Can You Overdose on Suboxone? Signs and Emergency Response

Yes, an overdose involving Suboxone is possible. Buprenorphine has a different risk profile from full opioid agonists, but it can still cause dangerous respiratory depression. Risk increases with alcohol, benzodiazepines, other sedatives, and accidental exposure, particularly in children. FDA Suboxone prescribing information

This risk does not cancel the benefits of buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder. Appropriate treatment reduces overdose and mortality risk compared with leaving the disorder untreated. CDC: Treating opioid use disorder

Signs that require immediate action

Call 911 if someone:

• Cannot be awakened or cannot stay conscious.
• Has slow, irregular, or absent breathing.
• Makes choking, gurgling, or unusual snoring sounds while unresponsive.
• Has blue, gray, or unusually pale lips or skin.

Do not wait to confirm which drug was taken. An apparently sleeping person with abnormal breathing needs emergency help.

Give naloxone and stay with the person

Administer an emergency naloxone product if available. Follow its instructions for additional doses and follow the dispatcher's directions for rescue breathing or CPR.

If the person is unconscious but breathing, place them on their side when safe to do so. Stay until emergency responders arrive.

Buprenorphine can be difficult to reverse fully, and repeated naloxone or medical breathing support may be needed. Symptoms can return after initial improvement. FDA Suboxone prescribing information CDC: Responding to an overdose

Why the naloxone in Suboxone is not enough

Suboxone combines buprenorphine with naloxone primarily to discourage certain forms of misuse. The combination does not provide reliable emergency overdose protection when the film is taken as prescribed.

Keep a separate rescue naloxone product available. Do not give Suboxone as a substitute for naloxone during a suspected overdose.

What increases risk?

Alcohol and other central nervous system depressants are especially important. Share all prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines, and substance use with the treatment team.

People who are not opioid-tolerant can be particularly vulnerable to an opioid exposure. Store medication securely, never share it, and take accidental child exposure seriously even if symptoms are not yet obvious.

Do not try to overcome buprenorphine's effects by taking large amounts of another opioid.

How to reduce risk while staying in treatment

Take the prescribed amount and contact the clinician about excessive sedation, missed doses, or a return to other opioids. Avoid alcohol and unapproved sedative combinations.

If a benzodiazepine is prescribed, do not abruptly discontinue it. The FDA recommends careful management rather than automatically withholding buprenorphine or methadone because benzodiazepines are involved. FDA Suboxone prescribing information, warning on benzodiazepines and other sedatives

Ask household members to learn naloxone use and know where it is stored. A medication review and an overdose-response plan can support treatment without creating fear-driven interruptions in care.

For less severe but persistent side effects, arrange follow-up rather than making your own dose changes.

Start Suboxone treatment online. Our online Suboxone doctors see patients by video visit. The first visit is $89. Follow-up visits are $50 weekly, $75 every two weeks or $89 monthly. Visits are cash pay, and medication is priced separately.