The medical director of one of the country’s largest ambulatory detoxification providers, Dr. Henry Odunlami has served as chairman and CEO at Genpsych since 2005. There, Dr. Henry Odunlami treats patients facing opioid dependence and helps them deal with withdrawal symptoms.

Opioid dependence is a chronic disorder that often requires long-term treatment to prevent relapsing. There are several treatments for opioid addiction, depending on the patient, drug, and situation. The most common treatments are the pharmacological treatment of opioid dependence, which manages withdrawal symptoms and cravings with specific medications, and the abstinence-based detoxification treatment, which aims at stopping all opioid use in a shorter timeframe. The pharmacological treatment uses prescribed doses of drugs such as methadone and buprenorphine.

Both medications must be appropriately administered as part of the treatment to effectively relieve opioid cravings and address withdrawal. A daily dose of buprenorphine, for instance, is typically prescribed by physicians to address cravings. At the same time, naltrexone blocks the sedative effects of opioids for patients who are completely free from the addictive drug. All medications help patients deal with the physical aspects of dependence, but they must be combined with long-term counseling and other support services.