Somewhat yes. I think that’s more extensive than the actual guidelines. Fifteen minutes is a bit much. I would say five minutes beforehand. If their mouth is dry they can swish and spit just so there is some moisture. There is no talking while it’s dissolving which can take 5-10 minutes. And then I would wait five minutes afterwards before eating and drinking. However I think fifteen minutes is too much to ask in terms of what people can tolerate.
The vast majority of patients that come to me from another provider are on 24 mg of buprenorphine. There are many non-pharmacologic reasons for this: physicians read that it is the maximum dose, they feel it is the safest dose, it’s what the patient wants, etc. If they are stable on that dose, it’s usual pretty easy to get them down to 16 mg. I like to get them down to 16 so there is some wiggle room if I need to increase for pain management.
