What does Suboxone do to the body, to the brain, and to the personality?
Opioids have many side effects and adverse reactions. This is especially true of street opioids, such as fentanyl and heroin.
Mental fatigue and daytime sleepiness are common side effects seen with opioid abuse. Often, the first sign that a person is using opioids again is when they nod off.
When a person who has been misusing opioids decides to quit opioid abuse and start Suboxone therapy, they may have concerns about the side effects. While Suboxone is much safer than heroin or fentanyl, it still may have some side effects, including sleepiness, tiredness, or sleep disturbance.
Interestingly, many people who take Suboxone complain about excess energy in the evening, and difficulty falling asleep. Not getting adequate sleep can lead to physical fatigue and mental fatigue during the day.
What does Suboxone do to your personality?
Does Suboxone treatment have an effect on a person’s mood and thought processes? Does Suboxone addiction treatment change their personality?
Other than Suboxone fatigue, people are concerned about how medication assisted treatment with buprenorphine will affect personality. Family members are worried that their loved one will not be the same with Suboxone use, because of its effects on the opioid receptor. They worry that long-term Suboxone detox treatment is simply trading one drug for another.
For someone involved with active substance abuse for a long time, it might be difficult to establish a baseline of what their normal behavior pattern is going to look like after giving up drug abuse. Opiate addiction, and uncontrolled use of an opioid drug can cause behavior issues that appear to be mental health issues.
However, in addiction recovery, most of the opioid use side effects will clear up, and patient behavior will return to normal within a period of time. Yet, some effects may take longer to resolve, making it difficult to discern if what appear to be personality changes are due to long-term use of opioid drugs or to the addiction medicine, such as Suboxone or methadone.
Suboxone contains both buprenorphine and naloxone. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist, and buprenorphine is an antagonist and a partial opioid agonist.
While buprenorphine is technically an opioid medication, It tends not to have the same side effects as most opioid drugs. Hence, it is able to block opioid craving and severe withdrawal symptoms, while allowing the patient to function normally, shortly after overcoming active opioid addiction.
What about the effects of Suboxone withdrawal on sleep and energy levels?
Opioid withdrawal, in general, tends to cause the symptoms of insomnia. People with opioid use disorder who attempt to overcome opioid dependence by quitting, cold turkey, will experience sleep disturbances.
When a person is unable to get adequate, high-quality sleep, they will tend to experience fatigue and brain fog. It will take time for them to overcome the opioid withdrawal symptoms.
While Suboxone can help a patient to avoid opioid withdrawal for an extended period of time, there are Suboxone withdrawal symptoms, which are essentially the same as withdrawal symptoms due to other opioids. One major difference is that a person who has been on Suboxone therapy for an extended period of time will not likely experience opioid cravings as part of the Suboxone withdrawal syndrome.
Still, when a person is tapering off of Suboxone, or has quit altogether, they will experience withdrawal, and difficulty getting adequate sleep. Generally, it is not a good idea to use sleeping medications during this time.
Taking prescription tranquilizers to get to sleep may introduce a new problem, a dependence on sleep meds. Additionally, sleeping pills tend not to provide high quality sleep.
If Suboxone keeps a person awake at night, will they not be able to continue taking it?
Suboxone is known to keep some patients awake at night. Sometimes, taking the evening dose at an earlier time can help. Usually, it is a good idea to plan to take Suboxone at least five hours before sleep time, for best results.
In some cases, the buprenorphine in Suboxone will still keep the patient awake, even if they try taking it earlier. If this is the case, the doctor may recommend trying a lower dosage to see if that helps.
Otherwise, it is possible that the patient will get used to the side effects of Suboxone, and they will subside. Over time, difficulty getting to sleep may not be as much of a problem, as the patient gets used to the medication.
Generally, Suboxone side effects are usually mild and not a reason to stop taking the medication. Insomnia is a common side effect that tends not to be a long-term problem.
Other side effects, including constipation, sweating, or headaches, are also not problems for patients who continue with Suboxone therapy. These side effects are usually tolerable and get better with time.
While constipation can be a serious issue, it is often improved by drinking more water and taking in more fiber in the diet. Also, there are a variety of constipation aids available over-the-counter in pharmacies that can be helpful.
What are some natural ways to improve sleep if Suboxone insomnia is a problem?
Deep breathing techniques can be helpful to induce sleep. There are guided meditation programs that include breath work exercises.
Also, there are sound programs, including white noise, brown noise, ocean sounds, and others that can be helpful. Isochronic and binaural beats programs are especially helpful in achieving sleep.
There are also natural supplements that can help. Herbal teas, chamomile, and melatonin are some supplement options to look for in the health food store.
In addition to these natural remedies, it can also help to exercise in the evening to induce general fatigue. Taking an evening walk may help to clear the mind and tire the body, helping to prepare for sleep.
Avoiding playing with a smartphone or other device at bedtime is a good idea. Scrolling endlessly through social media is a common modern cause of insomnia, and does not help when Suboxone insomnia is a problem.
Is Suboxone fatigue, separate from insomnia, a major problem?
Does Suboxone cause fatigue directly as a side effect? While not common, it is possible for Suboxone to cause fatigue.
Usually, this fatigue will be mild, and will go away gradually with continued use of the medication. If fatigue caused by Suboxone is a major issue, it can be treated by the doctor lowering the dosage, if necessary.
In some cases, a doctor may choose to offer a prescription for a medication to promote wakefulness, but this is not a common solution to Suboxone fatigue. More likely, the doctor will choose to change the dosage of Suboxone, or ask that the patient give it time to see how they adjust.
Exercise may be a good solution to fatigue problems that seem to be due to medication side effects. If a person starts Suboxone and feels fatigued, it is often a good idea to ensure that they are getting regular exercise.
Walking every day for at least 30 minutes is a good, safe form of exercise for many people. A Suboxone patient may find that they have less fatigue if they exercise daily.
Can Adderall be used to help a person overcome Suboxone fatigue and lack of focus?
Adderall has become a very popular treatment in recent times to treat issues with poor focus and attention. People ask their primary care doctors or they visit a psychiatrist, seeking a prescription for the drug, Adderall.
Adderall is a compound made up of several amphetamine salts. It is essentially amphetamine, or speed. Because of this, Adderall is a highly addictive drug, similar in effects and addictive potential to cocaine or meth.
While there are people who function well with Adderall, because they have a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder, many people who take Adderall do not need to be on that therapy, and they are at risk for becoming dependent, or even addicted.
It is almost never a good idea to use Adderall as a treatment for Suboxone-related fatigue. If a person has a low energy level, and feels that they cannot focus on their work, Adderall will rarely be an ideal solution.
Unfortunately, Adderall prescriptions are becoming commonplace. There are even two major telemedicine companies that are writing large numbers of prescriptions for the stimulant drug for patients who call in for a short video call with their nurse practitioners.
While patients who are overcoming opioid addiction will often not be at risk for developing a stimulant addiction, it is still a possibility. When a person has an addiction issue, adding an addicting drug to their therapy is usually not a good idea.
What about modafinil, or Provigil, as a treatment for Suboxone fatigue?
Provigil, also known as modafinil, is another drug used for fatigue. It is FDA approved to treat shift work sleep disorder, a condition related to people working odd work shifts.
When a person works various night shifts, they are at risk for their circadian rhythm, or internal clock, being disturbed. They find it difficult to get to sleep, and they feel fatigued throughout the day.
Generally, using medication that has a wakeful, or stimulating effect, is not a good idea to treat fatigue related to Suboxone therapy. However, Provigil has a significantly lower addictive potential compared to drugs such as Adderall.
If a doctor decides to try prescribing a medication to temporarily help with Suboxone fatigue, modafinil would be a better choice compared to Adderall. While it is considered to be a stimulant drug, it does not work the same way as Adderall, and it is not an amphetamine.
Patients who try Provigil should not expect any dramatic effects, other than improved wakefulness. It is not a drug that makes people smarter, it does not improve focus, and it does not cause euphoria.
While some people online have made outrageous claims about Provigil being the Limitless drug, it is nothing of the sort. It simply promotes wakefulness, without the side effects of caffeine or amphetamines.
If a family member who has started Suboxone therapy keeps nodding off, is it due to Suboxone fatigue?
Nodding off is something that is associated with opioid misuse. People who shoot up heroin or fentanyl tend to fall asleep in a unique way that indicates opioid abuse.
Literally, the person’s head starts to fall forward, or back, and they may then awaken due to their head movements, or fall fast asleep. When family members see their loved one, who is known to have an opioid addiction, nodding off, they will be concerned about ongoing opioid use.
Suboxone does not cause nodding. If a person starts to do the typical opioid nodding off, it may be a sign that they have resumed illicit opioid use, and they are not taking their Suboxone anymore.
While many people do very well with Suboxone therapy, quitting opioids, and functioning very well with respect to their daily activities, some people do not do well, at least at first. Not everyone is ready to give up opioid use, even when offered Suboxone therapy to help them quit opioids.
It is difficult to relate to the thought process of someone who simply refuses to accept help for opioid addiction. Especially, when the person’s opioid use is clearly causing serious harm in their life, it is hard to relate to their resistance to treatment.
Still, it does happen that a person goes to a Suboxone doctor in Fort Lauderdale, FL , at the request of family members, and then they pretend to comply with therapy.Eventually, the doctor will evaluate the patient, and discover with drug testing that the patient is not following medical directions.
Nodding is a serious concern, because it is typically not related to Suboxone treatment. It is more likely a sign of a patient returning to active opioid use.
What should a person who experiences Suboxone fatigue do if it is an ongoing concern?
If a person is worried about feeling fatigued while taking Suboxone, they should first call their doctor, and schedule an appointment. Many Suboxone doctors are able to do telemedicine appointments, so going into the office is not always necessary. Suboxone fatigue is not always a reason to stop taking Suboxone, or to make any major changes to therapy.
Patients should not change their therapy without discussing the issue with their doctor first. In most cases, they will find an adequate solution to the problem of fatigue by working closely with their doctor.
