I hate this profit seeking marketing BS and I think it's kind of evil. They must know better. I can't believe they don't have data on actual use of Buprenorphine specifically the number of patients who take it long term and have huge issues tapering off Buprenorphine itself.
Getting off suboxone itself is very difficult. It seems most users describe the withdrawal as harder than heroin because it lasts a much longer time. [1] [2]
I'm perfectly fine with the idea of replacement therapy. And in fact I actually think we should just provide pure morphine to users for free it would actually be pretty safe for long term use (and WAY cheaper).
Long term Suboxone replacement therapy also sounds like a great tool if it weren't for the marketing lies and profit. That's where my huge beef is.
Yet again making big profit by marketing the (at best not the whole truth, I think truth is closer to false and morally corrupt) idea that this is temporary. Maybe after they make a few billion and get people hooked on subs they will pivot to sell another expensive patented drug to 'wean off' suboxone and continue the profits. Of course there are examples of users being able to taper off. But there seems to be far more examples of users not being able to wean from Buprenorphine itself.
There was a prominent doctor here in Topeka who was fired from the hospital for keeping folks on Suboxone. The idea of course is that you can have a nice gentle taper, same with methadone, but the reality is you can't "beat" withdrawal. So people stay on it. The euphoria from these drugs doesn't come close to heroin, so people are continually going back and forth. There's an added danger because buprenorphine binds tighter that if it's in your system it takes a lot more dope to kick the buprenorphine off the receptors, so lots of overdoses. This, I believe, is the reality.
Of course Suboxone and methadone are so much safer to use than street heroin. And doctors will help those who want to, to taper. I just don't think that describes most sub/methadone users.
I don't think the issue is a lack of safer alternatives. It's whatever is driving the person to seek out the effects produced by those drugs in the first place.
Very few of us want to be on subs or done, and even fewer enjoy being an addict. Even if it is safer than H. Your “I think” doesn’t really align with my experience at all, at least here in Australia. Shout out to Biala, they saved my life.
Getting off suboxone itself is very difficult. It seems most users describe the withdrawal as harder than heroin because it lasts a much longer time. [1] [2]
I'm perfectly fine with the idea of replacement therapy. And in fact I actually think we should just provide pure morphine to users for free it would actually be pretty safe for long term use (and WAY cheaper).
Long term Suboxone replacement therapy also sounds like a great tool if it weren't for the marketing lies and profit. That's where my huge beef is.
Yet again making big profit by marketing the (at best not the whole truth, I think truth is closer to false and morally corrupt) idea that this is temporary. Maybe after they make a few billion and get people hooked on subs they will pivot to sell another expensive patented drug to 'wean off' suboxone and continue the profits. Of course there are examples of users being able to taper off. But there seems to be far more examples of users not being able to wean from Buprenorphine itself.
1: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/health/in-demand-in-clini... 2: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5398454/