Suboxone is Just One Piece of Great Recovery from Opioid Addiction
While buprenorphine has been nothing short of a miracle in helping people recover from opioid addiction, it’s really just a small piece of the puzzle.
Most people believe when starting addiction treatment using Suboxone that they have “found the cure” for their opioid addiction. Suboxone can certainly eliminate withdrawals and greatly reduce cravings. But what about the issues, traumas and factors that lead to addictive behavior in the first place?
The difference in quality of life can be overwhelmingly good when first starting a Suboxone program. So good in fact, that many people think this is all they need to maintain great sobriety, even for the rest of their lives.
It may not be impossible to stay clean using Suboxone alone, but the truth is, we’d all be missing a huge piece of the puzzle if we ignored the need for therapy and group recovery.
Suboxone was a life-changer for me. I remember my first experience well. I took my first Suboxone sublingual film after leaving the pharmacy. I headed to lunch and was not feeling my best. It had been almost 18 hours since my last pill, a mere 20mg of oxycodone, which was peanuts compared to the 220 mg I was used to taking every day.
About half way through lunch my Suboxone kicked in. I was almost immediately starving for more food. My energy jumped. My cognitive awareness and mental clarity felt clearer than it had in many, many years. An overall feeling of well being came over me.
After thirteen straight years of daily opioid use and abuse, I had finally found my solution.
The minor euphoria that accompanied my newfound miracle only lasted a few hours. It wasn’t like a normal opioid buzz. It was just a feeling of my shoulders dropping. A side benefit of Suboxone is its pain-relieving qualities, which for me was (and still is) extremely important.
Afterall, pain is typically what gets people into a heavy opioid addiction to begin with. Pain had certainly been my motivator. The Suboxone alleviated my lower back pain substantially. I still take ibuprofen most days, but compared to the 220 mg of oxycodone I had been taking daily for many years, I don’t mind it a bit.
Pain is what had started this whole mess to begin with, so having a solution to lower back pain in addition to eliminating withdrawals and cravings was a Godsend for me. Suboxone is truly a miracle drug for any opioid addict who’s ready to change their life for the better.
Suboxone alone is not the key to recovery. Suboxone is a catalyst that allows someone to regain their physical and mental capabilities, and makes it possible for therapy and group recovery to find, work on and eventually resolve the triggers and reasons we have addictive behaviors in the first place. All three are necessary for a solid recovery program and long-term sobriety.
Private therapy and group recovery are the places where after getting clear-headed with Suboxone we start asking ourselves very important questions. Like these:
Why had I gotten so addicted to opioids?
Why did I stay addicted for so many years?
What was driving my drug use and abuse, outside of needing a remedy for lower back pain?
How and why did being addicted and taking so much medication every day become acceptable to me?
Was it the opioid use or something else that led me to do things I never thought I’d do while I was addicted?
Trust me – When you get clear-headed for the first time in many years, you begin to look back at your addiction and the stupid things you may have done. There were many circumstances where what seemed like good ideas in the moment, were actually terrible ideas that hurt my friends, family and even myself.
I just couldn’t see clearly at the time I did these silly things due to the euphoria the opioids had created.
If you really want to get healthy and be free from addiction the rest of your life, then be sure to take advantage of private therapy and group recovery.
Suboxone, combined with private therapy and group recovery are considered the trifecta of great recovery from opioid addiction. You need all three.
Recovery Care of Columbia provides Suboxone and private therapy as part of a thorough opioid addiction treatment program. We are only happy to help you locate a group recovery program close to your home or work to make sure you’re getting the very best tools and greatest opportunity you need to put your opioid abuse to rest once and for all.
Start your recovery today by calling or texting Recovery Care of Columbia at (615) 861-1646.
Or, schedule recovery online to begin a Suboxone therapy program today.
Both clinic and telemedicine appointments are available to new and existing patients.*