Boston Methadone Treatment

Boston Comprehensive Treatment Center

Boston Comprehensive Treatment Center
99 Topeka St.
Boston, MA 02118

Phone: (617) 849-9572
Website: ctcprograms.com/boston

Treatment Types
Counseling
Methadone Maintenance

At Boston Comprehensive Treatment Center, we provide clinically excellent medication-assisted treatment for adults age 18 and older who are struggling with opioid addictions. Medication-assisted treatment is a comprehensive approach to care that combines effective medication with counseling support.

With a staff of compassionate and skilled doctors, dispensing nurses, and counselors, Boston Comprehensive Treatment Center is able to provide patients with a warm, inviting environment where they can focus on their recovery. Our professionals closely monitor the medications patients receive, as well as their progress in counseling, to ensure that each patient receives safe and beneficial treatment.

 

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methadone8c

There are a considerable number of methadone clinics in Boston as well as suboxone-approved physicians able to write prescriptions for suboxone. Suboxone (containing the buprenorphine additive) provides significant relief from opioid withdrawal symptoms for a majority of people addicted to opioids. Whether methadone or suboxone are utilized is a decision typically determined by medical staff and the patient based on their presenting history of drug use and past treatment efforts. Located below are several links to additional information on methadone benefits vs. risks, opioid addiction, and recovery counseling.


Other Boston Methadone Clinics
Bay Cove Human Services
Methadone Services
66 Canal Street
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 371-3030
Health Care
Resource Centers
23 Bradston St.
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 318-6480
Dept of Veterans Affairs Medical Ctr
Drug Dependency Treatment Center/Outpt
251 Causeway Street
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 248-1010
Boston Public Health Commission
Narcotic Addiction Clinic Meth Servs
300 Frontage Road
Boston, MA 02127
(617) 534-2490
Community Substance Abuse Centers 175 Crescent Avenue
Chelsea, MA 02150
(617) 889-8779
North Charles Institute
For the Addictions
260 Beacon Street
Somerville, MA 02143
(617) 661-5700
IMPACT 260 Beacon Street
Somerville, MA 02143
(617) 661-0405
Addiction Treatment Center of
New England
77 Warren Street
Brighton, MA 02135
(617) 254-1271×124
Roxbury Comp Comm Health Center Inc
Methadone Services
170 Morton Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
(617) 541-3670×221
Bay Cove Human Services
Bridge to Recovery Detoxification
Long Island Health Campus, Administration Building
North Quincy, MA 02171
(617) 471-9600×2427

 

Boston Buprenorphine Treatment
Curtis Wittmann, M.D. WACC 812
15 Parkman Street
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 724-6300
Katherine Knutson, M.D. MOH Department of Psychiatry
WACC 812, 15 Parkman Street
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 724-6300×134
Carlos Manuel Suarez, M.D. 16 Blossom Street
R101
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 724-4905
Duy Pham, M.D. 251 Causeway Street
Suite 245
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 248-1016
Lily A. Awad, M.D. VAOPC 251 Causeway Street
2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 248-1054
Karsten D. Kueppenbender, M.D. Massachusetts General Hospital
West End House
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 726-2712
Edward Wright Boyer, M.D. CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 355-6000
John R. Knight, M.D. Adolescent Substance Abuse Program
Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 355-2727
Michael William Marcus, M.D. 82 Marlborough Street
Boston, MA 02116
(781) 721-2737
Joseph Yeretsian, M.D. 20 Park Plaza
Fourth Floor
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 507-1472
Alireza Toossi, M.D. 425 Boylston Street
Suite 310
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 848-3948
Snezana Milanovic, M.D. 20 Park Plaza
Suite 442
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 948-2110
Massachusetts General Hospital
Addiction Services
16 Blossom Street
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 726-2712
Children's Hospital Pediatric Assoc
Adolescent SA Program
300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 355-5433
Intake:
(617) 355-2727
CAB Boston Treatment Center 784 Rear Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 247-1001
Intake:
(800) 763-5363
Habit Management 99 Topeka Street
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 442-1499
Intake:
(617) 442-1499
Substance Abuse Treatment Program
VA Boston Healthcare System
150 South Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02130
(617) 232-9500×232


How Bad Is Opioid Withdrawal

There is an informative video by Sarah Wakeman on the physical and psychological perils of severe opioid withdrawal. Sarah is a Medical Director at Mass General Brigham. They are an integrated health care system that conduct medical research, teaching, and patient care.

In the video, Sarah explains how opioid withdrawal can become so severe with diarrhea and vomiting that individuals can die from extensive dehydration. As physicial dependency progresses, the brain becomes increasingly imbalanced and unable to function without the presence of opioids.

When opioid withdrawal commences (usually 8-12 hours after last use), it becomes increasingly unbearable as the body is flushed with stress hormones. The withdrawal discomfort builds in intensity over days, and can last up to a week or more. For many, this withdrawal process feels akin to a severe case of the flu, but then potentially reaches levels of sickness even far beyond that.

In the video, Sarah goes on to discuss the benefits of methadone and buprenorphine in reducing severe withdrawal symptoms and in helping patients to ultimately not die from overdose. She also illuminates on how rational decision-making is so extremely difficult when struggling against the intense pain of opioid withdrawal.

Please check this video out, and share it with anyone you believe can benefit from its message.

Posted in Buprenorphine, Medication Assisted Treatment, Methadone, Methadone Clinics, Opiate Withdrawal, Opioid Treatment, Pain Management, Prescription Drugs, Suboxone | Tagged | Comments Off on How Bad Is Opioid Withdrawal

Helping Skeptics Understand Methadone

When it comes to addiction, reactions and opinions are often intense. Addiction is a devastating illness that can rapidly derail a person’s life, and seriously impact the lives of those around them.

Sadly, addiction leads people to behave in ways that make no sense to their family, friends, and co-workers. Therein lies an important part of the problem. Family feel confused, angry, and fearful as their loved one tumbles down the hill of active addiction.

When it comes to something as perplexing as drug addiction, grasping for answers is an understandable reflex for family and friends. What family often don’t comprehend is the power of physical dependency to opioids and the severe sickness that results from opioid withdrawal.

Family and others incorrectly assume that mere “choice” is all that’s needed to overcome the addiction. When the addict fails to remain drug free, harsh judgment by others usually follows.

Halting withdrawal sickness is a paramount step for an opioid addicted person. This cannot be overstated. As long as a person is suffering from severe opioid withdrawal, their ability to think and “choose” logically is greatly impaired.

Statistically, individuals who utilize medication-assisted treatment (like methadone) are far more likely to avoid incarceration, a continued downward spiral, or death by overdose. Medication assistance successfully removes debilitating withdrawal sickness so that the addicted person can experience greater clarity of thought and the ability to make more sound decisions that lead to improved quality of life.

If you are a skeptic about methadone or suboxone, you may think “they’re just trading one drug for another”. This is not true. People, once therapeutically stabilized on methadone or suboxone, do not get high from the medication. Health generally improves, and the person is able to function much better on the job and at home. This brings hope. It offers a new opportunity for further recovery.

When you care about a person’s survival, one more chance to help them can be quite valuable. Don’t let judgment or excessive skepticism get in the way. Medication-assistance in opioid recovery is effective for many people, and it has been the life saving next step that some never got the chance to take.

Posted in Methadone, Methadone Benefits, Methadone Clinics, Recovery, Suboxone | Tagged | Comments Off on Helping Skeptics Understand Methadone

Methadone Treatment in Oregon

Like most states, Oregon is in need of quality treatment options for opioid-addicted individuals who are ready for recovery.

This article, in the Hillsboro News-Times, features the recent approval by Washington County commissioners to add a new methadone clinic in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Acadia Healthcare is aiming to establish the new methadone clinic in Hillsboro in order to better serve the local community. Acadia already operate a mobile unit in the general area as well as a comprehensive treatment center (CTC) in nearby Tigard located about 20 miles away.

The commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the proposed site which will be on the local bus route thereby providing improved access. The article mentions that Oregon presently has 17 operational methadone clinics serving the state, where fentanyl, opiates, and other substances are causing a grave overdose crisis.

Having local opioid treatment available is a critically important step in saving lives and providing hope to patients and families. Methadone has been proven to decrease opioid use, reduce relapse risks & overdose deaths, as well as increase employment and overall health. Clinics offering medication-assisted treatment (MAT), like methadone and buprenorphine, are forging a new path to safety for those people once stuck in active addiction.

Posted in Acadia Healthcare, Addiction Treatment, Buprenorphine, Methadone, Methadone Clinics, Oregon Methadone Clinics, Suboxone | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Methadone Treatment in Oregon

Remote Observation of Methadone Dosing

There’s a new spin being proposed on the dispensing of methadone to Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) patients. A federally-funded project is underway between Scene Health and The University of Washington in which patients video themselves taking their daily methadone dose, and then submit that video to the treatment provider.

The project is evaluating this new modified approach that falls somewhere between in-person daily dosing and unsupervised take home dosing.

This new approach is currently being referred to as Video DOT (video direct observation therapy) and has been successfully implemented with other health issues including hepatitis C, asthma, and diabetes.

While this experiment seems appealing at first glance, it does raise legitimate questions about the ability to insure proper safety protocols with the provision of methadone medication to new patients. The project may possibly demonstrate the usefulness of Video DOT methadone dosing. But assuming this new approach one day becomes common practice, it will be important that physicians or clinics have in place a procedure for quickly reclaiming methadone doses that are not ingested on schedule.

Imagine a new patient receives 7 take home doses of methadone, but then only sends in the required video of their medication use on day one. At what point does the prescribing clinic intervene, and how will the unaccounted for doses be retrieved?

Approved Opioid Treatment Programs currently have “callback” procedures in which stable patients are randomly selected to return to their home clinic with their unused take home doses. This allows the clinic medical staff to perform a medication count, and it acts as a safeguard to insure patients are taking their medication as prescribed.

Patients who have earned take home privileges through months of treatment progress are less inclined to divert or misuse methadone than someone who just started treatment. New patients must be inducted gradually on a stabilizing dose of methadone. And time is typically needed to help these patients adjust to methadone while eliminating use of all other illicit substances. This is where the benefit of a structured treatment program is most relevant. OTP’s provide extremely valuable life management skills training in conjunction with medication therapy.

It remains to be seen if “easy access” to methadone is truly an advancement in care, or a step backwards in accountability & safety for patients and the public.

Posted in Medication Assisted Treatment, Methadone, Methadone Clinics, Methadone Programs, Suboxone, Suboxone Clinics | Tagged | Comments Off on Remote Observation of Methadone Dosing

Expanding Access to Methadone

Historically, access to methadone for the treatment of opioid addiction has been through enrollment in a local clinic licensed to dispense methadone. As a result of Covid restrictions, some of these clinic regulations were relaxed. For example, many patients across the U.S. were allowed to begin receiving take home doses of methadone as a result of Covid lockdowns and decreased clinic access.

Critics have begun to express the belief that clinic restrictions are cumbersome and that methadone should be made available for pick-up at local pharmacies. On the other hand, the concern remains that methadone can be misdirected or mishandled thus reinforcing the need for close supervision, particularly in the early phases of opioid treatment. Decades of research has shown that taken under proper supervision, methadone’s safety profile is excellent.

In this recent era of contaminated street opiates and overdose concerns, it is clear that methadone is a phenomenally effective medication for promoting health, well-being, and physical safety.

Mark Parrino, president of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, recently shared that deregulation of methadone would likely increase the diversion of methadone and methadone-related overdose deaths.

Following a period of stability, most U.S. clinics do allow patients to begin dosing at home with methadone. This system of care is working well throughout the country where methadone is readily available. However, many U.S. citizens are still lengthy distances from methadone-approved clinics. So, the challenge continues to link those with opioid addiction to effective resources in their local community. Legislators are presently examining a range of options as the opioid epidemic marches on.

Posted in Acadia Healthcare, Addiction Treatment, Brightview, Methadone, Methadone Clinics, Opioid Treatment, Suboxone | Tagged | Comments Off on Expanding Access to Methadone

 
The best approach for utilizing prescription methadone or buprenorphine is to take the medication exactly as prescribed by your opioid treatment program physician. It is vitally important to also participate fully in the counseling aspect of the MAT (Medication Assisted Treatment) program. These two services combined offer the greatest probability of long-term recovery success when dealing with an opioid use disorder diagnosis.
 
Methadone and buprenorphine aid recovering individuals by restoring peace of mind and eliminating the chronic fear of painful opioid withdrawal. Medication-assisted treatment typically helps people regain improved mental functioning with clearer thinking and an increase in energy often returning after several weeks of stabilizing on their medication dose.