Buprenorphine for Opioid Addiction
Outpatient Detox or Maintenance?
Reviewing the Basics
Narcotics such as prescription opioids, heroin, and morphine are opiates that interact with the opioid receptors throughout the body and brain to reduce feelings of pain and dull the senses. These narcotic drugs, gained by prescription and illegal methods, have influenced an opioid epidemic within the United States, causing close to three million people battling with narcotic addiction. Narcotic abuse, addiction, and overdoses are serious health concerns that have a high risk of death.
Opiate Effects and Abuse Symptoms
Opiates produce tranquil and euphoric effects when taken regularly, and these drugs often tend to lead to destructive patterns of abuse. Often characterized by a drug-seeking behavior, the pathological urges from these drugs can often drive people to compulsive drug-seeking behavior, leading to symptoms including:
- Unsuccessful efforts to control opioid use
- Cravings and strong urges to use opioids
- Difficulties fulfilling obligations at work, school, or home.
- Continued opioid use despite interpersonal problems.
- Continued opioid use despite physical health
- Higher amounts of opioid tolerance
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms
- Taking opioids to relieve withdrawal symptoms
The Opioid Epidemic: The Role of Medication Assisted Treatment-Buprenorphine, Naltrexone, and Methadone
If you’re addicted to opioids like OxyCotin or opiates like morphine, then know that your substance use disorder is treatable. Dr. Alkesh Patel offers comprehensive treatments for opioid addiction with numerous strategies, including therapeutic and medical interventions to help your recovery from opiates. Our primary goal as mental health professionals is to empower you and help you maintain a lifetime of recovery, and our treatments can be customized to meet your specific needs.
Early intervention is key towards treating opioid addiction and preventing overdoses, and at Dr. Patel’s office, we can help provide treatment and help you recover from your opioid addiction.
Opiate Effects and Abuse Symptoms
Opiates produce tranquil and euphoric effects when taken regularly, and these drugs often tend to lead to destructive patterns of abuse. Often characterized by a drug-seeking behavior, the pathological urges from these drugs can often drive people to compulsive drug-seeking behavior, leading to symptoms including:
- Unsuccessful efforts to control opioid use
- Cravings and strong urges to use opioids
- Difficulties fulfilling obligations at work, school, or home.
- Continued opioid use despite interpersonal problems.
- Continued opioid use despite physical health
- Higher amounts of opioid tolerance
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms
- Taking opioids to relieve withdrawal symptoms
Narcan (Naloxone) for Opioid Overdose
What You Need to Know
Opioids often lead to a physical dependency within as little as four to eight weeks, and in chronic narcotic users, abruptly stopping opioid use can lead to severe withdrawal symptoms, including chills, cramps, generalized pain, nausea, vomiting, and intense cravings. These physical and pathological urges can drive people to buy, borrow, and steal drugs from others and can easily lead to overdoses and eventually death. Because of how vast and serious this addiction is, it’s important to seek out treatment as soon as possible.
Treatments For Opiate Addictions
Recovery from opioid addiction is a lifelong journey, and at Dr. Patel’s office, we can help you seek out professional treatment for narcotic addiction and provide you with the medical care you need to heal. Our mental health team can provide you with the best course of action with various treatments, including:
- Suboxone Treatment: Suboxone is a combination medication containing buprenorphine and naloxone, with buprenorphine acting as a partial opioid to activate the receptors and naloxone working to block the receptors entirely. This type of medication comes in pill form to help reverse opioid overdoses and signs of addiction.
- Naltrexone Treatment: Naltrexone can work to block the effects of other opioids by preventing the opioid receptors from feeling euphoria and is available in pill form or a monthly injection.
- Medication-Assisted Treatment: Alongside the two mentioned treatments, treatment plans to withdraw from prescription opioid medications, relapse-prevention treatments, and psychiatric therapy can be combined with opioid-blocking medications to help remove addiction completely.
If you or a family member is seeking treatment for opioid addiction, speaking with Dr. Patel can help. Through various psychiatric therapies, our team can help you heal from your narcotic addiction and rebuild you back up in full recovery. Learn about our treatment options today by speaking with our psychiatrists and scheduling your first consultation with us.
Buprenorphine for Opioid Addiction
Outpatient Detox or Maintenance?
Reviewing the Basics
Opioid use disorder is a serious addiction that, if left untreated, can lead to drug overdose and death. Early intervention is key towards treating opioid use disorder and preventing overdose. At Dr. Patel’s office, we offer evidence-based treatment to help you recover.
Opioid Use Disorder: Recognizing The Addiction
When someone uses an opioid drug, depending on genetic and environmental factors, the body can become physically and psychologically dependent on that substance to function, resulting in a biological cascade of events awakening the cycle of addiction. Drug cravings, emotional and physical withdrawal symptoms, along with erratic changes in behavior can all result.
The Opioid Epidemic: The Role of Medication Assisted Treatment-Buprenorphine, Naltrexone, and Methadone
Biologically, the activation of the brain’s reward system is central to problems arising from opioid use disorder. The rewarding feeling that people experience as a result of using opioids may be so profound that they neglect other everyday activities and obligations. This can cause considerable distress to both the person addicted and their families.
Narcan (Naloxone) for Opioid Overdose
What You Need to Know
At Dr. Patel’s office, we work to treat opioid use disorder and other co-occurring mental health conditions through effective treatment planning that often involves the patient’s support network, along with evidence-based considerations for medication-assisted treatment (MAT), self-help groups, and talk-therapy as other treatment options.
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) options for opioid use disorder can include:
- Buprenorphine – Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist that works to suppress cravings, opioid withdrawal symptoms, and drug euphoria.
- Methadone – Methadone is a long-acting opioid agonist that reduces opioid craving and withdrawal symptoms and blocks the effects of opioids.
- Naltrexone – Naltrexone targets the euphoric and craving effects of opioids by binding to the opioid receptors and blocking them.
When Opioid Use Disorder is Out of Control And You Need Help
Treatment is available and is effective. Don’t let the stigma prevail. Treating the addiction is crucial for moving forward in the recovery process. Through your first evaluation with Dr Patel, he can help you recognize patterns of addictive behavior and help you recover from your addiction. If you would like to learn more about our personalized treatment options, contact Dr. Patel’s office today to schedule your first consultation. Treatment is available, and hope is on its way!
