I Can't Afford That: Costs of Suboxone Treatment

Break the chains of addiction with Suboxone!

I Can’t Afford That!

For Opiate Users Only:

I have a number of responses to that complaint. But first, you have to understand that I know what you are going through. While every person is different, the course of opiate addiction is remarkably similar from one individual to another. I have literally ‘been there, done that’. Please read my comments on another page where I discuss my prior life as a junkie in the OR. Please read up on the concept of ‘terminal uniqueness’, a treatment term used to describe the way that addicts avoid getting better by seeing themselves as unique.

I know how much addiction has cost you already. You have had times when you would have spent your last dime for 100 mg of oxycontin. You have lost productivity and maybe entire jobs. You have borrowed from friends and family members. It seems as if you never fully catch up with the bills. Bottom line, your addiction has been very expensive, because it costs time and money to get opiates, whether by buying on the street or by visiting ERs and Urgent Care centers.

But the true costs run much deeper. You have lost the trust of family members, who have found meds missing from the medicine cabinet after your visits. You have lost significant others who grew tired of the excuses and lies that are necessary to defend an opiate habit. You have taken risks for no reason other than to make the sickness go away— risking arrest, DUI, embarrassment in front of your children, health problems…

With all this, the main cost has been to your self-esteem. Sure, you can look ‘together’ on the outside. But you can’t avoid your despair all of the time, and sometimes you look in the mirror with disgust and horror, thinking, “what has happened to me?” You have made promises to yourself and broken them, many times over. You truly hate this life. A part of you, a horrible part of you, loves this life. But the happy person that you used to be truly hates who you have become.

So in response to the cost concerns my main response is, don’t bullshit a bullshitter. Been there, done that. If I can help get you clean, the benefit cannot even be compared to money. But if you need to compare it to money, add up what you will spend on your opiate habit over the next six months. Is it less than $500?

Why My Clinic?

Of course, there are other suboxone centers out there. I don’t know what others charge— I know that in California costs run in excess of $1000 in some areas (I’ve seen the ads online—some even do house calls!). My practice has a number of unique features that separate me from other practices. I am totally independent, so there is no ‘check-in process’, no large lobby, and no staff to explain yourself to (I do have one nice lady to take your info on the phone and when you get here). My place is relaxed and comfortable, which is nice on that first visit when you will need to be in a bit of withdrawal. I am flexible, so if you need a couple doses of clonidine called in, in advance, to help you tolerate the withdrawal for the first appointment, I can help you out. I am a psychiatrist, so over time we can see if you have been self-medicating a depression, and if so, I can help you with that. I work on evenings and weekends, so we won’t have trouble finding a time to get started. And finally, I have been in your shoes, so there is no shame, no judging, and no worries that I won’t understand just how miserable it is (physically, mentally, and spiritually) to be sick.

Enough of feeling sick and tired. Please give me a call, and we will start moving forward today.