Outpatient Suboxone Treatment

I just wanted to take a moment to tell you just how fortunate you are to be seeking opiate addiction treatment now.

Prior to the end of 2002, buprenorphine was not available for use to treat opiate addiction. The treatments available for the private office physician to use were of only slight help with the detox process. And they were of little to no benefit in keeping people from going back to opiate use.

Imagine this scenario, just going back to 2001. A patient would come to me for an evaluation. They would be heavily addicted to opiate pain meds or heroin. They would refuse to go to an inpatient detox or substance abuse rehabilitation facility. They wanted me to be the only one doing their addiction treatment because they wanted to maintain the utmost in privacy and confidentiality.

But there is no buprenorphine (Suboxone, Subutex) available for me to legally use. All I have are the less effective medications - perhaps clonidine and other medications to help with symptoms such as vomiting, stomach cramps, etc.

Needless to say, many people coming for detox would not be able to tolerate the treatment - and would go right back to using addictively. Their only option would be to suffer through the misery of the detox, or go off to a possibly expensive inpatient rehabilitation center or detox facility and be put on some methadone.

Again, many of the patients seeking my help did not want to go this more "public" route of getting treatment, so they would either "tough out" treatment with me - or worse, just give up entirely.

Finally: Outpatient Suboxone Treatment

Now, fortunately, there is the ability to be discreetly treated for your opiate addiction in the privacy of your own specially trained Suboxone doctor's office.

Whereas before you would have to suffer through much of the withdrawal symptoms, now the buprenorphine will substantially ease the detox symptoms. In many cases, you could be back at work or school the day after you start the medication.

No need to be away for a few days to weeks to get the right treatment. No more need to come up with excuses for your boss and friends about why you are taking an "unexpected vacation" for a few weeks.

And Because Suboxone Outpatient Treatment Is Available, You Won't Need To Deal With Methadone Maintenance Clinics

Before buprenorphine, the only effective option for long term treatment of opiate addiction was to be on methadone maintenance. One major problem with this approach is that you need to go everyday to get your methadone from a federally licensed facility - which can be a great hassle. Since you have to pick up your methadone in person every day or few days, it takes away much of the control from your daily life.

Also, some people just can't tolerate the methadone. And it is harder to be completely private going to these clinics, since you'll be lining up to get your dose with lots of other patients.

Outpatient suboxone treatment gives you back your control. Once you are on a stable dose, you could get as much as a month's worth of your medication by prescription - you can take the medication wherever and whenever it is convienient for you.

Traveling for two weeks or more on vacation? No problem if your'e on buprenorphine. (Just try that if you are on methadone maintenance).

Click this link to discover the Suboxone Treatment Options offered by Dr. Gilman