What to Expect From Suboxone Side Effects

Suboxone can cause side effects, but not everyone experiences them. Commonly reported effects include headache, nausea, constipation, sweating, sleep difficulty, and mouth-related symptoms. Persistent or troublesome effects deserve a conversation with the prescriber. FDA Suboxone prescribing information

Suboxone is a medication used to help people with opioid use disorder with cravings and withdrawal. Just like any other medication, it can have side effects.

Here are the Suboxone side effects to keep an eye out for, along with the basics of how treatment works.

What is Suboxone?

Suboxone is a medication that contains buprenorphine and naloxone. It's a form of medication treatment for opioid use disorder. The patient places the Suboxone inside the cheek or underneath the tongue and leaves it there until it has dissolved completely. It is not chewed or swallowed.

Various dosage strengths are available. Your prescriber chooses the dose and adjusts it based on how you respond. The strengths include:

• 2 milligrams
• 4 milligrams
• 8 milligrams
• 12 milligrams

Suboxone is a schedule three prescription drug. It is prescribed by a clinician, filled at a pharmacy, and usually taken in the privacy of your own home. Suboxone is used for opioid use disorder.

The goal is treatment that controls withdrawal and cravings while supporting daily life. Suboxone ordinarily helps relieve opioid withdrawal. Do not stop an effective medicine or change the dose on your own because a general list of side effects sounds worrying.

How to Get a Suboxone Prescription

Before you get a Suboxone prescription, you'll need to meet with a licensed clinician, who will decide whether the medication is right for you. Clinicians no longer need a special federal waiver to prescribe buprenorphine. That requirement, known as the X-waiver, ended in January 2023. SAMHSA: Waiver elimination

Buprenorphine can rapidly worsen withdrawal if it is started before the person is ready after other opioids. This is called precipitated withdrawal. Your clinician decides when you take the first dose.

When you go for your initial visit, be honest with the clinician about your current drug use and past drug use. Bring a full list of prescriptions, over-the-counter products, alcohol, and other substances.

If you're not honest, the plan and the dose may not fit you.

How Often Will I See the Doctor?

Early in treatment, visits are usually more frequent. This is so that the clinician can check that your current dose is working for you and adjust it if it is not.

Once you've got the right dose and your withdrawal symptoms have faded, visits can be spaced further apart. At Recovery Delivered, follow-up visits are weekly, every two weeks or monthly.

Will I Have Drug Tests?

Your clinician may ask for a drug test. Don't worry when you're starting Suboxone; they understand that the likelihood of you testing positive for opioids is high.

That being said, even if you relapse while you're using Suboxone, you can continue treatment. A return to use can happen during recovery.

If you relapse, contact your clinician as soon as possible so they can help to get you back on track. Note missed doses and recent opioid use so you can describe them. Also, the information that you share and your visits are kept confidential by law.

Is Suboxone the Same as Methadone?

No, the two are different medicines. They both have the same goal, and that is to treat opioid use disorder.

Methadone for opioid use disorder is generally provided through opioid treatment programs, while Suboxone is prescribed by a clinician and filled at a pharmacy. FDA's list of approved OUD medications

Now that you know all of this, let's get into the side effects of taking Suboxone.

Opioid Withdrawal

Suboxone is an opioid itself, and it ordinarily helps relieve opioid withdrawal. However, starting too early after other opioids can cause precipitated withdrawal.

Withdrawal symptoms may include:

• Abdominal cramping
• Increased heart rate
• Body aches
• Cold sweats

A sudden increase in symptoms soon after an initial dose needs prompt contact with the clinician. FDA Suboxone prescribing information

Constipation

Constipation is one of the commonly reported side effects. Tell the clinician about constipation that bothers you. Explain when it began and what else has changed.

Ask a clinician or pharmacist before adding laxatives.

Insomnia

When you use drugs for a prolonged time, your body's sleep cycle can become irregular. Sleep difficulty is also a commonly reported effect of Suboxone.

The cause may be the medicine, early recovery, another condition, or a combination. Ask a clinician or pharmacist before adding sleep aids or supplements. Some products add sedation or interact with other medicines.

There are other symptoms on the less severe side, such as nausea, headaches, and tiredness. Then there are some that can have serious consequences.

Further Drug Abuse

Suboxone is an opioid, and it can be misused. Misusing Suboxone could mean not taking it as prescribed, or taking it by other means to increase its effect.

Using Suboxone along with other drugs raises the risk of overdose and death. Alcohol, benzodiazepines, and other sedatives can increase risk. Avoid alcohol, and coordinate prescribed sedatives with the treatment team instead of abruptly stopping them.

If you are worried about how you are using your medication, tell your prescriber. Side effects should not automatically be blamed on misuse, and you should not change the dose on your own.

Allergic Reactions

Much like any other medication you take, there is a chance that you could be allergic to it. For some people an allergic reaction can be dangerous.

An allergic reaction may mean swelling of the throat, making it difficult to breathe. There may also be swelling of the face, lips or tongue.

Your skin may also break out in hives or an intense rash.

Swelling of the face or throat, difficulty breathing, or signs of a severe allergic reaction need emergency care. These reactions are possibilities, not expected outcomes for every patient. If you're allergic, your doctor can help you find another medication.

Coma

Taking too much Suboxone, or taking it with other sedating substances, can cause a person to have breathing difficulties. It can also cause severe sedation and loss of consciousness.

Call 911 if someone cannot be awakened or has slow, irregular, or absent breathing. Give naloxone if available and follow dispatcher instructions. CDC: Responding to an Overdose

The naloxone in Suboxone is not a replacement for rescue naloxone.

Liver Damage

Some people don't realize that they're having issues with their liver until outward signs begin to appear. The Suboxone label includes liver-related warnings.

Seek prompt advice for yellowing skin or eyes, dark urine, or persistent abdominal pain.

Hormonal Issues

The label also includes rare adrenal insufficiency, which involves insufficient adrenal hormone production.

Seek prompt advice for marked unexplained weakness. FDA Suboxone prescribing information

Dental Problems

Buprenorphine products dissolved in the mouth have been associated with dental problems, including decay and tooth loss. Their treatment benefits generally outweigh this risk.

After the medication fully dissolves, gently rinse with water and swallow. Wait at least one hour before brushing. Arrange regular dental care and tell the dentist about buprenorphine. FDA: Dental care with buprenorphine

Suboxone Side Effects Explained

Now that you know about Suboxone side effects, you know what to watch for if you're starting it or have already begun taking it. Not everyone gets them, and many can be managed.

The clinician may review the dose, formulation, interactions, or another cause of symptoms. You should not have to choose between tolerating significant side effects silently and abandoning treatment.

If you're ready to begin treatment, Recovery Delivered sees patients by video visit. You can check where we see patients.

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.