How We Help
Continued misuse is life altering, and is best addressed with professional, dedicated help. Here is what that looks like with us.
Whether it began in recreation, in medical need, or as an escape, substance use can be a complex, isolating and challenging struggle.
It can feel daunting, especially alongside the awareness that you or someone you love is struggling. Even so, that first phone call to our practice is a brave and pivotal step onto your road to recovery.
Addiction does not discriminate, and is now, finally, better recognized as a medical condition. Like other chronic medical battles, it can be treated and successfully managed.
At Synthesis Health & Wellness we begin with a comprehensive medical and substance use history and assessment. We seek to understand the underlying reasons for your use and the triggers or social cues you may experience, and we work with you to develop a plan to manage those and align you on a path to recovery and stability, whatever that looks like for you, from eventual abstinence to maintenance on medication-assisted treatment.
Medication-assisted treatment
MAT
Many patients are motivated and want to stop using opioids, but the agony of withdrawal can be overwhelming, leading to a cycle of misuse often riddled with failed attempts to quit.
MAT describes the use of evidence-based medications, ideally combined with counseling and behavioral therapies, to treat opioid use disorder. It is designed to assist with the restoration of brain chemistry, provide relief from the symptoms of withdrawal, and diminish the risks of relapse or overdose.
The medications we use
The primary medications we utilize are based on buprenorphine, a key component of agents such as Suboxone® and Zubsolv®. It offers an FDA-approved pharmacotherapy with a more favorable safety profile than some alternatives. It acts as a “partial agonist” at the opiate receptors and can ease withdrawal symptoms without the “high”, and with a lower risk of respiratory suppression. This lets you focus on rebuilding your life rather than enduring day-to-day survival.
These are typically administered sublingually, beneath the tongue, in either film or tablet formulations, and are generally combined with naloxone to discourage illicit diversion.
We now also offer longer-acting injectable formulations, primarily Brixadi®, which may offer some advantages and convenience.
We will discuss treatment options with you, including the logistics of induction and medication initiation, dosage adjustments, medication maintenance, and the dynamics of injectable formulations where applicable.
Why some patients choose an extended-release medication
- It eliminates the concern for misuse or diversion.
- It is administered by a healthcare provider, with no potential for it to be lost or stolen.
- It offers privacy, without the fear of someone finding or misusing your prescription, including no accidental exposure to children or pets.
- It eliminates missed, forgotten or late doses.
- It removes the daily routine of taking sublingual films or tablets, and avoids the “hand-to-mouth” habit which some patients have found triggering, or too similar to their prior use patterns.
- It lets treatment adjust to your life, rather than you focusing on the time of your next dose. This may prove particularly helpful for patients with unpredictable or busy work, travel, or household routines.
One thing to weigh
We encourage patients to consider carefully how this affects their use of telehealth for visits, as the long-acting prescriptions do require provider administration in the office.
Pregnancy
Care during and after pregnancy
A significant percentage of people with opioid use disorder are female, many of whom are within their child-bearing years. Pregnancy offers an excellent opportunity for screening and treatment.
Ongoing untreated opiate use in pregnancy may be associated with adverse consequences for both mother and infant, especially preterm labor and delivery, as well as low birth weight. Although all opioid use in pregnancy is associated with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS), also referred to as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), pregnant patients should receive appropriate care to treat opioid use disorder.
Evidence supports that buprenorphine is an acceptable treatment for opioid use disorder during pregnancy, and it may carry the advantage of reducing the severity of NOWS compared to older alternatives.
We recommend a healthy conversation to determine a treatment strategy for care during and after your pregnancy, as well as coordination of care with your prenatal-care provider.
You are not alone.
That first phone call is a brave and pivotal step. If we are assisting another client, leave a message and we will call you back.