The Best Treatment For Addiction

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Two New Forms of Medication for Opiate Addiction Treatment 

In recent years, the Food and Drug Administration approved two new medications for the treatment of opiate addiction. These two new drugs might prove promising in both treating opiate addiction and as a useful tool in controlling chronic pain. The drugs are Zubsolv and Probuphine.

Zubsolv

According to Orexo, the manufacturers of Zubsolv, this sublingual combination of buprenorphine and naloxone reaches the bloodstream faster than its competitors. You do not have to take as much of it at once to feel relief or take it as often as other opiate addiction maintenance medications.

This combination of buprenorphine and naloxone is not without its problems though. Some of the side effects of Zubsolv are:

• Headache
  
• Nausea
  
• Vomiting
  
• Constipation
  
• Mild opiate withdrawal breakthrough symptoms
  
• Insomnia
  
• Pain
  
• Edema of the arms, legs, hands, and feet
  

The manufacturer reports that these symptoms usually go away within the first few weeks of taking Zubsolv.

Probuphine

According to Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the manufacturers of Probuphine, this is an implanted form of buprenorphine. This takes away any possibility of abuse and allows the patient to receive treatment without the need to take anything by mouth or injection.

This implant provides continuous buprenorphine for up to six months. Most people who use buprenorphine are already stable on Suboxone but need the added support continued treatment.

Like any medication Probuphine has risks. These risks are:

• Complications with removal and implantation
  
• Overdose if the correct implant isn't provided or opiates are used while on the implant
  
• Similar side effects to oral or sublingual buprenorphine
  

These risks are similar to those of any other opiate treatment program.

Using one of these two medications with a comprehensive opiate addiction treatment program can end your addiction forever. Every person responds to medication in a different way and Zubsolv and Probuphine offer alternatives where traditional methods of treatment fail.