Everything you need to know about Taking Adderall® with Suboxone®
Many patients enrolled in medication-assisted treatment are also faced with dual-diagnosis, meaning that they are often treating some other illness. It’s common for those patients to be handling forms of mental illness such as ADHD as part of a dimensional treatment plan that can help them reach long-lasting recovery. Those patients will sometimes be prescribed Suboxone® to treat their opioid use disorder, which can pose some risks when combining with ADHD medications such as Adderall®.
Suboxone® and Adderall®
Suboxone® is categorized as a narcotic analgesic that’s used to treat opioid use disorder. Sometimes this medicine is prescribed under the name buprenorphine and naloxone, which are only dispensed under a medical provider with specific training in addiction treatment. This medication is useful for patients enrolled in MAT (medication-assisted treatment) because they aren’t required to register at a methadone clinic. They can also treat their opioid addiction while maintaining their lives and careers.
Adderall® is a stimulant very commonly prescribed to people with ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Sometimes sold under its generic name, dextroamphetamine, this medicine has helped many take control of their issues with attention and concentration, from children to adults.
Can you Take Adderall® with Suboxone®?
Both medications pose their own risks for patients using them but don’t have any substantial negative medical interactions that could prove fatal if taken as prescribed. However, medical providers may be wary of prescribing stimulants with addictive properties to those who are in treatment for opioid addiction.
Mixing central nervous system depressants with any other drug can be risky, especially with a stimulant, due to its effects on blood pressure and heart rate. Patients who are dealing with a dual diagnosis are encouraged to maintain transparency with their medical providers while taking both medications to ensure that they can maintain good bodily health.
Possible Side-Effects and Interactions
Patients who take either illicit or prescribed stimulants like Adderall® may exhibit anxious, twitchy, or achy behaviors. They are also prone to using “downer” substances to calm their nerves, like alcohol or other CNS depressants mixed with stimulants such as benzodiazepines, commonly prescribed for anxiety.
It’s also important to mention that a popular drug cocktail exists among drug users called a “speedball” that mixes stimulants and depressants together. Typically this involves unregulated and illicit substances like cocaine and heroin and has been known to cause many overdose deaths. In less extreme cases, people will bounce from amphetamine use to depressant use to chemically regulate their energy levels, leading to long-term damage in the body.
Patients treating opioid use disorder with Suboxone® who also require medication for their ADHD dual diagnosis are not at grave risk due to medication interactions. Nevertheless, the prescribing of a stimulant such as Adderall® can significantly alter the course of a patient’s recovery process while they embark on opioid use disorder treatment. Each patient needs to be assessed individually to ensure their safety, as there are other alternative medications available that may work better together.
We’ve made the journey to recovery simple and straightforward. We design our plans to let you keep living your life while undergoing our treatment and support services.
If you are ready to get started on your individualized treatment plan, contact us today.