Committed To Change® also specializes in the treatment of opioid dependence. Opioids are a group of medications (natural and synthetic) used to treat moderate to severe pain. These drugs have properties similar to the narcotic commonly known as opium.

Some Examples of Opioids

morphine
methadone
oxycodone/OxyContin
hydrocodone/Vicatin
meperidine/Demerol
codeine
hydromorphone/Dilaudid
endorphin
fentanyl and more

Understanding Opioid Dependence

More and more, opioid dependence is being accepted as a chronic disease, much like high blood pressure or diabetes. Yet unlike these other diseases, opioid dependence carries a very powerful stigma. To illustrate: Imagine that you are interviewing for a new job. Would you think twice before asking whether the company's health plan covers costs related to your insulin dependence? Would you hesitate to ask about coverage of costs related to your opioid dependence? This stigma is rooted in the centuries-old belief that opioid dependence is a moral failure.

It was only within the last 20 years that researchers began to realize opioid dependence was a medical condition caused by changes in the brain—changes that didn't go away sometimes for months after patients stopped using opioids. Today, opioid dependence in the United States is growing at unprecedented rates. Sadly, fear of the stigma associated with treatment keeps many people from seeking help. Removing the stigma of opioid dependence is critical to helping patients receive proper care. A key part of achieving this goal is wider recognition that opioid dependence is a medical—not a moral—issue.

Why Opioid Dependence Is A Disease

Opioid dependence is a chronic brain disease caused by complex, long-term, changes in the structure and functioning of the brain. The significant changes to brain "circuitry" common to opioid dependence have led physicians to classify it as a disease that interferes with normal brain functioning. Most brain diseases are linked to a distinct behavioral symptom—for example, Alzheimer's disease is linked to memory loss, schizophrenia is linked to mood changes, and opioid dependence is linked to compulsive opioid use.

While a portion of opioid-dependent patients may have elected to misuse opioids at some point, this does not mean their condition is not the result of disease. Consider the following:

1. Many chronic diseases either begin or are made worse by patients' choices—for example, decisions about diet and exercise directly contribute to such common illnesses as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.

2. Regardless of whether patients' opioid use may have begun willingly, once opioid dependence takes hold, drug use is no longer voluntary.

3. Although opioid dependence is preceded by repeated use of higher and higher doses of opioids, opioid use is actually only one of several factors that causes this disease—opioid use will not "become" opioid dependence all by itself.

Even though logically a person may know that opioids are not essential for life, as long as those parts of the brain in charge of survival behavior still believe opioids are necessary, they may override "reasoning.” The need to obtain opioids can become more important than that person's safety because opioid dependence can impair the mechanism by which information from certain areas of the brain—namely, those involved with judgment and caution—is received.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TREATMENT WITH SUBOXONE CALL 410-290-8800 (for Howard county and surrounding areas) OR 410-990-1811(Anne Arundel County and surrounding areas) OR CALL DR. LOWTAN DIRECTLY ON HIS CELL PHONE AT 443-803-5810.