Tag Archives: buprenorphine

Opioid Use Disorder A Modern Reality

Opioid Use Disorder is the newer clinical terminology (from the DSM5) used to describe the full range of opioid problems ranging from mild opioid-related use issues to severe opioid addiction.

The CDC reports that in 2017 there were 72,287 deaths from overdose in the United States. That is certainly an alarming statistic. Of that number, 49,060 of those deaths were from opioids specifically – just in 2017. By contrast, there were 58,200 U.S. fatalities that resulted from the entire Vietnam war.

The good news is that government funding for opioid treatment is finally entering the stream on a local level. Increasing numbers of methadone clinics and physicians authorized to prescribe buprenorphine are moving into America’s more rural areas, ones that have historically been severely underserved.

As treatment for Opioid Use Disorder becomes more readily available, people struggling under the constant pressure of addiction will have an opportunity to apply the brake, and to veer onto a new path of stability and recovery. That being said, it is estimated that presently only 1 person of 10 with an opioid use disorder has sought treatment. For many opioid addicted people, treatment made the difference between life and death.

Choose a new path is more than words for those that have truly done so. Addiction is a highly persistent disease, but change is possible. Commitment and action are the necessary ingredients in opening the door to a new life. Opioid Use Disorder, in particular, is successfully treated with medication assistance. Science, research, and life experience have fortunately reinforced this fact with perfect clarity. Please find a local treatment provider today!

Opioid Treatment Making A Difference

There is a great article in the Bismarck Tribune about the expansion of methadone services in Fargo, North Dakota. Fargo, like most other areas of the country, was impacted in recent years by numerous opioid-related overdose deaths.

The article reports that Cass County had 31 overdose deaths in 2016, but that number was reduced to 15 in 2017, due in part to the increased availability of naloxone (the medication that reverses opioid overdose).

While local ambulance calls have decreased in relation to opioid overdoses, the problem of opioid addiction remains a widespread and primary concern in the community.

The Tribune story reveals that more local residents are now enrolled in opioid treatment and are receiving the life-saving medication, methadone. Treatment that combines medication-assistance and counseling is the industry standard in quality care for those addicted to opioids.

The new Fargo-based clinic is reported to have 164 active patients currently enrolled in the methadone program. The clinic director, Mark Schaefer, is quoted as saying that while enrollment has been rapid, there remain many people in the local area with untreated opioid addiction.

The availability of treatment is making a difference. And medications like methadone, buprenorphine, and naloxone are providing a much needed solution to America’s opioid crisis.

New National Buprenorphine Website

buprenorphine-websiteBuprenorphine.US is the newly developed companion website to Methadone.US. Methadone has been in use as an opioid addiction treatment medication for nearly 50 years. In 2002, buprenorphine became available in the U.S. as a new alternative for people suffering with opioid addiction. Since then, various medications containing buprenorphine have been released such as suboxone and zubsolv.

Buprenorphine for opioid addiction treatment can only be prescribed by qualified physicians who have received training on the proper use of buprenorphine. As the opioid addiction problem grew over the last 15 years, many thousands of doctors pursued training and were approved in the use of buprenorphine-based medications to treat opiate addiction.

At Methadone.US, we have served over 1 million U.S. visitors since the website’s launch in 2011. Buprenorphine.US will aim to connect many more individuals with qualified physicians who can help them in their journey toward a genuine recovery and improved quality of life.

Drug Addiction, Methadone, and Suboxone

suboxone-articleAn article was brought to our attention by Dr. Dana Jane Saltzman, a New York City physician who specializes in the treatment of opioid addiction. Dr. Saltzman uses suboxone in her private practice to help those seeking recovery from a severe opioid habit.

The article was posted in The Village Voice and attempted to depict the duality of opioid replacement therapies. This duality stems from the highly therapeutic & legitimate uses of suboxone (buprenorphine) contrasted against the attempts of some addicts to create a black market cottage industry with the medication selling it illegally online via Craigslist, Facebook, and other social media.

In the world of medicine and addiction treatment, selling suboxone is certainly criminal, and also behavior characteristic of someone who is not grounded in recovery. Many medical & clinical treatment professionals across the country have endeavored for decades to provide safe, effective treatment to suffering addicts. When FDA-approved opioid treatment medications are misdirected and sold on the black market, all varieties of abuse and exploitation occur ending in overdoses and a deepening of damaging social stigma about medications such as suboxone and methadone.

The Village Voice article plays it straight up the middle with perhaps some emphasis on the growing underground market for suboxone targeted to those who want to bypass the cost or inconvenience of signing on with a suboxone-approved physician.

Individuals who attempt to treat their own addiction with opioid replacement therapy are going to fail a high percentage of times. First, most  have no medical basis for understanding the complex nature of opioid addiction in the brain, and they can even deepen their addiction through the inappropriate use of opioid replacements. Addicts often go with what feels right opting for their own intuition as opposed to following proven best practice protocols like those employed in structured treatment programs supervised by suboxone-approved doctors.

Addicts who treat themselves with street suboxone or methadone are also completely missing the counseling component of recovery which addresses the underlying psychological factors that drive addiction. Taking street suboxone without counseling is akin to taking diabetes medication while eating doughnuts. In other words, the individual makes their complicated dilemma even worse.

There are some generic equivalents of suboxone in development which may make opioid replacement therapy more accessible to the larger population. Suboxone and methadone have a definite place in addiction treatment. It is critical however that early recovering addicts receive quality counseling so that they can better understand how to cope with relapse patterns and develop the skills necessary to successfully manage the disease of addiction. Addicts treating themselves with medications acquired on the street will remain stuck in a vicious cycle of addiction.

True recovery requires humility and commitment to higher principles. Chasing shortcuts to recovery creates more pain and wastes valuable time that would be better invested in real solutions.

Suboxone Doctors

suboxone-doctorsMethadone.US has successfully educated and enlightened many thousands of online visitors over the last two years. Our goal has been to demystify & destigmatize opioid replacement therapy, and to highlight how methadone, suboxone, and other treatment interventions can give patients a new lease on life.

It is important to emphasize that methadone and suboxone are medically-approved treatments in wide use across the United States and the world. In the US, these medications are prescribed and administered under the supervision of a physician. A physician is at the core of every methadone clinic, and it is the physician who is authorized to prescribe suboxone for opioid addicted patients needing relief and hope.

On our city pages, Methadone.US lists local physicians who are certified to write prescriptions for buprenorphine (suboxone). Our lists are drawn from the United States government database at SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Our city pages are fairly extensive and cover most of the continental United States. However, suboxone and methadone treatment have become so popular that even smaller towns now often have medical professionals providing some form of opioid addiction treatment.

Suboxone doctors and opioid treatment specialists are very much needed in response to the country’s growing opioid addiction problem. Suboxone doctors are in a unique position to not only offer much desired relief from opioid withdrawal, but they can also promote with patients the importance of committing themselves to a process of counseling, recovery, and long-term behavior change such that ongoing drug abstinence becomes possible.

Many suboxone-certified physicians are also board certified addictionologists. This means that they have received special training in identifying & treating addiction disorders of all varieties.

If living in the New York metropolitan area, you can obtain more information about local suboxone doctors at: NewYorkSuboxone.com

For those in the Los Angeles metro area, visit: LosAngelesSuboxone.com