Addiction Care
Tepeyac Community Health Center is proud to offer addiction care!
At Tepeyac Community Health Center, we recognize that addictions are chronic conditions that are both preventable and treatable. We provide patient-centered, humanistic, integrated care for substance use disorders and behavioral addictions.
We offer treatments for substance use disorders, including opioids, alcohol, tobacco, stimulants (including methamphetamines and cocaine), sedatives/hypnotics (including benzodiazepines), and others. Dr. Huffer is board certified in Addiction Medicine as well as Family Medicine, and most of our providers are comfortable with the treatment of substance use disorders. We offer medications for opioid use disorder, including Buprenorphine, Buprenorphine/Naloxone, and Naltrexone. We are not able to provide treatment with Methadone. Our behavioral health team provides addiction-specific therapy and can treat co-occurring conditions, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
We are now offering Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) that uses a prescription medicine called Suboxone combined with counseling and other programs to help reduce withdrawal symptoms, cravings and sustain your recovery.
Clinica Tepeyac offers this program to our patients in Denver, CO as part of our primary care services to help our patients achieve their health and lifestyle goals. We are open to new primary care patients, including those struggling with opioid use. Unlike methadone treatment, this form of MOUD is prescribed for patients to take on their own, allowing you to continue working and/or going to school without interruption of your daily schedules.
Learn the Facts About MOUD
If you or a loved one is struggling with dependence on opioids and wanting to quit, MOUD may help. Here are some of the frequently asked questions about MOUD:
Q: What is MOUD?
Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) is a program that uses prescription medication, counseling, and other therapies to help people quit abusing substances. In this case, local medical providers use a medicine called buprenorphine (Suboxone) to help people quit using pain pills, heroin, or other opioids. The medication helps stop cravings and withdrawal symptoms while you go through counseling and other programs to get your life back.
Q: Do I have to be addicted to get MOUD?
Most people taking pain medication, heroin, or other types of opioids need help stopping no matter how much they are taking because of how the drugs change their brain chemistry. MOUD can help anyone who wants help quitting prescription pain medication or other types of opioids, including heroin.
Q: Do I have to go to rehab to get MOUD?
No. Our healthcare providers can oversee your recovery and prescribe medication on an outpatient basis so you can continue your life, including working or going to school, without interruption.
Q: Isn’t this just taking another drug?
No. Buprenorphine acts like an opioid to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms, but it doesn’t create the “high” that leads to addiction. This can help you remain abstinent while you use other treatments, such as therapy, to address underlying issues, help build a positive self-image, and learn healthy coping skills. Buprenorphine is an evidence-based, thoroughly studied, effective MEDICAL treatment for opioid use disorder.
Q: Do I need MOUD to stop?
No, but MOUD triples your chances of a successful recovery. Quitting opioids – whether it is prescription pain pills or street drugs such as heroin -- is NOT a matter of willpower. Withdrawal causes a person with opioid use disorder to become very sick while at the same time short-circuiting the brain’s executive functioning, which prevents the person from using logic or reasoning to overcome their cravings for the drug. More than 80% of people addicted to opioids will relapse without MOUD.
Q: Besides the medication, what else will I have to do?
Suboxone is only one part of MOUD. Buprenorphine helps control the physical effects of withdrawal and reduces cravings, which gives you the chance to reset and work on the issues that caused you to use opioids. Medication alone is not enough to help a person with a substance use disorder achieve and maintain abstinence in the long term. Effective treatment addresses the whole person and combines the use of medication with:
Evidence-based behavioral therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and counseling
Education and coping skills
Relapse prevention programs
Psychosocial support such as peer recovery specialists and sober activities
Other pain relief treatments (in the case of opioids being used for chronic pain)
Q: Does MOUD work for methamphetamine addiction?
No. However, if you are using methamphetamine in combination with heroin or other opioids, MOUD can help. There are also MOUD programs that treat alcohol use disorder.
Q: Does health insurance cover MOUD?
Medicaid (Health First Colorado), Medicare, TriCare (for veterans), and private insurance typically pay for MOUD. If you do not have insurance, we will work with you on the cost.
If you would like to learn more, call us at (303) 458-5302 to schedule a confidential appointment to get your questions answered.