The Opioid Crisis: How One Doctor Is Promoting a Progressive Treatment Plan That Actually Works

By the time you end your morning shower the opiate epidemic will take a life. Everyday 125 families feel the crushing defeat of losing a loved one to the fight against addiction. Annually, over 50,000 people will lose their lives; more than car accidents and gun related deaths combined.

This statistic includes not just illegal drugs but the ever increasing velocity of deaths are due to the implications of doctor prescribed medications. Surprisingly enough (or maybe not that shocking), three out of four heroin users began their tragic path with a prescription drug from their doctor. It is becoming more and more apparent that we need to explore our options as a society to remedy this plague.

Dr. Russell Surasky of New York is a neurology specialist. He is double board certified in both neurology and addiction medicine. Rumour has it he may be the only physician on the planet with his unique combination of credentials.

Currently he is the medical director of Bridge Back to Life, a multi-center outpatient addiction treatment program and the founder of the Surasky Neurological Center for Addiction in Great Neck, N.Y.

\Addiction is a brain disease. Essentially it is a combination of two brain centers; our rational brain and our limbic system. The limbic system controls basic survival needs such as eating, drinking, procreating. It operates outside of our conscious control, the messages from our rational brain cannot restrain it. The use of opioids (pain relieving medications) hijack the limbic system, the most powerful driver of human behavior.

These drugs then proceed to bind directly to receptors rewiring the brain. Now the brain has shuffled the deck so to speak, it has reprioritized what it thinks it needs to survive and drugs have become the primary desire.

As of right now Suboxone and Methadone are the drugs used to treat opiate addiction. On the surface they may appear to be useful in reducing overdoses, however they are both extremely addictive. Replacing one evil with a lesser evil, it is a bandaid on a fatal wound.

With Suboxone and Methadone the brain doesn’t have a chance to return to a normal number of opiate receptors and the victim remains dependent on addictive substances to survive. The emotional centers of the brain aren’t allowed any time to reset. The mind continues to forge memories in the presence of an opiate. This perpetuates the craving and mental obsession which fuels relapses and restarts the addictive cycle.

Suffice it to say, Suboxone and methadone are simply a trade-off; a short-term benefit with a long-term consequence. In the not so distant future we will have an aging generation physically dependent on these drugs, which will require specialized medical care to detox them off these medicines.

Now that the problem has been explored at length, let's explore some good news in the solutions department.

Dr. Surasky has had some sensational success with a treatment program he developed which centers around the medication Vivitrol. Vivitrol is a once-monthly injection that dramatically reduces cravings for opiate drugs. In contrast to Suboxone and Methadone, Vivitrol is not an opiate, it is not addictive, and does not cause physical dependence.

Even more impressive is the fact that if a patient taking Vivitrol were to use opiates they would not feel high, not get sick; simply nothing would occur. The user's desired effects are negated. Vivitrol is not a life sentence of medication. Treatment length varies but typically lasts for approximately 1 year.

It is a common misconception that one must stop using opiates for over a week and go through severe withdrawals prior to their first Vivitrol treatment. Dr. Surasky has developed a new protocol using neurologic based medications which can immediately eliminate the opiate withdrawal symptoms. This is crucial in shortening the treatment timeline and allows patients to be treated with Vivitrol a few days after their last opiate use.

Meanwhile the addiction community attempts to keep pace with Dr. Surasky’s work, he is already pioneering new treatment innovations. Research published in the prestigious Journal of Molecular Psychiatry demonstrated that patients in an inpatient drug rehab facility that received physical treatment to reduce stress to their spinal column, had improved recovery than the other patients and mitigated anxiety. This study showed conclusively that patients who received this specific spinal treatment had a much higher success rate when completing the addiction treatment program.

Dr. Surasky proposes that this spinal treatment is effective because it has a direct impact on the limbic system of the brain itself. Based on this study and Dr. Surasky’s collaboration with Dr. Ian Tremayne, Dr. Surasky now includes this spinal treatment for his patients. During the first consultation a highly detailed imaging and thermographic analysis of the upper cervical spine is performed (the region that protects the brain stem). The subsequent treatment is based on these results.