Your First Appointment... What to expect

Your doctor will decide which course of treatment is best for you. Before the initial buprenorphine induction dose is administered to a patient dependent on short-acting opioids, a minimum of 12-24 hours should have elapsed since the last use of opioids. The patient should preferably be exhibiting early signs of opioid withdrawal (e.g., sweating, yawning, rhinorrhea, lacrimation). Patients who are not in active withdrawal because they have not abstained from using opioids for a sufficient period should receive a careful explanation of the advantages of waiting and should be urged to wait until they begin to experience the symptoms of withdrawal.

Patients who are experiencing objective signs of opioid withdrawal and whose last use of a short -acting opioid was more than 12-24 hours prior to the initiation of induction can receive a first dose of 4/1-8/2mg of the buprenorphine/naloxone combination (buprenorphine monotherapy for pregnant women). IE: Subutex

If the initial dose of the buprenorphine/naloxone combination is 4/1mg ( 4mg Buprenorphine/1mg naloxone) and opioid withdrawal symptoms subside but then return (or are still present) after 2 hours, a second dose of 4/1 mg can be administered. The total amount of buprenorphine administered in the first day should not exceed 8 mg.


The above information is available on the Suboxone website.
www.suboxoneassistedtreatment.org

Simply click on the Suboxone Treatment Protocol Tab at the top of the page and then click on the " Maintenance Treatment" Tab on the left hand side of the page. For more information.
I would highly recommend reading all that you can before your first appointment. Make a list of questions that you would like to ask your doctor in advance, making the list before hand will insure that you won't forget any questions. Also ask your doctor if he has coverage in the office or someone on call that you can get in touch with after hours if needed.

If you find yourself needing to speak to someone and can not get a hold of anyone please call us.
We are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
The phone numbers are:
Office: 770-428-0871
Cell: 770-527-9119
If you are out of money and can not call then send us an email with the time you would like us to call you at:

dee.director@suboxoneassistedtreatment.org