In this article, I’m going to educate you on the subject of mixing Suboxone and Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, and other benzos. Taking Suboxone and Xanax or other benzos together is not good for your health. Additionally, this combination can even have serious negative consequences, including overdose and death.
My goal with this post is to inform you on what the combination of Suboxone and Xanax or other benzos does in your body, and why this mixture is not recommended by doctors, addiction therapists, nor me.
Many years ago, there was a time where I was taking Suboxone.
I never mixed Suboxone and Xanax, because I felt absolutely amazing on the Suboxone and didn’t feel the need to take other prescription medications with it.
COFFEE, on the other hand, was great to mix with Suboxone. The combination of Suboxone and coffee first thing in the morning gave me so much ENERGY and motivation that I crushed it at my job cooking at a restaurant, and I even enjoyed it, when normally I hated that job.
Thank God for Suboxone! Anyways, my point here is this:
Many things are fine to mix with Suboxone. However, Xanax and other benzos are not some of them. Why is it a bad idea to mix Suboxone and Xanax?
Let’s talk about this…shall we?
Suboxone and Xanax – Suboxone Overview
Suboxone is a brand name medication consisting of two drugs – buprenorphine, and naloxone. Buprenorphine is a controlled substance and semisynthetic opioid derivative of thebaine.
Buprenorphine attaches and binds to the same opioid receptors in the brain and other parts of the body that drugs like heroin, oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and other opioids bind to. Once it attaches to these receptors, it mimics the effects that opioid drugs produce (though it’s not as powerful).
For this reason, buprenorphine is known as a “partial opioid agonist.”
The other opiate drugs I just mentioned are known as “full opioid agonists,” because they activate the receptors in a stronger and more complete way than buprenorphine. See the illustration below.
Naloxone is the other compound present in Suboxone. Naloxone is a pure opioid antagonist. It’s the drug given to people that overdose because an injection of naloxone puts the opioid-user into instant withdrawal, thus saving them from health issues and death.
Naloxone was put into the Suboxone formulation to deter people from injecting it, which would lead to precipitated withdrawal. Taken orally, naloxone isn’t bioavailable. A common misconception is that naloxone blocks the opiates.
This is false.
The truth is that buprenorphine binds so strongly to the opioid receptors that it’s actually the buprenorphine which blocks opioids.
Suboxone and Xanax – Dangers of Mixing Suboxone and Benzos
Suboxone and Xanax or other benzos may seem like a harmless combination at first thought. However, Suboxone is more powerful than most people think. Since Suboxone contains buprenorphine, Suboxone is not recommended with Xanax or other benzos.
Why?
Here is a bullet-point breakdown of the problem with this mixture:
- For starters, both types of drugs are central nervous system (CNS) depressants.
- Suboxone’s main ingredient, buprenorphine, is a partial opioid agonist.
- Alone, both Suboxone and Xanax or other benzos have the ability to cause significant respiratory depression. Used together, this combination results in synergy.
- Suboxone/benzo synergy is when the combined effect is greater than the sum of the effects of these two CNS depressants.
When you combine two CNS depressants, in this case, Suboxone and Xanax or other benzos, this significantly increases the chances of respiratory depression and can ultimately lead to death from your body not breathing anymore.
Suboxone and Xanax – Key Concepts
Now that you’ve been educated on the potential negative health consequences of mixing Suboxone and Xanax or other benzos, I hope you’ll stay away from Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, Ativan, and other benzos while you’re on this medication.
You only have one body, so treat it well.
The following key concepts will help you stay healthy on Suboxone:
- Avoid the combination of Suboxone and Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, Ativan, or other benzos.
- Avoid all other CNS depressants (such as alcohol) while taking Suboxone.
- Drink at least 4-5 liters of water a day or more.
- If you drink soda, cut that out too or at least limit it to no more than 1-2 sodas a week.
- Focus on eating primarily organic whole foods, and eliminate or limit processed and refined foods.
- Make sure you get at least 7-8 hours of sleep or more per night on a regular basis.
- Exercise at least 3-4 days a week or more, using a combination of cardio, strength-training, and stretching.
As a former substance abuse counselor at an Opiate Treatment Program (OTP) and a current Opiate Recovery Coach, I’ve always been outspoken about the potential dangers of mixing Suboxone or other opioids with other CNS depressants.
The synergy is real, and thus it’s really not worth the risk.
If you have any comments or questions about the topic of mixing Suboxone and Xanax or other benzos, please post them in the comment box below. Be safe, and take care of yourself.
I just want to take one for an MRI! I am very Closter phobic! I am on suboxone daily, 8-2 mg……Is one blue klonopin safe and is it enough to calm me for this test? I have a high tolerance for all these drugs.
I am a widow with 2 children and their father was a victim of mixing Benzos and opioids Percocet, fentanyl, suboxone, xanex, Klonopins, basically all these and would mix the Benzos regularly because he said he loved the way he felt. Well he was 37 and died way to soon. He had overdosed several times before the final occurrence that took his life and I was well aware by then what to look for and luckily I had gotten him medical attention in time the 11 times before that we was able to keep him for the next 10 years but it was a nightmare and now my daughters don’t have a father. He knew the dangers yet he did it anyway because the high and to escape but the truth is a dr prescribed him several opiates and it was far to ready to get the benzos and back then it wasn’t such a talked about subject as much as it is now and had it been then Mabey he would still be here. Please if you know someone struggling with this addiction then please do whatever you can to get them help before it’s too late because this is a deadly combination and it will take the lives of the ones you love and it’s devastating. I think there should be stricter laws and restrictions for anyone who receives an opiate or benzo prescription and harsher penalties for drs and pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies that prescribe or fill prescriptions to people who get both opiates and benzos. This has to be stopped and I’m hurt that more people like me with similar stories or who have lost a loved one aren’t screaming to the rafters and asking for help. It’s deadly but also preventable.
Hi, I had to change pain management due to the Dr. Closing his office. I was taken, most every day 2 10mg of Norco and Nurontin 600 mg three times a day. My new pain Dr. has put me on suboxone (did not discuss this with me) for pain. I was taking at night .5 mg klonopin and now I read that I should not take this with the suboxone. I cannot get the Dr’s office to call me back to help me know what to do. What do you recommend?
Many patients are able to take benzos with Suboxone, but it’s best to ask your doctor first and then he or she will tell you how to use the two medicines together safely, and then if it gives a bad reaction, they will figure out what to do next.