April 27, 2003 11:11:36 AM

Addicted to Prescription Painkillers

Medical Breakthroughs

Fast recoveries are the focus for the Waismann Institute's Accelerated Opiate Neuro-Regulation program. Opiate dependency has risen dramatically in the last several years due to an increase in addiction to prescription painkillers. The Waismann program helps patients kick dependency through a three-day treatment process, submitted in a hospital setting.

"These are patients, they're not drug addicts," says the institutes co-medical director, Clifford Bernstein.

On the second day of their stay, patients are put under anesthesia for three hours, during which time their bodies undergo withdrawal. Receptors are blocked with a dummy drug, shutting off cravings for the opiate. And when they wake up? "They're not addicted to the medication anymore. They go from point A to point B in just a few hours," Bernstein says. Statistics on the success rate of the treatment are five times that of the national average for traditional rehab programs.

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