In the late 1990s, healthcare providers prescribed opioid pain relievers at increasing rates. Opioids act on the nervous system to help relieve pain. It was not long before it became clear that opioids could be highly addictive.
Today close to two million Americans battle opioid use disorders. Many people are looking for ways to overcome this addiction which is characterized by an urge to use the drugs, even when they are no longer required medically. When people stop taking them, they experience physiological and psychological withdrawal symptoms.
Treatment options and the development of ANR
Various withdrawal treatments are offered in traditional rehab centers as well as in detox, and rapid detox facilities. These facilities usually have dedicated teams to help patients with the withdrawal process and soothe their physical and emotional distress. Unfortunately, such methods do not treat the root of the dependency and many people relapse.
Dr. Andre Waismann has been a leader in the field of reversing opiate dependency since the 1990s. He wanted to find a safe, effective, human way to help addicts with opioid dependency and developed an anesthesia-based medical procedure.
His ‘rapid detox’ method was adopted by many rehab centers but in many cases, implementation was not safe or efficient. He did further research and developed what is known today as Accelerated Neuro-Regulation (ANR) to address the root of the addiction problem. Dr. Waismann stopped rapid detox practices almost 30 years ago in favor of ANR which has proven to be very safe and effective for many patients
The ANR Clinic uses Accelerated Neuro-Regulation to treat addiction to many different opioids, including Codeine, Methadone, Vicodin, Morphine and Percocet. On the website is a Percocet withdrawal timeline showing how quickly ANR can free patients from dependence on Percocet.
What happens with misuse of opioids
The human body naturally produces endorphins and signals from both outside and inside the body can influence endorphin production. Once stimuli subside, endorphins return to a base level.
The problem is that with prolonged use of opioids, natural endorphin production decreases and active opioid receptors in the nervous system increase. Changes in the endorphin-receptor system manifest in cravings and imbalance and drug users find themselves in a cycle of abuse they find very hard to get out of.
How ANR treats dependency
ANR therapy treats dependency at the level of the opioid receptors to bring the nervous system back into balance. Patients are given anesthetic agents so they go into deep sedation and undergo withdrawal while unconscious. This means they do not actively suffer from the withdrawal symptoms.
Medical practitioners use state-of-the-art ICU equipment that helps them to monitor data in real-time. The anesthesiologist continuously monitors the patient over about four hours.
Treatment is also tailored to suit each individual patient according to the medical history and the drug used. For example, an athlete will be treated differently to someone who is obese and has high blood pressure.
Cleaning and blocking of the receptors precipitates withdrawal. Patients are monitored and assisted throughout this process. Each individual’s chemical balance is optimized and the endorphin receptors are re-regulated to the state before addiction.
The following day patients receive Naltrexone, an opiate antagonist, before being discharged. They follow a daily regimen of the medication thereafter to keep the opioid receptors blocked. The length of the treatment with Naltrexone depends on the needs of the patient.
Long-term inpatient rehab, rapid detox and other methods do not achieve the same results as ANC. Undergoing ANC allows patients to take up their lives again at the point where the addiction started to interfere and carry on without fears of relapse.