President Trump is expected to sign a bill to expand medication-assisted treatment but it remains unclear as to how soon that will take place. A new feature by NPR underscores a potentially dangerous conundrum for health care professionals and individuals seeking treatment for opioid use disorder: while buprenorphine (also known as Suboxone, Subutex and Zubsolv) has proven effective in blocking… Continue reading Lack Of Suboxone Access Leads Users In Need To The Black Market
Tag: MAT
An Open Letter to Addiction Treatment Providers
There’s something wrong with addiction patients feeling the need to ask for medical advice from their communities because they don’t trust their providers. Maybe you’re a psychiatrist. Maybe you’re a dosing nurse at a methadone clinic. Maybe you’re an inpatient counselor. Maybe you work in an emergency department, or you’re an OBGYN; maybe you don’t… Continue reading An Open Letter to Addiction Treatment Providers
Senate Passes Sweeping Opioid Legislation, Treatment Advocates Unimpressed
“None of the bills include providing the one thing communities hit by the opioid crisis need most: funding,” says one treatment advocate. A bipartisan effort to stem the opioid crisis, while impressive in scope, does not have what it takes to stem the national opioid crisis, say treatment advocates. On Monday (Sept. 17), the Senate… Continue reading Senate Passes Sweeping Opioid Legislation, Treatment Advocates Unimpressed
New Dosage Strength Of Opioid Addiction Drug Approved By FDA
The FDA commissioner noted that the approval will expand access for patients and reduce drug development costs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new dosage strength for a maintenance drug for the treatment of opioid addiction. Cassipa, which is a sublingual (applied under the tongue) film that combines the opioid treatment drug buprenorphine… Continue reading New Dosage Strength Of Opioid Addiction Drug Approved By FDA
Should You Breastfeed Your Baby If You're on Methadone?
My daughter was born with neonatal abstinence syndrome but I was not allowed to nurse or have her in the room with me; the hospital staff said the methadone in my breast milk could be dangerous. They were wrong. Earlier this summer several news outlets reported on the death of an 11-week-old infant in Philadelphia… Continue reading Should You Breastfeed Your Baby If You're on Methadone?
What Sets Suboxone Apart From Other Medication-Assisted Treatments?
When taken as prescribed by an opiate addict, Suboxone doesn’t allow me to avoid or escape reality. This is one way it differs form other MATs. I’ve used the same pharmacy for over a decade. The tech filling my prescription this morning was the same one that had filled my Vicodin prescription for four years,… Continue reading What Sets Suboxone Apart From Other Medication-Assisted Treatments?
St. Louis Pushes To Expand Medication-Assisted Treatment For The Uninsured
The city’s current healthcare program for the poor and uninsured does not cover mental health or addiction services. St. Louis officials are asking a federal agency to expand access to medication-assisted treatment under a program that provides healthcare services to uninsured individuals in the city. The Gateway to Better Health program, which is federally funded,… Continue reading St. Louis Pushes To Expand Medication-Assisted Treatment For The Uninsured
Suboxone: A Tool for Recovery
With medication-assisted treatment (MAT), people with opioid addictions are given the chance to rebuild their lives—often from the ashes and debris of drug-induced destruction—without having to fight cravings and withdrawal. Suboxone is a prescription medication that treats opioid addiction. It contains buprenorphine and naloxone, active ingredients that are used to curb cravings and block the… Continue reading Suboxone: A Tool for Recovery
Microaggressions: How Subconscious Biases Affect Recovery
An example of a microaggression in the recovery universe: someone from NA asks someone who’s considering Suboxone: “Are you in denial? A drug is a drug is a drug.” No malicious intent is involved, but the fellow member is left feeling disparaged. Politics and Religion: we’re encouraged to avoid these conversations, socially. Conviction can escalate… Continue reading Microaggressions: How Subconscious Biases Affect Recovery
SAMHSA Voice Awards Honor Walter Ginter’s MARS™ Project
Many people on MAT feel unwelcome at meetings, and this sense of alienation and rejection often leads to relapse. That’s where MARS™ comes in. We want people on MAT to be embraced and accepted in recovery. Held at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus in Westwood, the 13th annual SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health… Continue reading SAMHSA Voice Awards Honor Walter Ginter’s MARS™ Project