One of the most difficult parts of quitting opioid addictions, whether it involves codeine, fentanyl, Vicodin or heroin, is the acute pain associated with the process. Many experts believe that both the pain of detox and the fear of that pain are one of the greatest barriers to patient detoxification and rehabilitation. It’s clear that many patients quit before they can be moved to a medication-assisted treatment program.

The Problem of Detox with Opioid Addictions

Statistics show that the drugs people consider relatively benign are too often gateways to more serious addictions. People who are addicted to alcohol are twice as likely to also be addicted to heroin. Marijuana? Three times as likely. Addiction to cocaine makes you 15 times more likely to also be addicted to heroin, and people addicted to subscription opioid painkillers are a staggering 40 percent more likely to also be addicted to heroin.

Very few people who start taking an opioid ever think about the challenge of detox and withdrawal, but for an addict, the process is painful and extraordinarily difficult.

Common symptoms that manifest in just the first few days of opioid withdrawal include:

  • Diarrhea
  • Nausea and Vomiting
  • Body Aches and Pains
  • Restlessness
  • Anxiety
  • Sleeplessness

During this period, most addicts succumb to the powerful urge to take just one more dose to make the pain go away. The result is many addicts go through multiple cycles of detox, withdrawal and a return to their addiction. Some can go through this cycle 20 or more times, with a correspondingly dramatic adverse effect on their body and overall health.

The Bridge Medical Device Helping With Opioid Addictions

The Bridge Medical Device

A new alternative pain management treatment for withdrawal and other acute pain patients is the BRIDGE medical device, which offers acute pain patients a powerful alternative to suffering through medication-assisted detox. The BRIDGE works through neuro-stimulation and is an auricular peripheral nerve field stimulator that connects topically to the patient’s ear, blocking pain signals from getting through the brain.

How The Bridge Medical Device Works

The BRIDGE device works for men and women, young and old, regardless of race. It typically takes 15 minutes for a qualified provider (IGotSober) to fit it behind the patient’s ear and to correctly place the needle arrays at specific points on the earlobe. Once attached, the patient typically wears the BRIDGE detox for the 4-to-5-day period of greatest, most acute pain, usually a maximum of 96 to 120 hours.

At that point in the detox process, they are through the worst of the withdrawal pain and discomfort and the device can be safely removed.

While the device is attached and operating, the patient experiences gentle pulsations and decreased pain. In relation to treatment, patients report the process was comfortable and seemed to go quickly.

If you have any questions, please contact us and our professional experts will help.