Sunday, May 01, 2005
Doctor Cautions Patients Against Misinterpreting Buprenorphine as Miracle Cure
Date: 4/25/2005;
Publication: Business Wire;
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- In response to a growing number of reports touting Buprenorphine as an effective treatment for dependency to prescription painkillers and illegal drugs such as heroin, The Waismann Method, a world-renowned opiate dependency treatment, today declared that patients who are prescribed Buprenorphine are being misinformed to believe that this drug is a miracle cure for opiate dependency. According to Dr. Clifford Bernstein, medical director of the Waismann Method, "Buprenorphine is a new generation replacement therapy that may not ultimately rid users of chemical dependency." As one of only a handful of the nation's doctors who are trained and board certified by the American Society of Addiction Specialists to dispense Buprenorphine as a treatment for opiate dependency, Dr. Bernstein has seen the number of calls received from patients physically dependent on Buprenorphine increase about 150 percent since the beginning of 2005. The official statement continues:
"Buprenorphine is being touted as a miracle cure to end heroin addiction, reduce crime and prevent disease, and patients are flocking to this new medication based on an illusionary hope that it will cure them of their opiate dependencies. While it does take the place of illegal opiates and also enables repeat users of illicit drugs and prescription painkillers to avoid the shame and social stigma of public methadone clinics, Buprenorphine is far from cure. It can help patients get to the next step of recovery, but it is unfair to represent this drug as a cure when it is essentially a replacement opiate.
"Doctors are required to become certified to dispense Buprenorphine for opiate dependency treatment but are not mandated to educate their patients on the potential for dependency. As a result, patients don't realize they can become addicted to Buprenorphine for life, and that this new medication only legally and comfortably perpetuates their vicious cycle of dependency. With proper education, patients will understand the risks and may avoid the difficulties we discovered with OxyContin.
"The goal for people suffering from drug dependency should be freeing them from the physical dependency of opiates completely, but unfortunately the addiction community has embraced this strategy of maintenance therapy rather than putting an end to the dependency. Health professionals and administrators are pressuring the federal government to expand access to this drug when they should really focus on educating these individuals about their medical dependencies and helping them become drug free."
Buprenorphine, currently sold under the brand names Suboxone and Subutex, is a painkiller composed of 50 percent opiate, which has been used to treat dependency in Europe for years, and is now positioned in the U.S. as a lifesaving treatment for addictions to heroin and prescription painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin. Only board certified doctors and medical practitioners who undergo an eight-hour training class are permitted to prescribe the drug for opiate dependency, but are limited by the federal government to treat only a total 30 patients at a time.
Many people with opiate dependencies are eager to try the treatment as an improvement over methadone, an opiate-based painkiller often prescribed at clinics through a daily dose. Because Buprenorphine can be prescribed in pill form in the privacy of a doctor's office, patients don't feel the same stigma attached to standing in line at a methadone clinic, says Bernstein.
For more information, please visit www.opiates.com.
About the Waismann Method
Drs. Clifford A. Bernstein and Michael Lowenstein use the exclusive Waismann Method of Neuro-Regulation to treat opiate dependency. Performed in a hospital intensive care unit, the Waismann Method involves cleansing the opiate receptors in the patient's brain of the narcotics while the patient is under anesthesia. During the procedure, the patient will experience no conscious withdrawal, and will be able to return home within days. Over 65 percent of the patients who are treated with the Waismann Method remain drug free after one year. The Waismann Foundation, founded by Clare Waismann, is headquartered in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Los Angeles-Downtown-SkidRow
The corner of 6th and Gladys Street in Downtown L.A. is much like any other in our teeming city. Lots of traffic and pedestrians, quite a bit of dirt and grime.
But this corner is also very unique. A magical corner, almost. And somewhere at this intersection in both the richest and poorest city in the world is a story.
Let's see if I can tell it.
Skid Row is the common name for a six square block area of downtown that provides clothing, food and shelter for thousands of the most downtrodden residents that have chosen to call L.A. "home."
These men and women battle with alcohol and drug addictions and homelessness. Many others suffer from mental illnesses that range from simple depression to full-blown schizophrenia. The fact is that most of castaways from what we call "society" wage a daily war against a combination of all of these, if they have the strength or the resources to fight at all. "Cardboard condominiums", actual sleeping quarters made from boxes, paper and trash line the side streets, and there are many more liquor stores than places of employment.
There are more opportunities to score crack cocaine and heroin than there are for training or medical assistance. The men and women who make up the population of Skid Row are not recent immigrants, nor are most of them people who have chosen to live there. They were our neighbors, friends and schoolmates. They are our veterans. Some are our brothers and sisters.
And at this intersection of Hopelessness and Despair, the soup kitchens and detoxes are never lacking for customers. AA meetings are held each night down here at a "park." Its called a park in name only, but it's really just some concrete with a couple of trees surrounded by a high metal fence.
The far corners forming a point that becomes our magical corner of 6th and Gladys. So back to our corner. If you ever feel the need to see how the other half lives, and I hope you will, go to 6th and Gladys Street. Stand at the bus stop there and look around at what we've become.
And while you look around at the grim realities of life for those on the other side, look up. Look up and read. The bus stop sign says the MTA 460, from the corner of 6th and Gladys on Skid Row, goes directly to Disneyland. One bus, one ride. Somewhere, somehow, someone made a very big mistake.
You see the "Happiest Place On Earth" is just a faded dream down here, it's not a destination.
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