Author: rkolle01

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 11:45 am

I’ve read that at least 2 studies show that Suboxone and LowT do not have a relationship. I have only viewed one of them. It is unconvincing.

Suboxone, LowT, Smoking & Cancer
Technically speaking, smoking does not cause lung cancer either. Google evidence primary smoking lung cancer for those who are dedicated to the belief that one should smoke cigarettes and not worry about getting cancer. Their argument is that the a US white male smoker has an 8% chance of dying of lung cancer, while a US white male nonsmoker has a 1 % chance of dying of lung cancer. Based on the 1999 world health organization data, their statistics are factually true. 92% of US white male smokers do NOT die of lung cancer.

One could make the same argument regarding Suboxone and LowT. Some people have posted to this forum and said they took Suboxone and it:
a) had no effect on their T (normal before & after or low before & after)
b) did have an effect on their T (normal before, low after)

Confirmatory Case Study
Colameco, Coren, & Zimmerman (2008) found this to be the case in their qualitative case study of 10 patients. All 10 had lowT, but they could not confirm the timing of the onset. However, based on their interviews of the cases, they concluded that it is POSSIBLE that a relationship exists between Suboxone and LowT.

Disconfiming Experimental Study
The Bliesener et al. (2005) study did NOT find a relationship between LowT and Suboxone in 17 patients. The data from the control group (n=51) and Suboxone group (n=17) shared the same range. The methadone group (n=37) had a range that was lower … the top end corresponded with the low end of the other two groups. (see figure below or attached)

While this is a very rigorous study that I respect, it does not prove that it is IMPOSSIBLE for Suboxone to cause LowT. It is not enough for me to say to someone, "go ahead and take Suboxone" without weighing the obvious positive benefits with the potential negative risks.

Based on these 2 studies, one could say that Suboxone may cause LowT. It is not unscientific to say it is a risk. However, one cannot make that suggestion with much of a degree of confidence either way based on 2 studies totaling 27 patients on Suboxone.

One or two studies are not enough to prove that Suboxone and LowT do (or do not) have a relationship.

References

Bliesener, M., Albrecht, S., Schwager, A., Weckbecker, K., Lichtermann, D. & Klingmuller, D. (2005). Plasma testosterone and sexual function in men receiving buprenorphine maintenance for opioid dependence. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 90(1), 203-206.

Colameco, S., Coren, J. S., & Zimmerman, D. J. (2008). Buprenorphine-induced symptomatic hypogonadism in men: Case reports and discussion. Journal of Addiction Medicine 2(3): 147-150