Addicted to Vicodin: A 2001 Television Segment, Revisited
2026
Editorial note. In March 2001, the Waismann Method was featured in a television news segment about Vicodin dependence. This page previously reproduced that segment’s transcript.
Medical Director, Waismann Method®, 1998 to 2025
The Waismann Method closed in 2025 and no longer accepts patients. This page is kept as a historical record. If you need help with opioid dependence, the SAMHSA National Helpline is free and confidential, 24 hours a day, at 1-800-662-4357.
Michael H. Lowenstein, MPH, M.D., is an anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist who served as Medical Director of the Waismann Method® from 1998 until the program closed in 2025. He was also the owner of Anesthesia Assisted Medical Opioid Detoxification, Inc.
His credentials included board certification in anesthesiology, pain medicine, and addiction medicine, along with a Master of Public Health earned before his medical degree. That combination was unusual in this field. Detoxification under sedation sat at the intersection of three distinct areas of medicine, and many patients seeking it were also managing an underlying pain condition that had to be accounted for at the same time.
Across more than two decades, Dr. Lowenstein performed thousands of medically supervised opioid detoxifications in an accredited hospital setting. His approach centered on individual assessment before any procedure: reviewing the patient’s medical history, current medications, substance use pattern, and coexisting conditions, then determining whether sedation assisted detoxification was medically appropriate for that person. Not every patient was a candidate, and that determination was made case by case.
During those years, his work was discussed in national and international media coverage of opioid dependence and detoxification.
This page describes professional background and history. It is not medical advice, it is not an offer of treatment, and it does not establish a physician patient relationship.
Fellowship
Restorative and Functional Medicine, Advanced Fellowship
December 2007 to December 2009
Anesthesiology Residency
Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, California
July 1989 to June 1992
Transitional Internship
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, California
July 1988 to June 1989
Doctor of Medicine
Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, California
May 1988
Master of Public Health
University of California, Berkeley
December 1983
Bachelor of Science, Biological Science
University of California, Irvine
June 1982
DEA
Fluoroscopy Supervisor and Operator
Advanced Cardiac Life Support
Waismann Method Medical Group, Beverly Hills, California
Owner and Medical Director, 1998 to 2025
Advanced treatment of opioid dependence
Michael Lowenstein, MD, APMC
Santa Ana, California
Established 2001
Comprehensive pain management
Newport Beach Headache and Pain Institute
Newport Beach, California
2000 to 2002
Multidisciplinary chronic pain management
Long Beach Memorial Medical Center
11/2000 – 04/2001
Long Beach, California
Department of Anesthesiology
Orange Coast Memorial
Medical Center
01/1996 – 11/2000
Fountain Valley, California
Vice-Chairman, Department of Anesthesiology
Director, Acute Pain Management Services
Chairman, Physician Well-Being Committee
Coast Pain Management
01/1996 – 01/2000
Fountain Valley, California
Multi-disciplinary Chronic Pain Management
Medical Director
FHP, Inc.
07/1992 – 01/1996
Fountain Valley, California
Vice-Chairman, Department of Anesthesiology
Director, Acute and Chronic Pain Management Services
California Diabetes Control Program
07/1983 – 06/1984
San Bernardino, California
NIH-CDC funded program for Prevention of Diabetes
Complications, Director
Detoxification under sedation draws on several distinct areas of medicine at once. Understanding why is useful for anyone evaluating a program.
Anesthesiology. Sedation requires continuous monitoring of airway, breathing, and cardiovascular function. Anesthesiology training is what allows a physician to manage those variables and to respond if a patient’s condition changes during the procedure.
Addiction medicine. Withdrawal presents differently depending on which opioid was used, for how long, at what dose, and whether other substances are involved. Addiction medicine training informs how withdrawal is assessed and managed, and what happens in the days afterward when relapse risk is highest.
Pain medicine. A significant share of people who become opioid dependent started with a pain condition that has not gone away. Detoxification without a plan for the underlying pain leaves the original problem unaddressed.
No single specialty covers all three. Detoxification carries real medical risk, and outcomes depend on patient selection, the setting, the medical team, and the care that follows. Anyone considering the procedure should ask a prospective program about all four.
This site is an educational resource and does not provide treatment or referrals to any specific program.
The SAMHSA National Helpline is free, confidential, and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at 1-800-662-4357. It provides referrals to licensed treatment programs, support groups, and community organizations, in English and Spanish. SAMHSA also maintains a searchable treatment locator.
For background on how opioid dependence develops and what to ask before choosing a program, see our guides on opioids and brain chemistry and opioid treatment myths.
Learn more about opioid dependence, withdrawal, and what to ask before choosing a treatment program.
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