Suboxone Treatment Program

Suboxone is a prescription medicine used to treat adults who are addicted or dependent on opioid drugs (either prescription or illegal). Suboxone is composed of buprenorphine/naloxone, a proven method of treating opiate addiction.

Take Back Control of Your Life

It is an understatement to say addiction creates a heavy burden. Opiate addiction can wreak havoc on the lives of not just the addict, but their friends and family as well. Addiction can be a difficult disease to overcome. But with the advances in modern medicine, we can provide you with the help you need to take control of your life back from the addiction. Don’t give up hope. You can beat addiction with the help of Wellness 1st.

Wellness 1st Integrative Medical Center provides comprehensive treatment for patients that includes prescription use of Suboxone, a well-proven medication that contains buprenorphine/naloxone.

Suboxone helps reduce the cravings for heroin and other morphine derivatives. It can help patients transition from addiction back to a normal, healthy lifestyle. If you’re ready to learn more about how to take control of your life back, reach out to Wellness 1st. Treating the symptoms without addressing the cause doesn’t offer the best long-term benefits. Our approach to integrative medicine focuses on treating the causes as well as the symptoms.

About Suboxone Treatments

Opiate addiction rates have been increasing over the previous two decades and currently stand at an all-time high. The types of addiction range from abuse of prescription medication such as oxycodone to abuse of illegal substances such as heroin and its synthetic successors such as fentanyl. Opioid overdose deaths steadily climbed over the last 20 years.^[1] And overdose deaths related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl have skyrocketed since 2013.

For a long time, abstinence was the main guiding principle in addiction recovery. Patients were told to quit cold-turkey and then refrain from using. Relapse into opiate use after a period of abstinence carries a heightened risk of overdose.^[2] With addiction and overdose being such a serious problem, we need to employ every technique that science and medicine can provide us.

Today, with more data and research available, we have a much better understanding of how addiction works on a biochemical level. This allows us to employ new techniques to treat addiction and help patients overcome this difficult affliction.

What Does Suboxone Do?

Suboxone regulates biochemistry as it relates to opiate use. The combination of buprenorphine/naloxone works on the exact same opioid receptors as addictive opiates, but with protective or normalizing effects that reduce cravings.^[3] Suboxone serves as a partial agonist of opiate receptors and doesn’t provide the same addictive and euphoric sensations.

Am I a Candidate for Suboxone?

If you have a problem with opiate addiction and wish to stop using, then you are a candidate for Suboxone. The most important qualifying requirement for Suboxone is a true desire to stop using opiates. If a patient doesn’t have a strong will to stop using opiates then no treatment or combination with treatments will work. To begin overcoming the obstacle of addiction, a patient needs to want to get better. At Wellness 1st, we can help empower patients to change their lives in the positive ways they desire.

If you have other medical conditions, remember to discuss them with Wellness 1st to ensure there are no conflicts. Conditions such as hepatitis may disqualify you from Suboxone treatments.

Your Private Consultation in Gilbert, Arizona

At Wellness 1st, we believe people have the power to change their lives for the better. We help people achieve those goals by focusing on treatments that offer a whole-body, whole-mind approach. We want to understand all our patients, it’s essential when devising an addiction treatment plan. Please be prepared to share your medical history and any relevant information that pertains to your addition. At Wellness 1st, we prioritize compassionate and empathetic care. You should feel at ease discussing any sensitive issues.

We value all of our patients. It’s an honor when patients write to us and record videos to update us on their lives following treatment. Please read and watch the feedback from our patients to understand the quality of care we provide.

A Comprehensive Addiction Treatment Plan

Comprehensive addiction treatments approach the problem of addiction from a whole-body perspective. We don’t just believe in telling people to stay abstinent and expect that to accomplish the best results. Drug addiction can cause biochemical changes that affect behavior and motivation even after using the addictive substance stops.^[4] Because of this pattern of relapse, we combine Suboxone treatments with behavioral therapy and counseling. By taking this comprehensive approach, we tackle the problem of addiction from multiple angles. Addiction specialists recommend that these therapy and counseling sessions continue long after a patient ceases the use of addictive substances.^[5]

Integrative medicine places the patient’s needs as the primary focus. Wellness 1st devises comprehensive treatment plans that take into account more than a patient’s physical statistics. A patient’s mental, emotional, spiritual, and environmental factors also influence the health of our patients.

In the past, some doctors refused to incorporate medication such as Suboxone. But the current prevailing consensus among addiction doctors is that Suboxone treatments should be viewed as maintenance medication, in the same vein as prescribing insulin to diabetes patients.

Results

Multiple placebo-based studies have shown the efficacy of Suboxone in reducing cravings in the patients and in showing reduced rates of opiate use 1-year after undergoing treatment.^[6] We’ve found that Suboxone treatment achieves the best results when used in conjunction with our psychosocial therapies. Our philosophy focuses on attacking the problem of addiction from all angles.

Complementary Procedures

Wellness 1st also offers the convenient option of a buprenorphine implant called Probuphine. This implant also contains the medicine buprenorphine. It is indicated for the maintenance treatment of opioid dependence in patients who have achieved and sustained prolonged clinical stability on low-to-moderate doses (doses no more than 8 mg per day) of a buprenorphine-containing product.

We deploy both Suboxone and Probuphine as part of a complete treatment program that also includes counseling and behavioral therapy.

FAQ

References 

1. Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2018 -NCHS Data Brief  – Number 356. (2020, January 30). Retrieved July 31, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db356.htm
2. Velander, J.R. (2018). Suboxone: Rationale, Science, Misconceptions. Ochsner Journal. March.18 (1) 23-29. Retrieved July 31, 2020, from http://www.ochsnerjournal.org/content/18/1/23?utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Ochsner_Journal_TrendMD_1
3. Kosten, Thomas & George, Tony. (2002). The Neurobiology of Opioid Dependence: Implications for Treatment. Science & practice perspectives / a publication of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health. 1. 13-20. doi: 10.1151/spp021113 
4. The American Society of Addiction Medicine. Advancing Access to Addiction Medications. Retrieved July 30, 2020, from: http://www.asam.org/docs/default-source/advocacy/aaam_implications-for-opioid-addiction-treatment_final
5. US Department of Veterans Affairs; The Management of Substance Use Disorders Work Group. (Published December 2015). VA/DoD clinical practice guideline for the  management of substance use disorders. retrieved, July 30, 2020. http://www.healthquality.va.gov/guidelines/MH/sud/VADoDSUDCPGRevised22216.pdf.
6. Kakko J., Svanborg KD., Kreek MJ., Heilig M. (2003). 1-year retention and social function after buprenorphine-assisted relapse prevention treatment for heroin dependence in Sweden: a randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2 22; 361 9358: 662- 668. pmid:12606177