Chronic Pain and Addiction Treatment in Las Vegas

How is chronic pain treated when someone also has a substance use disorder?

Chronic pain and a substance use disorder are usually treated together in Las Vegas, with pain and addiction clinicians coordinating one plan instead of treating each condition apart. The two often occur together. Physical dependence on a prescribed medicine is not the same as a use disorder, and long-term opioid use does not by itself mean addiction.

Medication choices sit with clinicians. Buprenorphine and methadone are used for opioid use disorder, and buprenorphine also has pain-relieving effects. Non-opioid medicines, physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and other psychological approaches are further options a care team may raise. Buprenorphine prescribers appear under Suboxone clinics in Las Vegas, and opioid treatment programs under methadone clinics in Las Vegas.

Cutting back a long-term opioid or benzodiazepine prescription without guidance can be risky, so any taper is best planned with the prescriber. Combining the two drug types adds further danger. Pharmacists in Nevada can hand out naloxone whether or not a person has a prescription, so a household can keep a dose nearby while medicines change.

Listings for this service in Las Vegas sit almost entirely in urban settings, at a median elevation of 1,980 feet. Harry Reid International Airport is the closest airport for nearly all of them, a median of 6.2 miles away. Each listing lies within 25 miles of a named range, and the Frenchman Range comes up most as the closest, a median of 11.1 miles off.

Is it safe to stop or reduce pain medication on my own?

Stopping or sharply cutting a long-term opioid or benzodiazepine prescription on your own can be dangerous, so plan any taper with the prescriber. Benzodiazepines taken alongside opioids carry added risks; related listings sit under benzo rehab in Las Vegas. Nevada pharmacists may furnish naloxone with or without a prescription, and health care professionals may dispense it by standing order, so a household can keep a dose on hand during any medication change.

How do I pay for pain and addiction treatment in Las Vegas?

Las Vegas residents can pay through Nevada Medicaid, private insurance, state-funded treatment or self-pay, depending on what a program accepts. In Clark County, Nevada Medicaid plans include Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, CareSource, Health Plan of Nevada, Molina Healthcare of Nevada and SilverSummit Healthplan; ask the plan how it covers medication for opioid use disorder and each level of care. Private plans fall under federal parity rules, which generally keep substance use benefits in line with medical benefits. State-funded care runs through the Bureau of Behavioral Health Wellness and Prevention in the Division of Public and Behavioral Health, with options under state-funded rehab in Las Vegas. For people in the justice system, the Eighth Judicial District Court runs a Co-Occurring Disorders Court and a MAT Re-Entry Court.

Questions to ask a Las Vegas program

Ask whether the program treats pain and substance use together, whether it can continue or start medication for opioid use disorder, and whether staff will coordinate with your pain prescriber. Listings show services, levels of care, payment types, insurers, accreditation, languages and populations served, drawn from public treatment registers, state licensing records, accreditor directories and information the providers send in.

Free places to start

Nevada’s Substance Abuse Help Line is 1-775-825-4357, and the national treatment referral line is free and confidential. Call or text 988 in a crisis, or go to the UMC Crisis Stabilization Center. Other services are on the Las Vegas page; across Nevada, see pain and addiction treatment in Nevada, with a national overview of pain and addiction.