The UK has one of the world’s highest rates of opioid use. The result? Lots of people undergoing opioid detox, often followed by a month-long treatment programme.
Detoxing always comes with risks, but with buprenorphine, these risks are significantly reduced.
Less intense cravings, milder withdrawal symptoms, and a lower risk of relapse are all part and parcel of a buprenorphine assisted opioid detox UK.
For a safer and more effective detox, get in touch with Rehab 4 Addiction on 0800 140 4690 (UK) or +44 345 222 3508 (international).
We will put you in touch with a top-quality rehab offering exactly what you need.
Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist that can be used to treat pain and opioid use disorder.
Within the addiction treatment field, buprenorphine is widely used for safe opioid withdrawal.
As buprenorphine is a type of opioid, some of its effects are similar to the opioids the patient may already be addicted to.
However, it does not produce the extreme highs that many opioids do. It also works to reduce the effects of other opioids, making it a successful tool for opioid withdrawal.
Patients who are addicted to heroin, oxycodone or morphine, amongst other opioids, can take buprenorphine as part of a medically-assisted detox, either at home, as an outpatient, or in rehab.
In the UK, you will commonly see buprenorphine advertised as Subutex or Suboxone.
These are the brand names of the drug:
When a patient is ready to withdraw from opioids, it’s essential that medical professionals monitor their physical and mental health from start to finish. Generally, in both NHS and private clinics, the steps look like:
Before withdrawal can begin, medical professionals must assess the patient to ensure they are the right fit. They will consider:
If it’s safe to proceed with the detox, professionals will plan how to deliver the safest possible detox to the patient, which may include further recovery steps such as an inpatient rehab stay. This is known as a tailored treatment plan.
Buprenorphine cannot be administered immediately. For the safety of the patient, it’s crucial that they are already undergoing mild to moderate withdrawal before they are given this drug.
Otherwise, precipitated withdrawal may occur. This is when the patient experiences extreme side effects from the medication, which can lead to serious health problems and even death.
The safest way to take buprenorphine is during mild to moderate withdrawal, in a controlled dose, with medical supervision.
Stabilisation is the ultimate goal in buprenorphine detox. It’s the phase when patients are functioning close to normal, which is reflected in their mood, sleep, and eating habits.
To get to this stage, doctors may repeatedly adjust the dose of buprenorphine to ensure it’s at its most effective. This tends to happen over 1-3 days.
Medical professionals intentionally taper buprenorphine, meaning it is administered over days or weeks. This prevents severe withdrawal symptoms from arising, and makes the detox as low stress as possible for patients.
Below, we outline the benefits of undergoing an heroin or opiod detox with Buprenorphine assistance:
The biggest advantage of a buprenorphine assisted detox is that it is safe. Withdrawal symptoms can be significantly reduced, and monitored to ensure they do not escalate.
When patients experience few of these symptoms, they are in a strong position to push through the detox phase and come out much healthier.
This type of detox can be carried out in various ways, depending on the patient’s situation.
For example, it’s sometimes used as part of 28-day rehab stays, forming a crucial part of the patient’s ongoing sobriety. Other times, it’s a shorter-term tool to help patients get sober as quickly as possible.
This drug can also be administered at home, with medical monitoring in place.
Such flexibility allows patients from all addiction backgrounds to benefit from buprenorphine.
One of the many effects of buprenorphine is that it reduces cravings. Given cravings often pose the biggest challenge for patients with opioid use disorder, this leads to more successful detoxes, and an increased chance of long-term sobriety.
Methadone is another medication that is commonly used for opioid detoxing. The treatment goal is the same as it is for buprenorphine: to make the detox phase safer and more comfortable, reducing the risk of relapse and severe withdrawal symptoms.
Unlike buprenorphine, methadone is a full opioid agonist. Where buprenorphine is limited by the “ceiling effect”, which restricts opioid activity, this limitation is not present for methadone.
Some medical professionals prefer this, as it means methadone is more powerful than buprenorphine in terms of creating stability.
However, with this power comes more risk. Patients who are given methadone during opioid detox are more likely to become dependent on methadone, and are at a higher risk of overdose.
Buprenorphine is not suitable for everyone. This is why an initial assessment should always be performed, to determine whether a patient would benefit from the drug, and whether the risks are low enough to proceed.
The same applies for methadone. There is no opioid detox drug that works perfectly for everyone, and can be administered equally. All opioid addiction looks different, all patients are different, and for those reasons, individualised treatment is important.
So, who is buprenorphine right for?
People with mild to moderate opioid dependence who have already started, or are prepared to start, the withdrawal process.
Even better if they will soon start structured addiction treatment, such as inpatient opioid rehab.
It goes without saying that people who have previously had a buprenorphine detox, and had a negative experience, may need to opt for a different treatment plan.
The same can be said for many people with complex medical needs, as the health risks may be too high.
What’s more, if someone has a severe opioid addiction, they may not be able to pursue a buprenorphine detox.
Their tolerance is likely to be very high, and this means the detox may not be effective. Sometimes, methadone is more appropriate in these cases, due to the lack of “ceiling”.
Finally, mental health should be assessed before buprenorphine is prescribed, and before detox in general.
Sometimes, people with depression, trauma, OCD, and other mental health conditions, may find detoxing very emotionally challenging, and this can increase the risk of relapse.
It’s always important to consider the side effects of detox drugs, and buprenorphine is no exception.
Generally, buprenorphine detox doesn’t cause severe side effects, provided the patient is under regular medical supervision.
However, many patients will unfortunately experience mild to moderate side effects, such as:
In rare cases, severe side effects can occur, such as breathing difficulty. Patients who are self-administering at home must be advised to call an ambulance if any serious side effects occur.
In the UK, it’s possible to have a buprenorphine detox privately or on the NHS.
In the NHS, buprenorphine detoxing is less common, as methadone tends to be preferred.
However, there are many NHS clinics offering buprenorphine detox, sometimes for inpatients, but usually on an outpatient basis.
While this is the more affordable option, waiting lists tend to be very long, so it is not necessarily more accessible for people with an opioid addiction.
For those who opt for the private route, detox can occur within days to weeks, often in an opioid rehab with round-the-clock care.
In most cases, this care includes therapy and aftercare planning, meaning the detox forms part of a long-term sustainable recovery plan.
Detox should not be treated as the first and only step to recovery; it’s simply the first step.
With detoxes generally lasting days to a couple of weeks, there is not enough time to treat the addiction. Psychology plays a huge part in the development and treatment of addiction, and this is something the detox doesn’t cover.
It’s highly recommended for opioid detox patients to engage in a full treatment programme, which begins with the detox and ends with aftercare. This can be done as an inpatient or outpatient, but the former produces better results, reflected in the lower relapse rate.
Even when the aftercare programme expires (usually after one year), people in recovery can continue to work on their sobriety by taking part in ongoing therapy, attending self-help groups for opioid use, and leaning on loved ones for support.
Withdrawing from buprenorphine is a long process, and it doesn’t end with detox.
With the right type of support, you can begin a treatment that aligns with your needs and helps you achieve your long-term goals.
Ready to learn more? Get in touch with us on 0800 140 4690 (UK) or +44 345 222 3508 (international).
