The Suboxone spit trick is an occurrence when patients hold their Suboxone medication under their tongue as directed, but then spit it out rather than allowing complete absorption.
This practice has become a topic of concern among healthcare providers treating opioid use disorder (OUD).
This article will explain the most important things you need to know about the Suboxone spit trick and address some myths and misconceptions related to this phenomenon.
What Is the Suboxone Spit Trick?
The Suboxone spit trick refers to the practice of placing the sublingual film or tablet under the tongue as prescribed, but deliberately spitting out the medication before it’s fully absorbed. Some patients attempt this method because they think they can somehow manipulate their dosage or avoid certain effects of the drug.
People might try this approach for several misguided reasons. For example, some believe they can reduce side effects like nausea or constipation by limiting absorption, while others worry about becoming too dependent on the drug itself.
However, this is by no means a good choice. The medication is formulated as a sublingual film specifically because the tissue under the human tongue has a rich blood supply that allows for optimal absorption. If a person spits out the medication prematurely, they’re essentially sabotaging their own treatment.
The sublingual route bypasses the digestive system, allowing buprenorphine—the active ingredient of Suboxone—to enter your system and bloodstream directly. This delivery method helps manage withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings during regular opioid dependence treatments.
How Does Suboxone Work?
Suboxone works as a combination of two active ingredients: buprenorphine and naloxone.
Buprenorphine acts as a partial opioid agonist, meaning it activates opioid receptors but to a lesser extent than full agonists like heroin or prescription painkillers. This unique mechanism provides enough activation to prevent withdrawal symptoms while creating a “ceiling effect” that reduces the risk of respiratory depression.
The naloxone component serves as a deterrent against misuse. If someone attempts to inject Suboxone, the naloxone becomes active and can precipitate withdrawal symptoms. When taken sublingually as prescribed, however, the naloxone remains largely inactive due to poor oral bioavailability.
Proper absorption happens gradually when the Suboxone film dissolves completely under your tongue. During this time, the medication passes directly through the mucous membranes into your bloodstream. This process ensures steady therapeutic levels that can last 24 hours or longer, depending on your individual metabolism.
The sublingual administration also means you shouldn’t eat, drink, or smoke for at least 30 minutes after taking your dose. These activities can interfere with absorption and reduce the medication’s effectiveness.
How to Take Suboxone Properly
Taking Suboxone correctly isn’t complicated, but it does require following specific steps. First, make sure your mouth is relatively dry, as excess saliva can dilute the medication. Place the film under your tongue and let it dissolve completely, which typically takes 5–10 minutes.
Don’t chew, swallow, or manipulate the film with your tongue excessively; simply let it rest under your tongue and dissolve naturally. If you’re prescribed multiple films, place them under different areas of your tongue to maximize absorption surface area.
After the film has completely dissolved, avoid eating, drinking, or smoking for at least 30 minutes. This waiting period ensures maximum absorption and prevents any remaining medication from being washed away before it can take effect.
Potential Effects and Risks of the Suboxone Spit Trick
The so-called “Suboxone spit trick” should never be attempted. Manipulating how the medication is taken constitutes misuse and can interfere with its effectiveness, increase withdrawal risk, and undermine your treatment. Here are some key reasons this practice is unsafe:
#1. Impact on Medication Absorption
When you spit out Suboxone prematurely, you’re dramatically reducing the amount of medication that enters your system. The median dissolution time for Suboxone ranges from 5 to 12.5 minutes, so spitting it out after just a minute or two means you might only receive a fraction of your prescribed dose.
This reduced absorption can result in inadequate buprenorphine levels in your bloodstream. You’re essentially setting yourself up for failure, as the therapeutic window for buprenorphine is calculated based on complete absorption of your prescribed dose.
#2. Potentially Experiencing Withdrawal Symptoms
Inadequate dosing from the spit trick often leads to breakthrough withdrawal symptoms. You might experience restlessness, muscle aches, anxiety, or sleep disturbances, which are the very symptoms Suboxone is designed to prevent. These uncomfortable experiences can trigger intense cravings and significantly increase your risk of returning to illicit opioids.
#3. Risks Related to Improper Use
The spit trick can create inconsistent medication levels in your system, leading to an unintentional roller coaster of symptoms. One day, you might feel stable, while the next may bring intense cravings or withdrawal discomfort.
Healthcare providers rely on consistent medication compliance to adjust dosages and monitor your well-being. When you’re secretly manipulating your intake through the spit trick, you’re providing misleading information about how well your current dose is working.
Myths and Misconceptions About the Suboxone Spit Trick
The spit trick is often shared on online forums, in recovery groups, or by word of mouth, but much of the information is misleading or incomplete. Let’s clear up some common myths:
Myth 1: You Lose a Lot of Naloxone When You Spit
In reality, naloxone absorption under the tongue is minimal; most of its intended purpose is to deter misuse if injected. The spit trick’s main impact is more likely on buprenorphine absorption, which is what you need for cravings and withdrawal control.
Myth 2: It’s Harmless.
While it may seem harmless to spit out excess saliva, over time, it can lead to lower effectiveness, inconsistent dosing, and oral health problems. Even small dose losses can affect outcomes.
Myth 3: Everyone in Recovery Does It.
While the spit trick is talked about a lot, many patients never use it and instead work with their providers to manage side effects through dose adjustments or other strategies.
Myth 4: It’s the Only Way to Avoid Side Effects.
Another persistent myth suggests that spitting out Suboxone reduces side effects while maintaining therapeutic benefits. This simply isn’t true; side effects like nausea or constipation are dose-related, meaning they occur because you have therapeutic levels of medication in your system. These are the same levels needed for the medication to work effectively.
There are safer, more reliable methods to address Suboxone-related side effects. For example, adjusting the dosage, switching to a different formulation (like films instead of tablets), improving hydration, or using sugar-free gum to stimulate saliva flow.
Myth 5: The Spit Trick Prevents Getting “High”
Another misconception is that the spit trick prevents “getting high” from Suboxone. However, Suboxone’s ceiling effect already limits euphoric effects by design. The medication is specifically formulated to be used without significant intoxication, even at prescribed doses.
Ultimately, the Suboxone spit trick is based on misconceptions, so following your provider’s instructions is always the safest and most effective approach.
Key Takeaways
The Suboxone spit trick represents a dangerous misunderstanding of how medication-assisted treatment works and can significantly compromise your recovery efforts. Hopefully, this guide has clarified this phenomenon and provided some valuable insights into the potential consequences of this practice.
Before you go, let’s reiterate the main points of this article:
- Proper Suboxone sublingual use and absorption require 5-12 minutes and shouldn’t be interrupted by spitting or other oral activities.
- Reduced medication levels from the spit trick can trigger withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
- Common myths about reducing side effects through spitting are unfounded.
- Open communication with healthcare providers about concerns or side effects is always preferable to secretly manipulating your medication.
Suboxone Spit Trick FAQ
You should neither spit nor swallow Suboxone intentionally; the medication should dissolve completely under your tongue through sublingual absorption. After complete dissolution, any small amount of saliva that might contain trace medication can be swallowed normally, but you should aim for full absorption before this point.
You can maximize absorption by placing the film under your tongue in a dry mouth, avoiding talking or moving your tongue excessively, and waiting for complete dissolution (5-12 minutes, depending on the dose). You shouldn’t eat, drink, or smoke for 30 minutes afterward. Also, if prescribed multiple films, space them under different areas of your tongue.
You can eat or drink 30 minutes after taking Suboxone; this waiting period ensures maximum absorption and prevents any remaining medication from being washed away. Some providers even recommend waiting up to an hour for optimal results.
People try the Suboxone spit trick due to misconceptions about reducing side effects, fears about dependence, or misunderstanding how the medication works. Some believe they can manipulate their dosage or avoid certain effects, but these approaches typically backfire and compromise drug effectiveness rather than improving outcomes.
If you’re experiencing side effects from Suboxone, contact your healthcare provider immediately to discuss them rather than attempting to self-manage through methods like the spit trick. Most of them can be addressed through dosage adjustments, timing changes, or supportive medications.
