Advances in Treatment of Chemical Dependency Help Address Rising Prescription Drug and Heroin Abuse

zAddiction Recovery Institute offers Outpatient Overnight Opiate Detoxification [OOOD] to treat addiction to common painkillers such as oxycontin, vicodin, Percocet and codeine as well as recreational drugs such as heroin. During this comprehensive outpatient detoxification procedure, the opiate drug is physically removed from the patients body while they are comfortably and safely sedated under a mild form of general anesthesia. The benefit of the procedure is that withdrawal symptoms are significantly reduced and the overall recovery process is compressed to fewer days.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (PRWEB) May 7, 2004 --- Opiate and prescription drug abuse continues to run rampant throughout the country. Once thought to be a problem of unkempt, unsavory characters that shoot up in back-alleys; soccer moms and little league dads-as well as their children-are the newest frontier for this scourge. Over the last 10 years there has been a drastic increase in emergency room visits due to adverse reactions from prescription drug abuse.

For some time, most states, counties and municipalities have operated methadone clinics for the down-and-out addict whose psyche had succumbed to street drugs. For the blue or white-collar user however, most of whom developed a drug problem during the treatment of very legitimate pain-there are few tenable options. Discreet outpatient office-based care to get off prescription painkillers altogether has not been a ubiquitous option.

The Addiction Recovery Institutes New Rochelle facility specializes in treating iatrogenic addiction. That is, patients who developed a chemical dependency through the treatment of legitimate pain. For instance, after suffering an injury or after surgery. Addiction Recovery Institute offers Outpatient Overnight Opiate Detoxification [OOOD] to treat addiction to common painkillers such as oxycontin, vicodin, Percocet and codeine as well as recreational drugs such as heroin. During this comprehensive outpatient detoxification procedure, the opiate drug is physically removed from the patients body while they are comfortably and safely sedated under a mild form of general anesthesia. The benefit of the procedure is that withdrawal symptoms are significantly reduced and the overall recovery process is compressed to fewer days.

Outpatient Overnight Opiate Detoxification was first developed in the United States in 1986, but the latest refinements allow for fewer side effects and a more pleasant experience. This, along with better screening and more extensive follow-up are creating a formidable front as physicians battle addiction among white and blue-collar users. Advocates say it's the next generation in drug treatment and is less demanding than traditional 30-day in-patient programs or methadone clinics. Traditional methods don't seem to work for many patients," said Dr. Clifford M. Gevirtz, medical director for the Addiction Recovery Institute and board certified anesthesiologist and pain management physician. Some estimate that as few as 25% to 35% of opiate addicts complete traditional treatments. However, 85% of patients that have gone through our program have completed a successful detoxification," said Gevirtz.