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10/05/2007 - In the Privacy of a Doctors Office: Treating Addictions
Despite what tabloids report about stars and their exclusive rehab retreats, today's addiction treatments, in many cases, can be provided privately in a doctor's office, allowing patients to continue with daily responsibilities. The key is finding the right treatment for each individual.
According to Michael S. Levy, D.O., FASAM, significant advances in the understanding of addiction as a disease of the brain have led to a wider array of more effective options for addiction treatment over the past decade.
With these advances has come greater reliance on the medical field to diagnose and treat addiction and its underlying conditions. Additionally, the perception of addiction is slowly shifting from a simple moral weakness to a treatable disease.
Treatment by a physician also allows for diagnosis of anxiety or depression, which may prompt drug or alcohol abuse. Inpatient and outpatient treatment with new medications and treatment protocols offer hope for those with alcoholism, illicit drug dependencies, prescription drug addictions, and even methamphetamine addiction.
In his own practice, Dr. Levy has significant experience treating patients utilizing:
- Subutex/Suboxone: medications approved for office-based treatment of opiate dependence. Works to reduce the symptoms of opiate dependence by attaching to the empty opioid receptors, suppressing withdrawal symptoms and reducing cravings. Only qualified doctors with the necessary Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) identification number are able to start in-office treatment and provide prescriptions for ongoing medication.
- Campral: FDA-approved for the maintenance of abstinence from alcohol in patients with alcohol dependence that are abstinent at treatment initiation. Campral is believed to help restore the chemical balance and prevent the feelings of discomfort associated with not drinking. Candidates must be committed to abstaining from alcohol and abstinent when they begin treatment.
- Naltrexone: An opioid receptor antagonist used primarily in the management of alcohol dependence and opioid dependence marketed under the trade names Revia and Depade. An extended-release formulation approved by the FDA in 2006 is marketed under the trade name Vivitrol. Naltrexone blocks the parts of your brain that “feel” pleasure when using alcohol and narcotics. When these areas of the brain are blocked, patients feel less need to drink alcohol.
- PROMETA: A treatment protocol involving prescription medication and nutritional supplements administered in a medically supervised setting. The treatment is designed to target the adverse changes in brain chemistry that occur with alcohol, cocaine, or methamphetamine dependence. Treatment is generally performed in an outpatient setting.
Combined with advanced pharmacotherapy, intense outpatient treatment now provides the medical, psychosocial and behavioral tools for many patients to overcome addiction. Modeled after the outpatient plan of the renowned Hazelden clinic, Dr. Levy's "Living In Balance" six-week outpatient treatment program offers patients an opportunity to live a productive life without the use of drugs or alcohol.
A Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, Dr. Levy is often called to provide court evaluations in custody hearings and serve as an expert witness in trials involving addiction and substance abuse.
As Nevada's first and most tenured medical practice dedicated solely to the treatment of addictive disease, The Center for Addiction Medicine offers:
- Outpatient Detoxification
- Intensive Outpatient Program
- Medication Management
- Individual Counseling
- PROMETA for Methamphetamine, Cocaine and Alcohol Addictions
- Relapse Prevention
- Addiction Education