During your first visit, your addiction medicine provider will assess your past and current substance use, likely severity of withdrawal, and explain your personalized treatment plan.

Stage 1: Initiation – During the first 1-2 weeks you will manage your withdrawal at home using a conventional, low dose, or high dose initiation method to transition from opioids to your prescribed medications. A registered nurse will check in with you daily and you will return to the clinic to see your provider every few days.

Stage 2: Stabilization – Over the next 4-6 weeks you will fully transition from opioids and be consistently taking your prescribed medications. Once you are stable, we will reduce the frequency of your visits to weekly or every other week.

Stage 3: Maintenance – Once you are making consistent progress in your recovery, you will see your provider monthly to ensure your medication is still working for you and any physical cravings, social needs, or behavioral health concerns are being addressed.

During the first 1-2 weeks you will manage your withdrawal at home using a conventional or micro-initiation dosing method to transition from opioids to your prescribed medications. A registered nurse will check in with you daily by phone or text to make sure you are comfortable and following your dosing instructions. You will return to the clinic to see your provider every few days to ensure your medications are working as intended. 

No, if possible, it’s preferable not to be in withdrawal for your first appointment. Your provider will recommend a treatment plan and medication dosing protocol based on your current usage to ensure you are prepared to safely and comfortably manage your withdrawal at home. For conventional initiation, you do need to be off opioids for 24-36 hours before starting buprenorphine to prevent precipitated withdrawal. Your provider will speak with you about these time frames. If you are unable to abstain from opioids for that long, your provider will speak with you about alternative dosing protocols for transitioning comfortably to buprenorphine.