Suboxone Success Story from Johnny O

"James Doe" was a 21 year old young man who came to Sober Living by the Sea to receive treatment for opiate (heroin) addiction.

During the course of his stay in our long-term rehab program, he relapsed three times despite wanting to get and stay sober. After the fourth relapse, Johnny O. and the rest of the clinical staff decided to have James undergo a Suboxone (buprenorphine) detox and then use Subutex (which is Suboxone that is taken by placing it under the tongue or "sub lingually") to manage cravings for early sobriety.

After the successful suboxone detox, the clinical staff had James "titrate down" (gradually reduce his dosage of Subutex) to a moderate level during his early sobriety. Once James started showing an interest in 12-Step groups (AA and NA) it became clear that once Subutex had helped the James address the "body" part of being sober sober, he was willing to do the work necessary to address the "mind" and "spirit" components of a complete recovery program*.

With the consultation of our team of addictionologists, it was decided that since James was proactively working a program of recovery, the Subutex should continued but gradually decreased until James achieved his one year milestone of sobriety. The one year milestone is a critical one that is a great indicator that the client will achieve long term sobriety (the same could also be said about the 3 months, 6 month, and 9 month milestones as reiterated in a recent study by the L.A. Times dispelling the "30 Day Myth" of ideal treatment length).

James did continue the downward titration of the Subutex and he became more involved in a program of recovery by getting a sponsor and working the 12 Steps of Recovery. James' life became very rewarding as he became gainfully employed, enrolled in school, and continued his treatment here at SLBTS and his sessions with Johnny O.

James did get his "one year chip" and gradually "stepped down" through our various levels of treatment programs until he just recently discharged and moved into his own apartment. James is still employed, enrolled in school, and very active in the local recovery community. James will finally complete his Subutex treatment in the coming days after successfully using it to manage cravings for 16 months.

In Johnny O.'s opinion, the Suboxone was effective because it reduced James' cravings and withdrawal symptoms to the point that he could begin working a program of recovery and get the positive spiritual and esteem building experiences of connecting with others in recovery and accomplishing personal goals.

Johnny O., who is in recovery himself for opiate addiction, was actually skeptical of Suboxone himself until he was able to see the positive effects that it had on clients like James. Johnny O. reiterates that Suboxone is only a tool that will help a recovering individual manage cravings giving them the chance to get grounded spiritually and work a program of recovery. Johnny O. thinks that the Suboxone by itself is not enough for an opiate addict to get sober.

In our next blog entry, we will share Johnny O.'s experience with a client that used Suboxone but was not able to get and stay sober. To learn more about Suboxone and Subutex, please visit our page about suboxone detoxification.

*We often refer to the recovery process as requiring treatment of the "mind, body, and spirit" to be successful. This is why Sober Living by the Sea has our clients participate in spiritual, esteem building, and physically challenging recovery activities in addition to our near constant slate of educational, workshops, support groups, and therapeutic processes