Substance Abuse Specialist

What is substance abuse?

Substance abuse describes using certain types of substances, like prescription or illegal drugs and alcohol, in ways that aren’t recommended. If you’re feeling as though you have limited control over your medications or as though they’re controlling you, you may have a substance abuse problem.

Dr. Chan, Dr. Shwartzman and their team at Comprehensive Pain Management have extensive experience in managing substance abuse problems, including tolerance, dependence, and addiction.

What is tolerance?

Tolerance typically involves how much of a drug it takes to create a certain effect on a person. This can be to either illegal or prescription medication. When managing chronic pain, for example, men and women taking pain medications including opioids can develop a tolerance to them without being addicted.

If you develop a tolerance to pain medications, you eventually need increasing amounts of it to provide the same result.

What is dependence?

Having dependence on a substance refers to a physical condition that occurs when your body adapts to the presence of a medication. In these cases, you might experience a wide range of side effects when you stop taking your medicine, known as withdrawal syndrome.

Dependence is different than tolerance and addiction.

What is addiction?

Addiction alters your brain chemistry to make your success in dealing with a specific issue feel like life or death. Despite the risk to your health and relationships, you can’t control your use of these substances or actions, whether they’re prescription medications, illegal drugs, alcohol, or gambling.

When you’re addicted to certain medications, your body can also grow tolerant to it and require more to create the same response.

How is substance abuse treated?

At Comprehensive Pain Management, Dr. Chan, Dr. Shwartzman and the team take an interdisciplinary approach to pain management and understand that substance abuse and addiction can be as debilitating as pain itself.

While you’re under their care, Dr. Chan, Dr. Shwartzman and the team at Comprehensive Pain Management provide a medication management program that includes routine urine drug testing and comprehensive behavioral assessment, if needed. This approach reduces your risk of developing substance abuse issues while you take the lowest doses of opioids and analgesic medications possible.

In addition to providing a medication management program, Dr. Chan, Dr. Shwartzman along with their team offer addiction medicine services. These treatments rely on several substance abuse treatments to manage your condition, including Suboxone®.

Suboxone is a form of opioid medication that’s far safer than traditional opiates. Because it has a different chemical structure, you experience less euphoria and physical dependence along with fewer withdrawal symptoms when taking Suboxone.

Call Comprehensive Pain Management or schedule an appointment through our contact today.