Substance Abuse Disorders

Alcoholism, the addiction to alcohol, is one of the most prevalent substance abuse problems in the United States.

Although it is a legal substance, alcohol is commonly abused on a daily basis by people of all ages, gender, and race. A recent study estimates that one in eight American adults is an alcoholic.

Long-term recovery begins with stopping the addictive behavior, and there are a variety of treatments that can help with that. For example, medications are available that can help reduce the desire to drink. These are often used in combination with detox, counseling, and other therapies.

Many different substances that are taken for a desired effect on the body can be abused. This can include legal drugs like prescription pain medications, as well as illegal drugs like heroin, cocaine, and others.

If you or a loved one has a substance use disorder, reach out for help now. A knowledgeable, trained physician with experience treating addictions like Dr. Hooper can provide the clarity needed to envision a way out.

Any type of substance addiction will have different effects on the body and different long-term ramifications, depending on the type of drug.

Treatment will begin with a thorough evaluation, including lab tests, in order to understand the type and extent of the problem. A treatment plan may include therapies to address the psychological, behavioral, and physiological basis of your particular addiction.

When used appropriately, opioids like Vicodin® or Percocet® are effective at relieving pain. However, when abused, or if used for too long, patients can become dependent or addicted.

Kids and adults of all ages are at risk of becoming addicted to these drugs. In fact, the country is currently in the midst of an epidemic of opioid abuse and overdose.

Symptoms of addiction include continued use of the opioids (after pain relief/treatment) despite it interfering with daily life, craving the drug, as well as uncontrolled use of the drug.

One effective treatment for opioid addiction is Suboxone® (buprenorphine), a prescription medication that helps patients stop taking opioids by easing withdrawal symptoms to help you get over the cravings and side effects of discontinuing opioids.

When required, we offer buprenorphine, a prescription narcotic that can help eliminate pain during addiction treatment. In this way, it helps to ease a patient’s withdrawal symptoms. It is one of the most popular ways to treat opioid abuse.

The types of buprenorphine we can provide include:

• Belbuca®
• Bunavail®
• Buprenex®
• Butrans®
• Probuphine®
• Sublocade™
• Suboxone®
• Subutex®
• Zubsolv®

At Sonora Primary Care, we routinely provide risk evaluations for patients with an opioid dependency. We carefully evaluate a patient’s health history and current drug use to determine an individual’s risk of future overdose.

Identifying patients at risk of overdose is step one. We follow that up by treating the underlying disorder in order to reduce their overdose risk.

We understand how critical it can be to properly detoxify the body before beginning any addiction-treatment program. That’s why we offer outpatient detox and treatment for patients who are unable to check into a facility for a length of time. This convenience may make the difference between someone getting help now or waiting for a more convenient time “later.”

We offer specific outpatient detox and treatment programs for:

• Alcohol addiction
• Stimulant addiction
• Sedatives/hypnotics addiction (such as benzodiazepines or sleeping pills)

A dependency on opioids makes it more challenging to treat pain. Taking medication for pain can exacerbate or prolong an addiction, and a dependency on opioids can require more of the drug to treat pain.

For these patients, we offer many nondrug solutions to manage pain. Find out more about our pain management services.

In some cases, prescription medications may be recommended but should only occur under the supervision of a physician. At Sonora Primary Care, we carefully evaluate each patient’s condition and risks, and select the treatment best suited for their particular situation.