Corona Doctors Medical Clinics 951.371.9500
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802 Magnolia Ave. Suite 106
Corona, California 92879

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Multi-specialty,
Family Practice &
Urgent Care

Corona Doctors Medical Clinics is a multi-specialty, family practice & urgent care facility in Corona, California. Click the links below to read about our services.

GENERAL PRACTICE
URGENT CARE
MIGRAINE THERAPY
SUBOXONE DRUG THERAPY
ALLEGRY TESTING
AESTHETIC TREATMENTS
CHELATION THERAPY
ELDERLY MEDICINE
TRAVELER VACCINATION
 

Suboxone Drug Therapy

Opioid dependence is a chronic (long-term) disease:

  • Opioid dependency is a physical and mental illness that interferes with normal life activities of affected individuals. Under Dr. Owiesy’s supervision these patients have high chance of recovery.
  • Chronic disease such as narcotic dependency requires ongoing, long-term treatment that includes medication and counseling.
  • Most opioid-dependent individuals need several months of treatment or longer to help them overcome their long term dependency habit and mental weakness.
  • SUBOXONE® (Buprenorphine) helps the individual to overcome cravings and withdrawal symptoms and help deter relapse and misuse. Our patients of all professions are able to continue their everyday activities while on treatment.

Our office will help you stay focused on your goals and stay connected to the resources you need to overcome your opioid dependence. Combining medication with behavioral therapy increases chances of success for most people. Counseling teaches you essential skills to cope with triggers, stressors, and life style changes.

Benefits of SUBOXONE® Film

  • Convenient outpatient treatment in an office setting
  • Counseling provided by the doctor to promote behavioral changes necessary for success
  • Patients prefer sublingual tablets over traditional SUBOXONE® Tablet
  • Compact dose pouches with favorable taste
  • Taken twice daily by sublingual way
  • Treatment does not interfere with daily activities
  • Many measures have been made to prevent misuse
  • The active ingredient in SUBOXONE® Film reduces illicit opioid use and helps manage cravings and withdrawal symptoms


SUBOXONE® FAQ'S

What is SUBOXONE®?

SUBOXONE® is the first medication approved to treat opioid dependency in an office based and outpatient setting. Buprenorphine is the primary active ingredient in and is itself a partial opioids agonist. However, compared to the full opioids agonists such as heroin or oxycodone, its opioid effects are limited. Furthermore, SUBOXONE® also contains Naloxone, which is an opioids antagonist. The Naloxone part in SUBOXONE® discourages people from dissolving and injecting the medication, because when injected, the individual experiences a rapid withdrawal. On the other hand, when SUBOXONE® Film is placed under the tongue, as directed, the effects of Buprenorphine is felt and very little Naloxone reaches the bloodstream. SUBOXONE® reduces the illicit opioid use, helping the patients to stay in treatment, because it suppresses the symptoms of opioids withdrawal and decreases craving. SUBOXONE® has been very helpful in enabling people to overcome their opioid drug addictions. It has been received well by patients since it is an outpatient treatment and easily incorporated into daily life.

How does SUBOXONE® work?

SUBOXONE® is an opioid receptor drug that sits on the brain receptors and prevents craving for other substances. Opioid receptors are naturally distributed throughout the body and are involved in many physiological functions. The discovery of opioids receptors in the 1970s resulted in the discovery of various endogenous peptides such as Dynorphins, Enkephalins, and Endorphins which are naturally produced in brain. Three major opioids receptors mediate between the endogenous opioid peptides and exogenous opioid drugs such as heroin and morphine. These opioids receptors and other subtypes opioid receptors are widely distributed in the central nerves system, peripheral nerves system, and also they co-localize on the neurons and within the neural pathways where other neurotransmitters such as Norepinephrine, Acetylcholine, Dopamine, Glutamate, and Serotonin serve. These receptors are involved in many physiological activities. To give an example, the activities of opioid receptors in the brain pathway serve as pain mediator. In addition, they also function as neuromodulators, interacting and modulating the activities of other neurotransmitters.

The ingredients in SUBOXONE® serve two functions which work as both an agonist and antagonist. The mixed agonist and antagonist produce less euphoria and less liability for dependency and tolerance. The second functional antagonistic component binds and provides the reverse effect. This works to prevent misuse of the drug.

Why is SUBOXONE® treatment preferable over Methadone treatment?

SUBOXONE® has proven to be more effective than Methadone in several studies. Also, it was reported that SUBOXONE® treatment patients reported a decreased number of individual craving for opioids substance. In another study, SUBOXONE® and Methadone were compared and no clinical difference was found between the treatments, however patients preferred to be in the treatment in which they are less frequently required to attend the clinics or the facility for their medications. Methadone treatment requires the patients to make one to several trips to the clinics on a daily basis. SUBOXONE® treatment is done in an outpatient, in-office setting. This is a much more convenient and effective treatment for many patients because they can live and work as usual.

Furthermore, data shows that SUBOXONE® treatment programs have a higher rate of program completion than other treatments. More interestingly, a 12-weak tapering SUBOXONE® program showed a better short-term treatment outcome than the two week medically supervised withdrawal regimen for adolescents ages 15 to 21.

Finally, when tolerability of the SUBOXONE® was examined in a four week study, it was reported that the adverse symptoms were minor when compared to other treatments.

Can SUBOXONE® be abused?

SUBOXONE® is considered to be partial opioids agonist. Compared to full agonists, such as hydrocodone and heroin, it has less potential to cause physical dependency and abuse. Some measures have been made to prevent the misuse of SUBOXONE® Film in any other method besides the intended sublingual administration. The Naloxone ingredient in SUBOXONE® discourages people from dissolving and injecting the medication, because when injected, the individual experiences a rapid withdrawal. However, there are potentials for abuse. Although, SUBOXONE® overdoses has been shown to happen less frequency, the danger of respiratory depression is still high if the medication is taken in combination with benzodiazepine and other central nervous system depressants. We repeatedly remind our patients about the dangers of respiratory depression if they decided to take SUBOXONE® with any other medication. Most of our patients listen to this warning carefully and show their concern about respiratory depression. However, there have been a few instances when patients ignore our warnings when they are with their social friends. There were two cases in which the individuals had to go to the emergency room because they mixed this drug with methadone or other substances. Despite these rare cases, we consider this treatment is very promising for the treatment of opioid drug dependency. It is always important to listen to the doctor’s instructions and warnings when doing SUBOXONE® treatment.

What is the success rate of SUBOXONE®?

In the practical evidence, we have been treating the opioid addicted patients in our office and have had both positive and negative observations. However, we have seen success in the majority of our patients. SUBOXONE® has helped many of our patients who were willing to do everything to get out of addiction. We have prescribed SUBOXONE® to a variety of patients including students, people with families, and successful, high-ranked professionals. These individuals have followed up with us and were very willing to work with new patients in our program. The completion rate from our SUBOXONE® program is typically after 12 to 18 months.

The individuals who stopped the program were mostly those who did not want to give up their lifestyle. Our goal in our office is to encourage all of our patients to stay in program and stay sober. We treat each of our patients as a unique case that deserves to be treated individually. We make every effort to find a way to reach them.

Is SUBOXONE® treatment cost effective?

Another concern of those seeking opioid treatment are the expenses when examining the cost effectiveness of SUBOXONE® treatment comparing to the Methadone treatment. Analysis has indicated that taking the medication home or in an outpatient setting is more cost effective in comparison to taking it in a clinic under observation.

What additional support is provided?

One important factor for keeping patients in treatment, and maintaining abstinence, is close observation and frequent medical appointments. With SUBOXONE® treatment, it is easier to maintain a normal life, job, and family while getting the medical care needed for success. This is due to the fact that SUBOXONE® is done in an outpatient office setting with personal counseling and care from an experienced doctor.

Recently, Reckitt Benckiser pharmaceuticals has started the Here to Help® program which provides 24/7 support for patients. This program is designed to support patients in the SUBOXONE® treatment in a unique way. The program support patients and helps them to overcome any barriers that normally would prevent them from staying in treatment. This program provides patients with professional support, such as psychosocial support. Next, the program provides patients with care coaches to provide personal support through several conversations, especially during the first 12 weeks of the treatment. Lastly, this program provides the patients tools and resources through emails support groups, as well as online and offline support groups. Go to www.HereToHelpProgram.com for more information.

The Here to Help program provides us with a packet and our office encourages the SUBOXONE®  treatment participants to begin the program immediately by calling a personal coach from the exam room. This ensures that the patients have access to this important support and communication source. All of our patients are very pleased to have access to someone on the phone, because when they start this program they have many questions and concerns.

We encourage our patients to have someone with them when they come to the office visit. It is important for these patients to have support from their family and the right types of friends. We encourage family and friends to participate in the program and encourage them to go to counseling as well.

Finally, we provide our patients on SUBOXONE® program with an ID card to carry in their wallet for legal and health purposes.

How to be a successful SUBOXONE® patient?

Many of our patients who succeed using the SUBOXONE® program benefit from supportive friends and family. They already have maintained a good life style and finally made the decision to come to the treatment. However, those who are participating in a troublesome life, live with troubled friends, or were ordered by a court to go to the treatment program, rarely finished the program. This creates a challenge for their family and to us to continue the program.

How do I begin SUBOXONE® treatment?

Treatment consultations with the doctor are free and can be scheduled by calling 951.371.9500 to make an appointment.

When the patient has decided to begin treatment they must initially remain at least 15 to 24 hours drug-free before they come in for their first SUBOXONE® dose.


Call 951.371.9500  with questions about treatment and to make an appointment.

 
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