Why Doctors Ask You to Wait Before Your First Suboxone Dose

Opioid addiction changes how your brain works. Even when you want to quit, the strong cravings make it feel impossible. But luckily, potent medicines, including suboxone, are there to make addiction treatment more bearable. 

Rehab centers prescribe suboxone for substance abuse because it satisfies your brain’s physical need for opioids without creating a dangerous high. And when you aren’t in constant pain caused by withdrawal, your detox feels more manageable. 

Medication-assisted addiction treatment slowly breaks your dependence and, if you show enough consistency, helps you live a clean life from thereon. Previously, we talked about the ingredients and impact of suboxone in Rhode Island, and today, we’ll tell how this treatment works. 

Keep reading to know how this potent medicine is used for drug rehab!

Where to Start Suboxone in Rhode Island?

First things first, you don’t have to get admitted to a rehab center to start suboxone in Rhode Island. Your care team will likely prescribe this medicine and explain its safe doses that you’ll continue taking from then on. 

That said, here are the two routes you can take to start suboxone in Rhode Island: 

An Addiction Treatment Center

If you want an expert to administer your first suboxone dose and the few hours after you take it, places like Rhode Island Addiction Treatment Center are always open. 

There, a care team will be available to answer your questions and doubts when this medicine starts affecting your system. 

Once you decide to end your opioid addiction, enter an addiction treatment center. If the doctors prescribe you suboxone, you can spend some time there while it slowly works in your system. 

At Home

Another option to start suboxone in Rhode Island is getting the prescription from a doctor and taking your first dose at home. 

In this model, the doctors will explain suboxone’s dosage, immediate effects, and possible issues you might face when it’s new to you. If you’d feel more comfortable starting substance abuse treatment at home, discuss it in detail with your doctor and come back well-prepared. 

When Should You Stop Consuming Opioids Before Starting Suboxone?

Suboxone is a potent and safe antidote for opioids like heroin, fentanyl, and methadone. However, its SOPs are different for each drug, and so is its effect. 

During your review visit before starting suboxone in Rhode Island, the doctor will explain how you need to be clean for some time before taking this medicine. This is a requirement because suboxone is mainly to make withdrawal manageable by safely mimicking the opioids’ impact to some extent. 

That said, here is how long you need to be clear from drugs before taking suboxone:

Short-Acting Opioids 

Short-acting opioids like heroin or fentanyl surely leave your body quickly, but you still need to wait 12-24 hours before taking suboxone. In this period, you should feel mild withdrawal symptoms before you start. 

This wait is necessary because if you take suboxone while these opioids are still in your system, it will suddenly push them out of your brain’s receptors and cause a “precipitated withdrawal.” This withdrawal is a sudden and very painful sickness, which can be counterproductive. 

Long-Acting Opioids 

Some opioids, like methadone and morphine, stay in your system much longer. Therefore, you need to take a 36-48-hour break from them before your first Suboxone dose. 

If you rush this process, the suboxone will clash with the drug still in your blood, which might cause a difficult physical reaction that can ruin your initial days of rehab. That’s why your doctor will ask for this two-day window to make sure your body is ready. 

Phases of Suboxone Treatment 

Suboxone in Rhode Island isn’t a quick fix to substance dependence; it’s a journey where your body learns to live without the euphoric high that opioids give. Here are the main stages of suboxone treatment you’ll experience regardless of where it begins:

Stage 1 – Induction

Induction is the initial 24-48 hour period during treatment, during which you safely transition from opioids to Suboxone. This phase cannot start until you are in a state of mild to moderate withdrawal. As explained earlier, if you take suboxone while other opioids are still active on your brain’s receptors, it will cause an extremely difficult withdrawal. 

Notably, doctors closely monitor your vital signs and withdrawal symptoms during the induction stage. Also, they start with a low suboxone dose and increase it incrementally until your physical cravings and muscle aches stop. 

Stage 2 – Stabilization

Once your initial withdrawal period of suboxone treatment in Rhode Island is over, the stabilization stage begins and lasts for several weeks. This is the time when your medicine is fine-tuned because you’re no longer in acute withdrawal, but your brain is still adjusting to life without substances.

The doctors will find a daily dose that keeps you comfortable for a full 24-hour cycle. For example, if you experience crashes or extreme cravings, they’ll adjust the dosage. Note that this phase is critical because it provides the space necessary for you to begin behavioral therapy. 

Stage 3 – Maintenance

Maintenance is the long-term phase of recovery where the medication becomes a preventative tool. When this stage is active, suboxone occupies your brain’s opioid receptors and blocks other drugs from attaching to them. This action creates a virtual shield to prevent a relapse from turning into a fatal overdose.

It’s worth mentioning that there is no fixed expiration date for this phase, and it lasts as long as you need it to rebuild your life. You only begin the process of slowly lowering the dose when you and your medical team agree that you can stay sober without the medication’s support.

Have Faith in Yourself 

Once you decide that drugs will no longer consume your life, you can surely break old patterns. The experts at Rhode Island Addiction Treatment Centers will make rehab a manageable and practical journey where you aren’t always in pain. Sure, quitting an addiction is difficult, but our system is built to beat this evil. Call us today and let’s win together!