Can a patient on methadone safely switch to Suboxone?
It is possible for a patient on methadone to switch to Suboxone; however, the difference between the two drugs may cause the former methadone-treated patient to feel unsatisfied, though there have been many successful cases noted. Methadone, being a full-opioid agonist, is more similar to heroin and oxycodone than buprenorphine. Buprenorphine is a partial-opioid agonist, which means it does not provide the same intense release of painkilling chemicals that full agonists provide. As a full agonist, methadone is also more likely to give a patient euphoria. Because of methadone’s long half-life, it is required that the patient being inducted into Suboxone treatment be at least 72 hours without methadone. If Suboxone is taken prematurely it could cause precipitated withdrawal, a very unpleasant experience. It is important that the patient also be down to 20-30 mg of methadone before making the switch to buprenorphine. A switch should not be attempted with anyone taking over 30 mg of methad
