Pain control with suboxone

It is a time release formulation of buprenorphine, a mixed opiate agonist / antagonist with a long half-life (stays in the body for a long time). It is used to treat opiate (heroin) addiction in a manner similar to methadone - it prevents the addict from going through withdrawal by maintaining their physical dependence, while hopefully giving them time to recover mentally and financially.

Buprenorphine has several advantages over methadone as a maintenance medication. Most importantly, it can be prescribed a month at a time, so the patient doesn't need to go to the methadone clinic every day. Withdrawal is less severe, and it effectively blocks other opiates so the patient can no longer get high. Ultimately, however, it is another form of addiction, and the patient must either go through withdrawal at some point or take the medication the rest of their life. I am looking more for documentation of it's actual use in place of other meds i.e methadone. I have been put on it, and yet I still can['t seem to get the answers I am looking for from my Dr. who is all for it, being a Pain Management MD< and a meth. withdrawal clinic with suboxone or subutex used.