Chronic Pain and Addiction Treatment in Columbus

How is chronic pain treated alongside a substance use disorder in Columbus?

In Columbus, chronic pain and a substance use disorder are usually treated together by pairing addiction care with non-opioid pain options and non-drug therapies. Clinicians make medication decisions together with the patient, and programs usually ask about every prescription at intake.

For opioid use disorder, buprenorphine and methadone are the two main medications. Buprenorphine also has pain-relieving effects, which prescribers may weigh when pain is ongoing. Locally, buprenorphine is listed at suboxone clinics, and methadone comes through licensed methadone clinics.

Non-drug options include physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and other psychological approaches, alongside non-opioid medicines. Benzodiazepines are not a pain treatment, and taking them with opioids adds risk. Cutting back a long-term opioid or benzodiazepine prescription is best planned with the prescriber rather than done abruptly.

Payment usually runs through Ohio Medicaid or private insurance, or through public funding from Franklin County’s Alcohol Drug and Mental Health Board. Useful questions for a program: does it treat pain and addiction together, can it start or continue medication for opioid use disorder, and will staff coordinate with the pain prescriber?

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

Stopping or sharply cutting a long-term opioid or benzodiazepine prescription without a plan is not considered safe, and any taper is best worked out with the prescriber. Physical dependence on a prescribed medicine is not the same as a substance use disorder, and a program that treats both can talk with the pain prescriber before anything changes.

Naloxone is free across Ohio through Project DAWN, a network coordinated by the Ohio Department of Health. Franklin County residents can also get free Narcan by mail from Columbus Public Health or walk in at the Columbus Fire site at 3639 Parsons Avenue, weekdays 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

How do I pay for and start pain and addiction treatment in Columbus?

Payment in Columbus usually runs through Ohio Medicaid, private insurance or public funding routed through the ADAMH Alcohol Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County. Ohio Medicaid uses one line-up of seven managed care plans with no regional split, so ask the plan which levels of care and which medications for opioid use disorder it covers. Medicaid listings show programs that accept it. Columbus Public Health Alcohol and Drug Services, (614) 645-6839, takes Medicaid and offers an income-based sliding scale for uninsured residents, and state-funded programs in Columbus are listed too.

Questions to ask a Columbus program

Three questions help: does the program treat pain and substance use together, can it continue or start medication for opioid use disorder, and will intake staff coordinate with your pain prescriber? Listings can show services, medication for opioid use disorder, levels of care, payment types, insurers, accreditation, languages, populations served and location, drawn from government treatment registers, state licensing records, accreditor listings and details the providers supply themselves.

Free places to start in Franklin County

The Franklin County Crisis Care Center at 465 Harmon Ave., just west of downtown, takes walk-ins around the clock with no appointment. Calls to 988 from Franklin County are answered 24/7 by North Central Mental Health Services, and the Netcare Access Crisis Hotline is 614-276-2273. For non-crisis help on weekdays, the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health Bridge Line is 614-466-7228. Columbus has no rail, so COTA buses, CMAX and COTA//Plus reach most programs.

For pain and addiction programs across Ohio, see the Ohio pain and addiction listings, or read the national pain and addiction guide and the Columbus treatment page.