Addiction Medicine

Addiction medicine combines medication with psychotherapy (counseling or talk therapy),  offering the most effective way to overcome addiction. Experienced psychiatrist Ahmar M Butt, MD, at Balance TMS, Esketamine, and Psychiatry, PLLC, in Ankeny, Iowa, is board-certified in addiction medicine. He uses proven methods like Suboxone® medication for opioid use disorder to help people through withdrawal and on to recovery. Call Balance TMS, Esketamine, and Psychiatry, PLLC, today or schedule a consultation online to learn more about getting sober with addiction medicine.

What is addiction medicine?

Addiction is a long-term disease affecting brain function and behavior. The addiction medicine services that Balance TMS, Esketamine, and Psychiatry, PLLC, offers help you recover from addictions to alcohol, illegal drugs, and opioid prescription medications.

You could benefit from addiction medicine if you use one or more of these substances and can’t stop. Taking addictive substances gives you a high that relieves stress, triggers intensely pleasurable feelings, or makes you feel stronger and more confident.

Unfortunately, as you continue to use these substances repeatedly, they become less and less effective. You take more to achieve the high you seek, devoting increasing amounts of money and time to your habit. Eventually, you must take the substance just to function.

If you find yourself in this situation, addiction medicine helps you break the cycle of substance misuse.

What problems does addiction cause?

Addiction causes many problems affecting your health, finances, and relationships.

It becomes so overwhelming that it’s hard to care about your diet, fitness, and other ways to stay healthy. The substances you use also harm your health; for example, alcohol misuse can lead to liver failure. If you inject drugs and share needles, you expose yourself to infections like hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Funding an addiction is costly, and getting into debt is easy. Addiction makes it hard to function at work, so you could lose your job. If you run out of money, you could lose your home.

Relationships with your partner, family, and friends suffer because of addiction. You focus on obtaining and using your chosen substance regardless of the harm it causes loved ones.

How does addiction medicine help me?

Drinking alcohol excessively and repeatedly taking drugs causes changes in your brain. If you try to stop, you develop distressing withdrawal symptoms that can be impossible to tolerate, including:

• Pain
• Chills and sweating
• Shaking
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Headaches
• Difficulty sleeping
• Irritability and angry outbursts
• Depression and anxiety
• Cravings

These withdrawal symptoms and the constant drive to use your chosen substance make addiction especially difficult to overcome. Medications like Suboxone (buprenorphine) ease opioid withdrawal symptoms, and Naltrexone helps with alcohol withdrawal.

Psychotherapy plays a vital role in addiction medicine. It helps you deal with the problems underlying your addiction, like trauma, abuse, depression, and stress. You also learn ways to manage cravings and deal with times when your resolve waivers.

Call Balance TMS, Esketamine, and Psychiatry, PLLC, today, or book an appointment online for expert addiction medicine.