What is addiction?

Addiction is a powerful physiological process and not a weakness of character or lack of discipline. Opioid use disorder is classified as a true medical condition and is the direct result of dramatic brain structural changes. Once these brain structure changes take hold, an individual is no longer left with an easy choice to “simply not use”, but is faced with an overpowering & persistent compulsion to feed an opioid drug hunger. No one wants to become addicted. Remember, the person did not want this to happen.

How Addiction Begins

Addiction often begins with a legitimate opioid prescription for temporary pain relief, or brief experimental use for recreational purposes (such as taking a friend’s pain pill). The individual discovers that the opiate/opioid successfully controls pain or provides a sense of euphoria or pleasure. As use of the opioid continues, cell adaptation occurs and tolerance to the opioid begins to grow. This requires larger amounts of the opioid in order to achieve the same effect. As a tolerance to opioids builds, users must take more of the drug to achieve the same effect.  Preoccupation (or mental preoccupation) is a symptom of addiction progression in which thinking about opiate use and planning for opiate use begin to dominate conscious thought & waking time. Once full-blown physical withdrawal emerges, mental preoccupation can become so overpowering that the individual’s life becomes replaced by daily craving for opiates and the need to obtain them. For some people, a physical dependency can come about quickly. For others, it may take longer.

BUPRENORPHINE:

Buprenorphine is used for opioid addiction to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms without causing euphoria or dangerous side effects and helps prevent relapse. It works by being a substitute for the drug being abused, so the patient has minimal discomfort, which allows the patient to focus on their recovery. Buprenorphine’s mechanism of action is that it is a partial agonist at the mu-opioid receptor and an antagonist at the kappa-opioid receptor. Buprenorphine for OUD is used as part of a complete treatment program that also includes counseling and behavioral therapy.

Buprenorphine-naloxone combinations are also available to be used for opioid addiction and include sublingual film (Bunavail), sublingual film and sublingual tablets (Suboxone), and sublingual tablets (Zubsolv) while Buprenorphine only tablets and films (Subutex).

Buprenorphine Fast Facts:

• Long lasting relief for 24 hours from opioid withdrawal symptoms
• Increasingly covered by private insurance, Medicaid, and Medicare
• Private and discreet; can be taken conveniently at the home or office
• Over 20,000 United States physicians currently approved to write buprenorphine prescriptions
• Has a favorable medication safety and effectiveness profile
• FDA-approved and endorsed by SAMHSA as a best practice medical intervention for the treatment of opioid addiction

Our providers prescribe all forms of Buprenorphine for opioid addiction. If you need help, contact us today at 629-702-2481 or complete the form below