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Opioid Addiction and Substance Use Treatments

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 15:45:23 GMT

What You Need to Know About Opioid Addiction

Addiction is a complex, chronic disease that impacts many throughout the world, and can be challenging to overcome. Addiction can also be diagnosed as Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and range from mild to severe levels of addiction, involving overwhelming desire for the substance, increased dependence on the substance, and withdrawal symptoms if the substance is unobtainable. In the United States, over 20 million people have SUD, including alcohol and drug use disorders. Addiction and SUD is treatable, through substance use treatment, misuse management, and a healthy support system.

Opioids, also referred to as narcotics, are a common substance that have high addiction potential. Opioids are commonly prescribed by doctors to help manage moderate to severe pain, typically post surgical operations. However, the combination of pain reduction and the sense of euphoria many experience while taking opioids can lead to Opioid Use Disorder, or an opioid addiction. Medical professionals help to reduce this likelihood is by prescribing milder doses for a shorter period of time, and addiction is less likely to occur as long as the prescription instructions are followed accordingly.

Many factors play a role in addiction and OUD, including:

How the substance is administered (injected, taken orally, etc.)
The rate at which the substance triggers the 'reward pathway' in the brain
How long is takes to feel the substance's effects
Level of tolerance
Severity of withdrawal symptoms
Environmental and biological components

Due to the complexity of SUD and opioid addiction, and the multiple factors that impact each person differently, it is essential to seek help from medical professionals, such as doctors and psychiatrists, who can provide the necessary support you or a loved one needs to manage the condition. Opioid addiction specifically affects approximately three million people in the United States, and be managed through a personalized treatment plan that may include outpatient counseling, in-patient care and counseling, medication-assisted treatment, and methods of psychotherapy.

Contact Our Primary Care Providers to Learn More

Park Avenue Medical has been serving Meriden, Cheshire, Middletown, North Haven, and Wallingford, CT since 2012, providing empathetic and high-quality substance use treatments, substance misuse management, and treatment options for opioid addiction. Help is available, and if you or a loved one are struggling with a Substance Use Disorder, please contact our primary care providers today to learn more about the signs of addiction and how we can help.

Exploring the World of Weight Loss Injections: What You Need to Know

Fri, 24 May 2024 20:07:16 GMT

In recent years, weight loss injections have been an effective weight management solution, helping those struggling to shed those extra pounds. Weight loss injections are designed to help individuals achieve significant weight loss when diet and exercise alone have not been sufficient. These injections work by mimicking certain hormones that target areas of the brain involved in appetite regulation, thereby reducing hunger and helping you feel fuller sooner. This can lead to a reduced calorie intake and, subsequently, weight loss.

Key Players in the Market

I’m sure everyone has heard about Ozempic injections, but there are other injection options available that offer similar results. Below are the prescription medications approved by the FDA for use in people with obesity-related conditions.

Ozempic: Originally developed for type 2 diabetes management, Ozempic has shown impressive results in weight loss studies. It uses the active ingredient semaglutide to regulate insulin levels and decrease appetite.

Wegovy: Similar to Ozempic, Wegovy contains semaglutide and is specifically dosed and approved for chronic weight management. The dosage for Wegovy is slightly higher than Ozempic, but both help reduce appetite.

Zepbound: A newer addition to the weight management scene, Zepbound utilizes tirzepatide. Zepbound is most effective when used with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.

Semaglutide: This is the active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy, and it's available under its own name as well. It's known for its versatility in treating both diabetes and obesity.

Mounjaro: Another innovative treatment, Mounjaro similar to Zepbound, has a unique mechanism that not only helps in reducing blood sugar levels but also aids in weight loss, making it a dual-action injection for comprehensive metabolic management.

Benefits of Weight Loss Injections

The benefits of using FDA-approved weight loss injections like Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, Semaglutide, and Mounjaro extend beyond mere weight reduction. These injections can significantly improve overall metabolic health, reduce the risk of diseases associated with obesity such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and enhance one's quality of life. Even with a healthy lifestyle, some individuals have a hard time losing weight, and these injections will regulate appetite, which can help maintain a healthy eating pattern, crucial for long-term weight management.

Visit Us Today to Learn More About Weight Loss Injections!

If you're considering a structured and medically supervised approach to weight loss, weight loss injections might be the right step forward. With proven efficiency and safety, treatments like Ozempic injections and others mentioned can be a game-changer in your health and wellness journey. At Park Avenue Medical, we will listen to your goals and determine if you are a good candidate for medical weight loss treatments . Our experienced team will walk you through each option in depth, discussing the advantages and possible side effects of each injection, to help you select the best option for your needs and body. Give us a call today to schedule a consultation. We welcome those in Wallingford , North Haven , Middletown , Cheshire , Meriden, CT , and beyond.

Tackling Treatment-Resistant Depression

Sun, 28 Jun 2020 12:27:04 GMT

We dive into the nitty gritty of treatment-resistant depression and how we can defeat it.

Services

Anace Said

Physician/Co-founder

6/28/2020

Depression isn’t just sadness

We’ve all felt sadness before, and it’s a normal, healthy part of life. We feel sad when we lose a loved one or when we don’t achieve our goals, but we eventually move on and heal. I want you to know that depression is decidedly not that; it’s a much deeper and persistent emotional pain that we can’t shake. According to the Mayo Clinic, it’s “a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest,” and “it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems.” Depression might also cause motivation to fall for normal activities; some even feel that “life isn’t worth living,” a severe but frequent manifestation of the disease (1). In addition to feeling worthless, patients often see themselves as too feeble or lazy to pick themselves up. Throughout my years of practice, I’ve found one thing to hold true: depression is an invisible, dark vortex that can be as lethal as a heart attack.

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Depression is a disease, just like any other

Just like any other disease, we can take steps to manage depression, but we can’t just wish it away. This fact is essential to recognize because we can become depressed despite having no significant challenges in our lives, and I’ve seen people from all walks of life suffer. Even the wealthiest among us commit suicide, illustrating that the disease doesn’t care who you are or what you have. Depression is also unfortunately ubiquitous; 18.1% of the adult American population suffers from depression each year, and nearly 50% of people with depression also have an anxiety disorder (2). Besides therapy and support, the most common treatment for depression are SSRIs, a class of drugs that increases serotonin levels in the brain by blocking their reuptake by neurons (3). The most common SSRIs include citalopram, escitalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, and sertraline. These medications have proven to be very safe and effective, but they may not work for everyone.

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Even if treatments fail, there’s hope

Typically, we consider a treatment ineffective after 4-8 weeks of trying. After this point, the depression becomes treatment-resistant, and we begin to explore other options. This occurrence is not uncommon; up to one-third of patients with depression do not respond to typically used antidepressants (4). One of these options is esketamine (Spravato®), a revolutionary new drug that the FDA approved in 2019. A double-blind, double-randomized, and placebo-controlled study in 2017 found that among 56 participants (average age 44.7 years old), there was a significant improvement in symptoms compared to the placebo. Perhaps even more interestingly, the study found that the positive effects of nasal esketamine remained despite tapering the dose down after weeks (5). It’s important to note that the patients in the study were people with a history of trying different medications without success.

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How it works

Esketamine is an N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. That jargon basically says that esketamine attaches to the receptor that NMDA usually binds to, preventing NMDA from attaching to the receptor. Although the exact reason for esketamine’s efficacy isn’t known, one theory is that it promotes new connections within the brain in the neurons responsible for mood.

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Our experiences with treatment

Since we began treating patients using nasal esketamine (Spravato®), we’ve had some incredible success stories. One of our patients had been suffering from depression for more than a decade despite trying a plethora of medication regimes. The patient constantly felt the classic symptoms of depression: self-loathing, guilt, and a general feeling of worthlessness. When we tried esketamine (Spravato®), the patient noticed a significant improvement in symptoms, remarking that they felt like themselves again after all these years. I love making impacts in people’s lives, and it amazes me that science has come such a long way to afford us such life-changing medications.

The Nitty Gritty Of Trigger Point Injections

Sun, 28 Jun 2020 10:44:32 GMT

Curious about what makes a trigger point injection special? Read on to find out more!

Services

Anace Said

Physician/Co-founder

6/28/2020

Chronic Pain & Trigger Point Injections

Many of us suffer from chronic pain in various areas of our bodies. Often, the go-to solutions don’t work as well as we hope, and they can have damaging side effects. For example, acetaminophen can take a toll on the liver, while ibuprofen may damage the lining of the gut over time. Rest doesn’t always help, and, while physical therapy can be a great long term solution, sometimes we need things that are more immediate.

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Enter: trigger point injections.

What is a trigger point injection?

In essence, a trigger point injection is one where the site of injection is in the locus of the muscular pain. The injection itself, that is, the physical act of poking the muscle with the needle, is often enough to relieve pain, as it releases the tension in a given knot. Our patients often have dry needling done, where no medication is actually injected.

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When we want a more aggressive treatment, we can inject the zone of pain with lidocaine, a numbing agent. This allows for immediate relief, while the action of the needle itself releases the tension over days. As such, the immediate relief of lidocaine is coupled with the longer tension-releasing result of the dry needling.

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How does lidocaine actually work?

Essentially, our sensory nerves send signals to our brain when provided a harmful stimulus, causing the sensation we experience as pain. Lidocaine functions by slowing that signal to the brain, allowing us to feel relief from the constant pain signaling in a distressed tissue. If you’re familiar with the dental numbing agent novocaine, you can compare lidocaine to it as a similarly acting drug.

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What if I need something more aggressive?

Finally, a more comprehensive solution to chronic pain is the trigger point injection with steroids + lidocaine. As mentioned, the dry needling action relieves tension, and the lidocaine provides immediate pain relief. The steroid helps calm the body’s inflammatory response, allowing the area to actually heal, thus reducing the pain. The only downside is that excessive steroid use can weaken tissues, so this is a treatment used more sparingly than the other forms of trigger point injections.

New Study on Bionic Pancreases

Sun, 21 Jun 2020 12:34:00 GMT

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows promising results for bionic pancreases.

Research

Anace Said

Physician/Co-founder

6/21/2020

New Study On Bionic Pancreas Shows Efficacy in controlling hemoglobin A1C

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that a bionic pancreas was more effective in controlling hemoglobin A1C levels compared to standard care. The study was 13 weeks long, included participants from the ages of 6 to 79, and involved 326 participants, 219 of which were randomly assigned to the bionic pancreas group and 107 to the standard care group, which was just to continue managing their diabetes the way they had been.

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Among other findings, the study found a reduction in glycated hemoglobin levels for the bionic pancreas group and no such change in the standard care group. This is an important measure for diabetics, as it shows the long term concentration of glucose in their blood by proxy of hemoglobin with a sugar attached to it (hence the “glycated” in glycated hemoglobin).

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The study shows promise for bionic pancreases as a new method for insulin delivery, as it reduces user input compared to other methods.

Welcome to Our Website

Sun, 21 Jun 2020 12:30:01 GMT

Explore the Website Developed by Our Primary Care Providers

Technology

Ahmed Said

Webmaster

6/21/2020

Hello everybody! Welcome to our brand new website. We hope this website makes it easy for you to find the information you need and get in touch with us as easily as possible. Here’s a quick run through of all the features of the website (more coming soon!)

Home Page

The home page is where you’ll find short descriptions of all of our services, our mission, and some testimonials from patients. You can also hit the “request an appointment” button on the home page, and that will bring you to the “request an appointment page.” Right now, our services include substance misuse management, medical marijuana, ketamine for depression, primary care, and trigger point injections, but we’re constantly adding more! Check the home page for new services!

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About Us

This is where you’ll find our lovely team members and a short history of our office! We’re constantly adding new team members and expanding with students, so check back here for updates!

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Request an Appointment

Here, you can request an appointment. We’ll take down some basic information and get in contact with you. If you’d like, you can download the forms and fill them out (either electronically or on paper) and send them to us by email, fax, or bring them in for your appointment.

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This one is pretty self-explanatory! Fill out the form with any questions you have, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!

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Services

These pages have all the information about services, including some of our policies, procedures, and general knowledge. Be sure to check these pages before you request an appointment to make the process as smooth as possible!

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Blog

The blog (where you are right now) is where you’ll find all the latest and greatest information about Park Avenue Medical. We’ll post here when we’ve added a new service, when we’ve come across interesting research we’d like to share, or if we just have updates about Park Avenue Medical in general!

That’s it! Short and sweet for this post, but check back frequently for everything you need to know about Park Avenue Medical!

When You Unlock Your Potential

Sun, 21 Jun 2020 10:47:43 GMT

A patient had subpar grades before treatment for ADHD. Read on to find out how it changed!

Story

Anace Said

Physician/Co-founder

6/21/2020

One of our patients was having trouble focusing, and as a college student, that meant her grades were taking a hit. Of course, not everyone who has less-than-desirable grades should be treated for ADHD, but she presented with all the right symptoms. As such, treatment for ADHD was appropriate for her.

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Before starting Vyvanse® (Lisdexamfetamine), she had 8 C’s, 8 B’s, and 3 A’s in her college transcript. After some time with treatment, she was able to achieve 13 A’s and 3 B’s. What a change! She remarks that the medication has been life-changing for her, as she’s now able to focus on her school work and string her thoughts together more lucidly.

If you feel like you can’t focus, talk to your doctor and see if you might be suffering from ADHD. Learn more about ADHD’s signs and symptoms here .

New Medication Tirzepatide for Weight Loss

Sun, 21 Jun 2020 10:33:52 GMT

This revolutionary new weight loss injection may truly change the industry. Find out how!

Research

Anace Said

Physician/Co-founder

6/21/2020

Tirzepatide is a ground-breaking new medication originally indicated for the treatment of diabetes. A new study in the NEJM shows its efficacy for treating weight loss. In the phase 3, double blind, randomized clinical trial, roughly 2500 adults were assigned in equal numbers to 3 doses of the drug and a placebo. The key points? Over the course of 72 weeks, they observed:

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For the 5 mg dose, the mean weight loss was 15%
19.5% mean weight loss with the 10 mg dose
20.9% mean weight loss with the 15 mg dose

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The drug is not currently approved for this use, but in October, the FDA put it on the fast track for approval for these uses.

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How does it work?

Without getting too deep into the complex biochemistry of the medication, it essentially increases insulin levels . In doing so, blood sugar is controlled, helping the weight loss process.

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Side Effects

According to WebMD : “Swelling/redness/itching at the injection site, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, diarrhea, or constipation may occur.”

New Medication Retatrutide for Weight Loss in Phase 2 Trials

Sun, 21 Jun 2020 10:31:05 GMT

Weight loss injections are advancing rapidly with this new medication in phase 2!

Research

Anace Said

Physician/Co-founder

6/21/2020

So, we’ve heard about tirzepatide ( read here ), but there’s another drug in the process of research called retatrutide. The medication works similarly to tirzepatide, but it also acts on two other hormones that control blood sugar, per this Insider article . According to the article,

“Preliminary analysis from phase 2 trials indicated people taking retatrutide with obesity (a body mass index of 30 or higher), but not diabetes, could lose up to 24% of their body weight in 48 weeks, Investors Business Daily reported. That's more weight loss at a faster rate than trial results for tirzepatide, which led to 20% reduction in body weight in 72 weeks.”

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Now that’s something to be excited about! When will see the medication hit the market? At the moment, that’s unclear, but it has promising implications for medication-assisted weight loss. Should we see this medication in the future, it could be an absolute game changer, so keep your eyes peeled for more information!

c11f4870

Opioid Addiction and Substance Use Treatments

What You Need to Know About Opioid Addiction

Contact Our Primary Care Providers to Learn More ﻿

Exploring the World of Weight Loss Injections: What You Need to Know

Key Players in the Market

Benefits of Weight Loss Injections

Visit Us Today to Learn More About Weight Loss Injections!

Tackling Treatment-Resistant Depression

We dive into the nitty gritty of treatment-resistant depression and how we can defeat it.

The Nitty Gritty Of Trigger Point Injections

Curious about what makes a trigger point injection special? Read on to find out more!

New Study on Bionic Pancreases

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows promising results for bionic pancreases.

Welcome to Our Website

Explore the Website Developed by Our Primary Care Providers

When You Unlock Your Potential

A patient had subpar grades before treatment for ADHD. Read on to find out how it changed!

New Medication Tirzepatide for Weight Loss

This revolutionary new weight loss injection may truly change the industry. Find out how!

New Medication Retatrutide for Weight Loss in Phase 2 Trials

Weight loss injections are advancing rapidly with this new medication in phase 2!

Contact Our Primary Care Providers to Learn More