36 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JULY 2018
PRESS HEALTH
BEATING THE ODDS
DISCOVER REAL
POSSIBILITIES
ACROSS
LONG ISLAND
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“The EARS program is unique
because our interdisciplinary team
consists of physicians who specialize
in heroin and opioid addiction medicine,
psychiatrists, psychologists,
social workers, and substance abuse
counselors,” says Dr. Zysman. “The
EARS clinicians have a deep understanding
of the dynamics of heroin &
opioid addiction as well as the dynamics
of the medications needed to help
the opiate addict achieve recovery.
Behavioral intervention alone with
heroin and opioid addicts yield very
poor outcomes with more than 80% of
addicts relapsing,” he continues. “But
when utilizing the EARS treatment
approach for opiate addiction, the results
are much better. The results of
treatment at EARS have varied from
60 percent to 90 percent successful
outcomes with the heroin and opioid
addicted patients.”
Zysman is detailing his method
in his new book, Successful Heroin
and Opioid Addition Treatment,
which is being published this
month. He hopes it will inspire
other treatment providers to learn
from his successes and help turn the
tide of the national opioid epidemic.
The doctor draws on decades of experience,
honing his focus on heroin
and prescription painkiller abuse 10
years ago, just as the epidemic began
to take hold.
Zysman notes that many inpatient
detoxification programs, inpatient
substance abuse rehab programs,
and outpatient clinics could benefit
from utilizing the EARS treatment
approach to improve their treatment
outcomes with their heroin and opioid
addicted patients.
He said he was unaware of how successful
his method was until the state
Office of Alcoholism and Substance
Abuse Services (OASAS) alerted him
to his retention rate compared to the
state average. OASAS verified the
data, but said that since it was from
2015, they could not comment on it.
A typical patient is with his clinic
for three to six months, depending
upon the severity of their dependence.
He notes that those dependent
on drugs will often omit their illicit
drug use when asking their doctor
for help treating issues such as depression.
But anti-depressants don’t
work properly when mixed with
opioids and other drugs.
“The EARS program also has a high
rate of success with heroin and opioid
addicted patients who suffer from
co-occurring disorders,” the doctor
says. “These are opiate addicts who
have psychiatric problems and/or
mild to moderate physical pain. The
EARS staff sets short & long-term
goals for opiate addicted patients
and encourages family involvement
in the treatment process.”
His patients can testify to that.
“I was using 10-20 bags of heroin
per day,” says one 22-year-old man in
recovery. “Before getting sober my
life was miserable and unmanageable.
I was a slave to drugs. My life
became dangerously unmanageable
in every way imaginable. Since getting
sober and coming to EARS my
life has improved drastically. I am
living a good sober happy life.”
Successful Heroin and Opioid
Addition Treatment is on sale beginning
July 18.
continued from page 35
Dr. Simon Zysman penned
Successful Heroin and Opioid
Treatment, which will be released
July 18.