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Frequently Asked Questions:

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What is Suboxone?

It is a narcotic medication that is used to treat those who are addicted to opiates. This medication combines buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine treats dependence upon opiates, while naloxone treats opiate overdose.For what purpose is Suboxone used?Suboxone® is used to treat those who are addicted to an opioid. These drugs include heroin, oxycodone, morphine, Codeine®, Vicodin®, and Dilaudid®. It’s been found to be effective in treating such addictions in outpatient situations, as well as at inpatient treatment facilities.

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How may someone with opioid dependence be treated with Suboxone?

Suboxone® is the first such drug to be designated for the outpatient treatment of those addicted to opioids. Qualified Los Angeles pain management physicians may acquire a waiver to offer Suboxone® outpatient detox treatment after completing a registration process as described under the Narcotic Addict Treatment Act. Other regulations and laws allow doctors to give out or prescribe Suboxone® for outpatient treatment. Dr. Graf is a certified Los Angeles Suboxone® doctor.

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How does Suboxone® work?

Suboxone® is composed of buprenorphine and naloxone. These are the active ingredients that are focused on breaking opioid dependence. Suboxone® is used to combat addictions to various opiates, including heroin.

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How does buprenorphine work?

This is an opioid that is unique due to the fact that it is a chemical substance that’s able to become a receptor in order to create a partial pharmacological response that allows one to no longer crave other opioids.

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Can my pain be controlled without injections or pain medicine?

Yes, there are many options depending on if it’s musculoskeletal or nerve pain.

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If I need an injection, is it dangerous?

There are risks of inserting a needle into the body. These include bleeding, infection and lack of benefit. These risks are minimal and the vast majority of patients see enormous benefits because we select the treatment modality carefully. The benefits of performing pain intervention are carefully calculated and discussed against risks before we proceed with any treatment.

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What do you inject?

There are different medications/compounds that may be offered. The goal is to reduce or eliminate pain and improve function. The medication and compounds may include steroids, platelet rich plasma(PRP), A2M(alpha 2 macro globulin ), Stem cells.

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How long will the benefits last?

It’s not possible to accurately predict the level and duration of benefit. Many of our patients have improvement or elimination of their pain with a single injection. We reevaluate every patient after each intervention. All decisions on further treatment are discussed as a team.

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Do you provide medicine management?

Dr. Graf uses many medications for pain. Many of these medications are habit-forming and require careful monitoring. When appropriate, patients will receive opioid medications under Dr. Graf's supervision. Dr. Graf is recognized for his expertise as as addiction management physician in assisting patients in withdrawing from habit-forming medications.

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