Opioids target pain-blocking receptors in your brain causing the release of endorphins that mimic pleasure. Suboxone negates the effects of opioids by blocking them from activating these pain receptors. It helps lessen the symptoms of withdraws and cravings. 

Our goal is to get the patient off opiates and stable bringing them back to the quality of life they had before their addiction. We will start by prescribing the patient with Suboxone. This will keep the patient from feeling the effects of withdraws and cravings. Once on a steady regiment of Suboxone and stable for a period of time, we will start to dial back the level of Suboxone until they are completely self sufficient or on a low dosage.

Addiction treatment specialists have preferred to prescribe Suboxone instead of methadone. Suboxone was developed with the specific intention of fighting opioid addiction, the medication was made to have a far lower risk of dependency than that of methadone. Moreover, the side-effects of Suboxone are usually less severe and tend to be physical instead of mental.