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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Does Subexone Help Person Getting Off Heroin? How Long To Continue?

how successful is subexone for helping a person get off heroin. Do they need to stay on the medication in order to not go back on heroin. I ask this because we are in our 70 s and have taken in my nephew and infant son and partner because they are homeless and he says he has been clean since July. He went on suboxone early July
posted on Wed, 23 Oct 2013
Twitter Wed, 23 Oct 2013 Answered on
Twitter Wed, 23 Oct 2013 Last reviewed on
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Addiction Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Hi,

Suboxone is an opioid like heroin and it is usually given to intravenous heroin users who are unwilling to quit heroin completely. The basic purpose is harm reduction, as it prevents the risks associated with intravenous drug use like AIDS and hepatitis and also lowers the chance that addicts will commit crimes to get their daily fix. It is not harmless, but less harmful than heroin. But since it is itself an opioid, it works only as long as it is taken. However, if someone wants to be really clean, Suboxone can be tapered off and the withdrawal from Suboxone is milder than that of heroin.

Hope this clears your doubts. Best wishes.
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Does Subexone Help Person Getting Off Heroin? How Long To Continue?

Hi, Suboxone is an opioid like heroin and it is usually given to intravenous heroin users who are unwilling to quit heroin completely. The basic purpose is harm reduction, as it prevents the risks associated with intravenous drug use like AIDS and hepatitis and also lowers the chance that addicts will commit crimes to get their daily fix. It is not harmless, but less harmful than heroin. But since it is itself an opioid, it works only as long as it is taken. However, if someone wants to be really clean, Suboxone can be tapered off and the withdrawal from Suboxone is milder than that of heroin. Hope this clears your doubts. Best wishes.