In the United States, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness and almost 40 million adults suffer from them. That is about 18%.About 53% of Americans say that someone in their immediate family has a problem with drinking, alcohol is the most abused drug on the planet.
Other drugs are also clearly problematic. More than 5,000 people go to the emergency room every year because of problems related to drug abuse. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that at least two million American abuse pain medication. One in four people in the U.S. suffer from chronic pain and even more experience acute pain. It has been estimated that more than one million people go to emergency rooms and urgent care centers every year because of prescription drug abuse. For people suffering from opiate addiction, suboxone treatment has shown real promise.
What is suboxone treatment?
Suboxone is a medication to treat the withdrawal symptoms associated with opiates such as hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (Percocet) and Oxycontin. The drug also surpasses the cravings associated with these medications and prevents them from providing the euphoric feeling they normally give a user. The drug is an opiate agonist, meaning it negates the affects of an opioid. The success rate for quitting opiates is much higher for people who have been treated with suboxone than who try to do this, “cold turkey,” which has a failure rate of 75% after one year.
How much is suboxone?
The suboxone treatment cost varies from location to location. It is covered by most health insurance plans. There are other things that can be done to lower the cost. Drug manufacturers often have discount programs, will work to cover the copayments or may be able to offer it for free for qualifying individuals. The important thing is to reach out to them. If the doctor’s fees are the issue, many providers will work with patients to make sure they receive the treatments they need.
Prescription drug abuse is a serious problem in the United States. People often talk about marijuana as being a “gateway drug” but prescription pain killers have been shown to lead directly to heroin use. High school students have been found using heroin because it is easier to obtain than Percocet or Vicodin. Nearly 6,600 people start taking these drugs for non-medical reasons every day in the United States. Nearly 52 million Americans admit to using pain medication for something other than a medical problem at least once in their lives. That is 20%. In 2007, prescription drugs killed more people that cocaine and heroin combined. This is a real problem that is not going away any time soon.
Suboxone treatment may not be the “wonder drug” people thought it was but it does help people get off of opiates and helps them maintain abstinence. By reducing the withdrawal symptoms and cravings, people are given a space in which they can recover from addiction and get their lives back.