Good detox facilities in New York City?
September 5, 2018 5:31 PM Subscribe
For a friend: where do I suggest a friend go who has revealed to me that she is addicted to opioids (painkiller pills)? Would like to find a medical detox, preferably in New York City, that will give her appropriate medications as she detoxes. Would a hospital be her best bet? Which ones have this?
She has what's considered good medical insurance (private; not Medicaid or Medicare). Thank you.
I was in Lenox Hill and it was fine and appropriate but that was years and years ago. They still do it and it's the behavioural Health Department.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:18 AM on September 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by DarlingBri at 4:18 AM on September 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
What she wants is Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) with buprenorphine (Brand name = Suboxone.) Google for it by these terms. Medical detox is not usually necessary unless she is also abusing benzodiazepines (Ativan, Xanax, etc.) They can do an induction same day then she can receive the medication on an outpatient basis. Encourage her to also get therapy at the same time she is receiving MAT. IANAD.
posted by eleslie at 6:01 AM on September 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by eleslie at 6:01 AM on September 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
A word of caution: If she didn't use the word addicted and you didn't have reason to believe that this was an issue for her until she disclosed it, cold turkey detox is likely to cause more problems than it solves. Even if she did, many people conflate addiction and dependence. If there is no immediate crisis, a measured approach to preventing the transition from dependence into full blown addiction is what is called for.
If she is taking medication which is prescribed to her, she should talk to her doctor about slowly tapering off. If she's getting it on the street, so to speak, she needs to see a physician listed in the SAMSHA database as a buprenorphine prescriber so she can quit doing that before she ends up with a fake pill with a bunch of fentanyl in it. (Any doctor can prescribe a 3 day emergency supply if they are willing, but long term treatment can only be prescribed by those who have done the paperwork)
Given a few days away from the routine of using, she will be in a better position to evaluate what the best course of action is for her going forward. Maybe that will end up being a detox program, maybe it will involve maintenance and a slow taper, or maybe something else entirely. Absent an immediate crisis, rushing into inpatient treatment without consideration of how it will affect her life otherwise seems rash to me.
If there is a crisis prompting this decision, please ignore all that and do what needs to be done to avert the immediate danger. Use and even dependence isn't, in and of itself, that sort of emergency situation.
posted by wierdo at 7:40 AM on September 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
If she is taking medication which is prescribed to her, she should talk to her doctor about slowly tapering off. If she's getting it on the street, so to speak, she needs to see a physician listed in the SAMSHA database as a buprenorphine prescriber so she can quit doing that before she ends up with a fake pill with a bunch of fentanyl in it. (Any doctor can prescribe a 3 day emergency supply if they are willing, but long term treatment can only be prescribed by those who have done the paperwork)
Given a few days away from the routine of using, she will be in a better position to evaluate what the best course of action is for her going forward. Maybe that will end up being a detox program, maybe it will involve maintenance and a slow taper, or maybe something else entirely. Absent an immediate crisis, rushing into inpatient treatment without consideration of how it will affect her life otherwise seems rash to me.
If there is a crisis prompting this decision, please ignore all that and do what needs to be done to avert the immediate danger. Use and even dependence isn't, in and of itself, that sort of emergency situation.
posted by wierdo at 7:40 AM on September 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by childofTethys at 6:30 PM on September 5, 2018 [1 favorite]