Applications

Opioid Withdrawal

Increased used of prescription opioid medications has led to widespread misuse of both prescription and non-prescription opioids. An estimated 11.4 million people in the U.S. misused prescription opioids in 2016, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. In that same year, an estimated 2.1 million people had an opioid use disorder. 

Opioid addiction is considered a chronic medical condition. With repeated use or abuse, opioids create changes in the brain that foster addiction. Opioid withdrawal is a long and often strenuous process as patients face a wide range of physical effects that can lead to relapse.

Opioid withdrawal can take hours to weeks and in rare cases, months. It involves going through detoxification, during which drugs are eliminated from the system, and follow up care to prevent drug use. During withdrawal, patients may experience symptoms such as nausea, body aches, agitation, chills, diarrhea and craving for drugs.

Treatment for opioid use disorder varies depending on the level of addiction.

Mild opioid withdrawal

Patients should drink at least 2-3 liters of water per day during withdrawal to replace fluids lost through perspiration and diarrhea. They should be given vitamin B and vitamin C supplements.

Mild opioid withdrawal can sufficiently be managed with symptomatic treatment and supportive care.

Moderate to severe opioid withdrawal

Patients should follow the same guidelines as for mild opioid withdrawal but may additionally be treated with medications such as buprenorphine or methadone.

  • Buprenorphine is an opioid medication that can alleviate withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings. Because of its pharmacological action as a partial opiate agonist, buprenorphine should only be given after a patient begins to experience withdrawal symptoms.
  • Methadone is a synthetic analgesic drug that can alleviate opioid withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings. Methadone is useful for detoxification from longer acting opioids such as morphine or methadone itself.
  • Codeine phosphate alleviates opioid withdrawal symptoms and reduces cravings. Codeine has no effect for 2–10% of people.

Treatment with Vivitrol®(Naltrexone)

Vivitrol®is an opioid antagonist that can be administered after detox. It blocks opioid receptors in the brain and helps help prevent relapse while patients focus on counseling. It is an injectable treatment administered once monthly. Patients must stop using any type of opioid including opioid-dependence treatments such as buprenorphine and methadone, for at least 7 to 14 days before starting Vivitrol®. 

Treating Patients with Drug Relief®

Drug Relief® developed and manufactured by DyAnsys Inc., can be used during detox (and before treatment with Vivitrol®) to relieve the symptoms of withdrawal. 

Drug Relief® has been cleared by the FDA as an aid to reduce the symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

Drug Relief®is a percutaneous electrical nerve field stimulator (PNFS) designed to administer auricular therapy over 120 hours. The treatment is administered over a period of five days as part of a longer-term withdrawal process.

The content provided on this website is for information purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Treatment decisions should be made in consultation with a qualified medical provider.

 

References:

National Institutes of Health <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK310652/>

Alkermes, Inc. <www.vivitrol.com>

Principles of Addiction Medicine – American Society of Addiction Medicine <https://www.asam.org/resources/definition-of-addiction>

Primary Relief® neurostimulation therapy is used mainly to manage post surgical pain.

It has been cleared by the FDA, initially, for post Cesarean section pain and cardiac surgery. Primary Relief® therapy allows neurostimulation over a period over 3 days while offering the patient a high degree of comfort and mobility. Use of the Primary Relief® therapy allows for a minimized use of opioid agonist treatment and in some cases may eliminate it.

Chronic and Acute Pain

According to a report released on June 29, 2011 by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in the United States, over 116 million adults are burdened by chronic pain. This number is higher than cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes combined.

According to the 2010 Media Planner of Pain Medicine News, over 100,000 pain practitioners prescribed $23.5 billion in pain medication in 2009 alone.

According to a health special published by TIME Magazine in its March 7, 2011 issue, chronic pain is now being recognized as a disease rather than as a consequence of a disease. This has vast implications.

There has been no way to measure the severity and seriousness of pain. An article in the July 5 2011 issue of The Wall Street Journal highlights this fact very well. However, help is at hand. Chronic pain affects the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and DyAnsys has been able to show that ANS monitoring of patients with chronic pain allows one to measure a baseline and monitor the improvement in the pain condition.

The solution offered by DyAnsys through the technology of the ANSiscope® and auricular neurostimulation allows the pain practitioner to treat the patient with a non-narcotic method and allows the medical professional to objectively monitor the progress of the patient as the treatment unfolds.

Diabetes

According to the American Diabetes Association, nearly 26 million adults and children in the United States have diabetes. The Association estimates that nearly 79 million Americans are afflicted with pre-diabetes. Further, it is estimated that 60-70% of those with diabetes suffer with some form of diabetic neuropathy, which is a severe and painful complication of diabetes.

While testing to detect diabetic neuropathy is still in its early stages, the ANSiscope® device provides the capability to diagnose diabetic neuropathy early in the disease process, and can provide a baseline to determine whether the neuropathy is stabilizing or becoming worse with time. Earlier detection of diabetic neuropathy can help physicians determine a course of treatment to aid in the patient’s functionality and health over time.

DyAnsys has published a book entitled “The Detection, Treatment & Monitoring of Diabetic Autonomic Neuropathy” based on the experiences of doctors in India who have been using our product (The ANSiscope® device) to reverse autonomic neuropathy.

The American Diabetic Association has incorporated HRV testing (which is at the base level of DyAnsys specialties) at onset of diabetes as part of its standards of care since 2006.

Anesthesiology

The ANSiscope can assist an anesthesiologist in monitoring the autonomic nervous system during surgery for optimal patient pain management. The ANSiscope® device showing the current state of the sympathovagal balance can be used in the operating theatre to monitor the effectiveness of anesthesia. Because of the real-time nature of the measurement, the whole process is safer. An optimum anesthesia during surgery with the use of the ANSiscope® device provides additional safety for the process.

Cardiology

DyAnsys offers a line of affordable electrocardiogram (ECG) machines that are handheld, portable, and battery operated. The DyAnsys® ECG machines are capable of uploading ECG results to a computer to send through email, store in a patient database, or printing the results. DyAnsys® ECGs have two modes of operation − a home mode and a physician mode. The home mode provides the patient and physician a tool in which ECGs can be acquired at any time. The results can be printed or emailed to the physician. Detecting autonomic dysfunction early (this is a precursor to Autonomic Neuropathy) allows treatment and control. Furthermore, the condition of non-diabetic subjects may even involve autonomic malfunction before impaired glucose tolerance is observed. How Can The ANSiscope® Device Be Useful In The Diagnosis Of Autonomic Dysfunction? Since the ANSiscope® device measures the activities of the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems with every new heart beat, it further becomes possible to integrate the way these two systems function together and determine how well they interact. Based on the measurement of these activities, the ANSiscope® device offers a specific measurement of autonomic dysfunction. How Is This Measurement Taken? The patient will be required to lie down and be completely at rest, with no external stimuli. The ECG electrodes are connected to the body and readings for 500 heartbeats are taken, representing around 5 to 10 minutes. At the end the measurement period, the ANSiscope® device displays two pieces of information: a percentage of autonomic dysfunction, and a classification of the patient according to the percentage of dysfunction. How Can Measurement With The ANSiscope® Device Make A Difference? At DyAnsys, we firmly believe that accurate measurement is at the core of prevention. With the use of the ANSiscope® device, treatments can be adapted to the condition and neuropathy stage of the patient, helping the physician gain a more comprehensive understanding of a patient’s condition. Drugs acting at the sole level of nerve damage could reverse functional disorders of the ANS and can be determined through the ANSiscope® device’s instrumental measurement. DyAnsys® ECGs have two modes of operation − a home mode and a physician mode. The home mode provides the patient and physician a tool in which ECGs can be acquired at any time. The results can be printed or emailed to the physician.

Measurement of Autonomic Dysfunction

Autonomic dysfunction is defined as a disorder of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and can be due to abnormalities of one or both of its sub-systems. The autonomic nervous system controls the heart rate and many other vital functions. A disorder of the autonomic nervous system may have no indications or signs, and may cause sudden death if not detected early enough.

Detecting autonomic dysfunction early (this is a precursor to Autonomic Neuropathy) allows treatment and control. Furthermore, the condition of non-diabetic subjects may even involve autonomic malfunction before impaired glucose tolerance is observed.

How Can The ANSiscope® Device Be Useful In The Diagnosis Of Autonomic Dysfunction?
Since the ANSiscope® device measures the activities of the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems with every new heart beat, it further becomes possible to integrate the way these two systems function together and determine how well they interact. Based on the measurement of these activities, the ANSiscope® device offers a specific measurement of autonomic dysfunction.

How Is This Measurement Taken?
The patient will be required to lie down and be completely at rest, with no external stimuli. The ECG electrodes are connected to the body and readings for 500 heartbeats are taken, representing around 5 to 10 minutes. At the end the measurement period, the ANSiscope® device displays two pieces of information: a percentage of autonomic dysfunction, and a classification of the patient according to the percentage of dysfunction.

How Can Measurement With The ANSiscope® Device Make A Difference?
At DyAnsys, we firmly believe that accurate measurement is at the core of prevention. With the use of the ANSiscope® device, treatments can be adapted to the condition and neuropathy stage of the patient, helping the physician gain a more comprehensive understanding of a patient’s condition. Drugs acting at the sole level of nerve damage could reverse functional disorders of the ANS and can be determined through the ANSiscope® device’s instrumental measurement.

DyAnsys® ECGs have two modes of operation − a home mode and a physician mode. The home mode provides the patient and physician a tool in which ECGs can be acquired at any time. The results can be printed or emailed to the physician.