Opioid Withdrawal Fort Lauderdale | Opioid Medication & Dependence Treatment

Are you struggling with opioid dependence? Many people begin taking opiates following routine surgery or for short term pain, only to find that they begin to depend on them even when the original reason for using them has disappeared. If you feel that you’re taking more opiate-based medication than is healthy, or if you’ve tried to cut down on your painkillers before and been unable to do so, we can help. We are an established provider of opioid treatment that can help to break your addiction.

Many people who need opioid treatment started with Vicodin, the brand name most people know for hydrocodone combined with acetaminophen. Not everyone who cannot stop it is addicted to it. A person who took the pills as prescribed and now feels sick without them is physically dependent, which means the body has adjusted to the drug and objects when it is withdrawn. While the withdrawal feels the same, dependence is a different problem from addiction, and if you came here looking for Vicodin addiction treatment, Dr. Leeds treats both. Vicodin was once treated as a milder opioid because it sat in Schedule III. That ended in 2014, when hydrocodone combination products were moved to Schedule II, the class that holds oxycodone and morphine. The acetaminophen is a separate hazard. The FDA capped it at 325 mg per prescription tablet and added a boxed warning about liver failure, because a rising hydrocodone dose carries more acetaminophen than a liver can handle. The same boxed warning covers taking it with benzodiazepines such as Xanax (alprazolam) or Valium (diazepam), or with other sedating drugs such as the muscle relaxant Soma (carisoprodol), because together they can slow breathing to the point of death. The benzodiazepine boxed warning, which the FDA updated in 2020, carries the same caution.

If you’re looking for non-judgmental, compassionate care to help you overcome your opioid addiction, it’s time to give us a call. We know how worrying it can be for people who feel they’re becoming a slave to their medication, or are concerned about the effect over-reliance on opioid drugs is having on their well-being and that of their family. Our practice offers a range of effective interventions that have been successfully used to treat addiction in a large number of people over the years.

Withdrawal from Vicodin looks like withdrawal from any other opioid: muscle aches, chills, cramps, a runny nose, and cravings. Unfortunately, cravings during an unassisted withdrawal are one of the ways people move from a prescription painkiller to heroin or fentanyl. Fortunately, toughing it out alone is not the only choice. Buprenorphine, the active ingredient in Suboxone, relieves the withdrawal and quiets the cravings, and in Dr. Leeds’ experience patients who stay on it for an extended period do far better than those who tough it out and hope. He starts it at home with phone support, by telemedicine anywhere in Florida, with a low-dose start when fentanyl is involved and the situation calls for it. From there the dose is held or tapered toward your own goals, at monthly visits, or weekly when needed.

In addition to providing interventions that can help you to manage your opioid use, we also offer a full range of medical services, as well as osteopathic treatment if required. You can use us for all your general medical needs, including emergency appointments. If you value continuity of treatment and a compassionate, supportive medical service, then we could be exactly what you’re looking for.

If you’re concerned about your opioid use, we can offer you suitable medication and other treatments that can assist you in moving towards an opiate-free lifestyle. Our practice provides all the services you need to enjoy optimal health and well-being. For a one-stop solution to all your medical needs, contact Dr. Leeds.