Tag: Addiction medicine

Since the federal X-waiver requirement was eliminated in 2023, more healthcare professionals than ever are able to prescribe Suboxone for opioid use disorder (OUD). As a result, finding out **what kind of doctors prescribe Suboxone** is a much broader search than in the past, encompassing primary care physicians, specialists, and telehealth providers.

According to the National Institutes of Health, chronic pain is a major public health problem affecting over 30% of the U.S. population. The question of whether you can prescribe Suboxone for chronic pain is complex, as the medication is not FDA-approved for this specific purpose, though it is sometimes used off-label, particularly in patients with opioid dependence.

Sublocade, an injectable form of buprenorphine, provides a steady release of medication to manage opioid use disorder (OUD) [1.6.1]. The pivotal question for some patients and clinicians is: **can Sublocade be given every 3 weeks** to optimize treatment?

According to a study published in the *Journal of Addiction Medicine*, researchers found that automated pupillometry measurements detected a significant decrease in mean pupil size within 15 minutes of administering buprenorphine-based opioid agonist therapy. This pharmacological effect, known as miosis, is a key component of how **does Suboxone make your pupils small?** and is an expected response for many individuals on this medication.

In 2022, an estimated 9.37 million U.S. adults needed treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), but only 25.1% received recommended medications [1.10.1]. Understanding what Sublocade does to the brain is key to seeing its role in addressing this treatment gap by stabilizing brain chemistry [1.2.5].

As of March 2025, buprenorphine and all products containing it are classified as a Schedule III controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act. The primary pharmacological answer to **what category class is buprenorphine** is that it is an opioid partial agonist.

In 2022, an estimated 9.3 million adults in the U.S. needed treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), but only about 25% received recommended medications [1.7.1]. For those exploring what can be used instead of buprenorphine, several FDA-approved pharmacological options are available.

Recent research from the NIH indicates that patients taking higher daily doses of buprenorphine, specifically more than 16 mg to 24 mg, may experience better treatment retention and outcomes. The question, **is 20 mg of buprenorphine a lot?**, depends heavily on the individual's history, tolerance, and overall treatment plan for opioid use disorder.

Medications for opioid use disorder, like partial opioid antagonists, have been shown to significantly reduce overdose deaths. One of the most prominent examples is buprenorphine, a crucial tool in modern addiction medicine that helps manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings by activating opioid receptors to a lesser degree than full agonists.

Despite there being more than 15 million buprenorphine prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. in 2023 [1.4.1], significant barriers still prevent wider adoption by clinicians. This article addresses the core question: why don't more doctors prescribe buprenorphine?