenorphine and may trigger withdrawal symptoms. In this way, naloxone serves as a deterrent against misuse.
Can Suboxone Be Abused?
Like many medications, Suboxone can be abused, particularly by individuals who have not developed a tolerance to opioids. However, its formulation makes it much harder to misuse compared to other opioids.
One of the most important things to understand is that buprenorphine, the active opioid component in Suboxone, has what’s known as a “ceiling effect.” This means that after a certain dose, taking more buprenorphine doesn’t increase its effects. For someone struggling with opioid addiction, this ceiling effect makes it less likely to overdose on buprenorphine compared to other opioids.
Does Suboxone Get You High?
This question comes up often, especially for those unfamiliar with how this medication works. The short answer is that for most people who are taking Suboxone as prescribed, the medication does not produce a high.
When taken properly, Suboxone works by stabilizing brain chemistry, reducing cravings, and managing withdrawal without creating the intense euphoric rush associated with other opioids. However, there are some important nuances to consider:
- If you’re opioid dependent: For individuals who are already dependent on opioids, taking Suboxone as prescribed won’t produce a high. Instead, it helps normalize brain function, so you don’t experience the extreme highs and lows caused by opioid misuse.
- If you’re opioid-naive: For someone who has never taken opioids before or doesn’t have an opioid dependence, there is a higher risk that buprenorphine could produce euphoric effects. However, even then, the ceiling effect of buprenorphine limits how much of a high someone can experience, which is significantly lower than the high produced by other opioids.
Why Does Suboxone Help, but Not Get You High?
For someone recovering from opioid addiction, the main appeal of Suboxone is its ability to relieve withdrawal symptoms and cravings. But does Suboxone get you high the way other opioids do? Not in the same way. Because buprenorphine only partially activates opioid receptors, it provides just enough stimulation to prevent withdrawal, but not enough to create a strong euphoric effect. This is part of what makes Suboxone an effective tool in treating opioid addiction. It allows individuals to focus on recovery without being overwhelmed by the ups and downs of opioid misuse.
Moreover, naloxone’s role in the formulation further minimizes the risk of misuse. If someone tries to misuse Suboxone, such as by injecting it, naloxone kicks in and prevents any high by blocking the opioid receptors.
Can You Build a Tolerance to Suboxone?
One concern people often have is whether they can develop a tolerance to Suboxone over time. Tolerance occurs when a person needs more of a substance to achieve the same effect. Because of Suboxone’s ceiling effect, it’s unlikely that someone will build a tolerance in the same way they might with full opioid agonists like heroin or morphine.
While it’s possible to experience mild tolerance to some of Suboxone’s effects, such as sedation or euphoria (if someone misuses it), the medication’s design makes it difficult to achieve a substantial-high even with increased doses. In a clinical setting, the goal is to find the lowest effective dose for each individual, which minimizes the potential for misuse and dependency.
Potential Risks and Side Effects of Suboxone
As with any medication, there are risks and side effects associated with Suboxone. It’s important to take Suboxone exactly as prescribed by a healthcare provider to avoid complications. Some of the common side effects include:
- Nausea or vomiting
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Constipation
- Sleep problems
While these side effects are usually mild and temporary, they can become more serious if Suboxone is taken inappropriately. Misuse can lead to respiratory depression (slowed breathing), particularly if combined with other substances like alcohol or benzodiazepines.
Addressing the Stigma Around Suboxone
Unfortunately, there’s still a stigma surrounding medication-assisted treatment, including the use of Suboxone. Some people believe that MAT is just replacing one addiction with another. However, this view overlooks the fact that Suboxone is a controlled, medically supervised treatment that allows individuals to regain control of their lives without the harmful cycle of addiction.
Asking if Suboxone gets you high is a common and understandable question, especially for individuals considering treatment. But the answer is nuanced—while the potential for misuse exists, Suboxone is designed to minimize the risk of producing a high, especially when taken as prescribed under medical supervision.
The Role of Suboxone in Long-Term Recovery
Suboxone is just one part of a broader treatment plan for opioid addiction. Recovery involves therapy, support groups, and lifestyle changes, alongside medication. Suboxone can help someone regain stability, but it’s not a cure for addiction. Its role is to reduce the physiological cravings and withdrawal symptoms so that individuals can focus on the mental, emotional, and social aspects of recovery.
Find Clarity on Does Suboxone Get You High
Therefore, does Suboxone get you high? For most people, the answer is no. Suboxone is specifically designed to manage opioid addiction without causing the euphoric effects that come with other opioids. Its unique formulation, combining buprenorphine and naloxone, makes it a safe and effective tool for those committed to overcoming addiction.
However, like any medication, it needs to be used responsibly under a doctor’s supervision. If you or a loved one is struggling with opioid addiction, Suboxone could be an important step on the road to recovery.
