Is it possible to shoot suboxone strips

People who are prescribed Suboxone may take far more of the drug than prescribed to get an opiate high. Sometimes, people will abuse Suboxone recreationally if they get it from a friend or a dealer. Places in the U. Suboxone is abused when the pills are snorted, or the film strips are dissolved and then injected.

When someone injects Suboxone, they risk sharing dirty needles and contracting HIV or another bloodborne illness. Injecting Suboxone also causes a much more intense high than snorting the pills.

Also, Suboxone film strips are easier for people to smuggle or hide, increasing rates of abuse for the film strips.

Investigators have also found that doctors who were sanctioned for prescribing more opioid painkillers than is legal where also prescribing too many Suboxone film strips. These doctors were fined, but unfortunately, the damage was already done in their communities. The high a person gets when they snort or inject Suboxone is not as intense as injecting heroin. What researchers have found is that people who are recovering from a heavy dependence on heroin are the least likely to abuse Suboxone.

However, people who are in recovery for a less intense or short-lived addiction to painkillers are the most likely to abuse Suboxone. Given that some people may abuse Suboxone strips, researchers have conducted studies to determine the nature of Suboxone abuse.

A recent review of the research revealed that most people who misuse Suboxone do so to try to stop using other opioid drugs, like heroin, or alleviate opioid withdrawal symptoms. Only a small portion of people who abuse Suboxone do so to get high, which suggests that many people need Suboxone treatment, provided under the care of a doctor, but a significant portion cannot receive this type of treatment.

Ultimately, they resort to misusing Suboxone on the streets. One study in the review revealed the following Suboxone abuse statistics:. Given these findings, what can be inferred is that only a small portion of people who use Suboxone not prescribed by a doctor do so to get high or to abuse the drug legitimately.

Most people are either attempting to stop using stronger drugs or treat physical or psychological pain. This means that Suboxone abuse can largely be attributed to lack of access to legitimate medical or psychiatric care. People who abuse and are addicted to Suboxone will exhibit similar symptoms to heroin or opioid addiction. Some of the most common Suboxone addiction symptoms include:. Another important consideration when assessing the impact of Suboxone abuse and withdrawal is how long Suboxone stays in the system.

The answer depends on how much Suboxone a person has taken and individual factors like age, overall health, and metabolism.

That being said, drug testing laboratories report that buprenorphine, the main chemical in Suboxone, can be detected in the urine for up to a week, whereas metabolic byproducts of the drug can remain for as long as two weeks.

If you have been consistently taking Suboxone, it may be detected on a urine drug screen for two weeks after you stop using. It is also useful to consider the half-life of Suboxone, which has been found to range from about 28 to 37 hours, equal to a day or a day and a half. This means that it takes several days for Suboxone to clear out of the system, leading to a longer urine detection window.

While this may not be the best of news for those looking to pass a drug screen, it does mean that Suboxone withdrawal is less severe than withdrawal from stronger opioids like heroin. In fact, a series of case studies of individuals who abruptly stopped taking Suboxone showed that they experienced only mild withdrawal. This is promising for those misusing Suboxone to get high or alleviate physical pain or psychological distress. Suboxone addiction is treated in the same way as other drug addiction issues.

The most effective treatment options include integrated plans that utilize the expertise of a medical team consisting of doctors, therapists, drug abuse counselors, mental health advocates, and social workers. People who abuse drugs need intense and well-managed follow-up care, and maintenance plans to help them avoid a relapse. They will also need support and encouragement from family and loved ones to maintain sobriety.

Ongoing therapy sessions also enable those in recovery to avoid relapse triggers and stay healthy. Are you or a loved one struggling with Suboxone addiction? Please contact the experienced drug addiction counselors at Mission Harbor today to explore your treatment options.

Alcohol addiction is extremely difficult to overcome on your own.. Seek specialized help and let professionals guide you in your recovery. Mission Harbor is dedicated to treating Santa Barbara County and Southern California with specialized mental and behavioral health programs in a convenient outpatient environment. Hit enter to search or ESC to close. How is Suboxone Abused? What is Suboxone?

Or, they are looking for ways to get high with what they have. Maybe it is someone who was prescribed Suboxone, but more likely, it is the family member, or neighbor, who stole their Suboxone from the medicine cabinet.

Patients who are prescribed Suboxone are not likely to want to abuse Suboxone. They already know how opioids work, and they know that trying to get high from Suboxone is a waste of time and effort. And, it burns another bridge that can carry them back to safety from the abyss of addiction. If, you have come across this article, looking for methods for cooking up Suboxone films or tablets and prepping the drug for injection, I recommend that you go no further in your research.

Injecting any drug is the most common way of overdosing on that drug. While Suboxone has a ceiling effect, making it less likely to overdose and go into respiratory depression, it is possible to overdose on Suboxone. It is more likely that you will overdose if you combine Suboxone with other drugs, such as alcohol or benzos.

And, shooting up Suboxone makes it more likely that you will overdose. Additionally, IV drug abuse increases your risk of HIV, hepatitis, blood clots, bruising, collapsed veins, injection site infection, and endocarditis, a deadly heart valve infection. When you inject drugs, your risk of accidental death from drug use skyrockets. There is a brand name medication named Buprenex that is intended for intravenous or intramuscular use. It is a short acting injectable form of buprenorphine.

Buprenex is intended to be used for pain, though some doctors have used it off label and probably illegally in the distant past to help patients detox from opioids. These days, buprenex is not used often, if at all, for pain control, at least in humans. There is buprenex for cats and buprenex for dogs, used in veterinary hospitals and clinics.

Humans are better at following directions, keeping a tablet or film under their tongue while it dissolves. Hence, sublingual dosing turns out to work out better for humans than the short acting injectable buprenorphine.

When there is a perception that buprenorphine medications are being abused, the federal and state governments increase restrictions on medication-assisted treatment. In some states, there is a concern over rogue doctors prescribing Suboxone in clinics. They believe that Suboxone doctors are fueling the next pill mill epidemic. Let us be clear, Suboxone doctors are not going to be the cause of any pill mill epidemic or crisis.

The fact is that these concerns are overblown, exaggerated by media outlets looking for the next sensational story to justify their existence.

Unfortunately, the media influences the public and lawmakers. Therefore, if you are slamming ZubSolv, banging Bunavail, pinning Probuphine, smashing Subutex, jacking-up Suboxone, or otherwise abusing buprenorphine, you are adding fuel to the fire of media outrage against medication-assisted treatment of opioid addiction with buprenorphine.

While the high you might get from shooting up Suboxone is minimal and fleeting, the damage you may do to people who need help to recover from opioid addiction can be lasting. Suboxone is a life-saving medication and further restrictions may lead to more opioid overdose deaths. Suboxone is available in a tablet and film.

The film is a small, flexible rectangle that comes individually wrapped in foil. Both are sublingual preparations, intended to be dissolved under the tongue. While Suboxone is sold on the streets, it should only be used under the care of a doctor. One reason to avoid buying it on the street is the risk of getting fake Suboxone. Fake Suboxone is more likely to come in a tablet form, though fake Suboxone films are also possible. Another reason is that the medication is only part of the process.

Medication-assisted treatment involves professional oversight by an experienced doctor as well as appropriate psychotherapy. When you first go to see a Suboxone doctor for the first time, you will be started with an induction process. This is where your doctor gets you started with your first dose of Suboxone and determines what dosage will work best for you.

After the first visit, if you are new to Suboxone treatment , your doctor will likely want to see you on a weekly basis, or sometimes even more often. It is important to keep track of how you are progressing in treatment. After a month or so of successful treatment, you can start to go to your doctor monthly in most cases.

In fact, you may be able to see your doctor by telemedicine video visits. Telehealth is now becoming the standard of care for Suboxone clinics in the midst of the COVID coronavirus pandemic. Most patients do very well and start to feel better in a short time. For some patients, the early transitional period can be difficult, but they will typically get past it and feel better within the first few weeks.

The time period that you will take Suboxone for depends on individual factors. You and your doctor will determine when the best time is for you to start tapering and reducing Suboxone. The progress of an MAT plan is determined by both the patient and the doctor. That being said, most successful treatment courses are for at least years. In some cases, longer-term treatment works best. During the time that you take Suboxone, you will have the opportunity to make changes in your life that support your recovery.

You can put old acquaintances aside and make new friends. And, you can work with your therapist on resolving old issues and identifying triggers in your life.