Chronic Pain and Addiction Treatment in South Dakota

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

Chronic pain and a substance use disorder are usually treated side by side in South Dakota, with pain and addiction clinicians sharing one plan instead of working separately. In coordinated care, the pain prescriber, the addiction counselor and any other prescribing clinician know what the others are doing.

The team agrees on medications and adjusts together as needs change. Options can include buprenorphine, which treats opioid use disorder and also relieves some pain, along with physical therapy, pain relievers that are not opioids, and talk therapy approaches.

Long-term use of a prescribed opioid can cause physical dependence, which is not the same as a substance use disorder. A clinician assesses which applies. Across South Dakota, where many listed programs are in smaller towns, that coordination may link a local clinic with a specialist in Sioux Falls or Rapid City.

Cutting a long-term opioid or benzodiazepine prescription sharply on your own can bring withdrawal and returning pain, so plan any taper with the prescriber. Before admission, ask whether a program treats pain and addiction together, whether it can continue medication for opioid use disorder and whether it will work with your pain clinician.

Medication and non-drug options

Buprenorphine and methadone are medications used for opioid use disorder. Buprenorphine also has pain-relieving effects, which some clinicians weigh when a person has both conditions. Other options include non-opioid pain medicines, physical therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy or other psychological approaches. Decisions about which fit belong to the treating clinicians and the patient. Programs offering buprenorphine appear on the Suboxone clinics in South Dakota page, and opioid-focused care is listed under opioid rehab in South Dakota.

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 is not safe, so plan any taper with the prescriber. Sudden changes can bring withdrawal and a return of pain, and stopping benzodiazepines abruptly carries serious medical risk. Taking benzodiazepines with opioids also raises risk, so tell every clinician about both. Programs focused on these medicines are on the benzo rehab in South Dakota page.

South Dakota pharmacists can dispense naloxone without a prescription under a statewide standing order from the Departments of Health and Social Services. The Department of Social Services pays for naloxone for people without insurance coverage. The state’s Let’s Be Clear site offers free naloxone training and a Find Naloxone page.

Can I keep getting pain treatment while in addiction treatment in South Dakota?

Many people keep receiving pain care during addiction treatment, but only when the program agrees to coordinate with the pain prescriber, so ask before admission. Ask your prescriber how prescription monitoring and any South Dakota prescribing limits for chronic pain apply to your case, since those rules can change.

Distance is a real factor in a state this rural. South Dakota Medicaid covers certain substance use disorder agency services by video telemedicine. Audio-only visits are covered for listed services such as assessment and counseling only when a person has no video access and the record explains why. Remote options are gathered on the telehealth rehab in South Dakota page.

A 2017 South Dakota law protects people who seek emergency help for an overdose. If they stay on scene and cooperate, they have immunity from arrest or prosecution for possession or ingestion.

How do I pay for pain and addiction treatment in South Dakota?

South Dakota Medicaid, administered by the Department of Social Services, is the main public route, and the program expanded to more adults on July 1, 2023. Coverage is fee-for-service with primary care case management rather than managed care plans, so there is no separate health plan to choose. The Division of Behavioral Health, known publicly as SD Behavioral Health, funds state-supported treatment. Its State Opioid Response grant aims to widen access to medication-assisted treatment.

Programs that take public coverage appear on the Medicaid-accepted page. Contract-funded options are on the state-funded rehab in South Dakota page.

What should I ask a South Dakota program before starting?

Before starting, ask three things. Does the program treat pain and substance use together? Can it continue or start medication for opioid use disorder? Will it coordinate with your pain prescriber? Also ask about the level of care, from outpatient to residential, and about accreditation through the state Office of Licensing and Accreditation, languages and populations served. Each listing shows pain and addiction services, medication options, payment types, insurers and location where providers have supplied them.

Listed programs for this term are spread across eastern and western South Dakota. About 73 percent sit within 25 miles of a river, a median of 20.1 miles away, most often the East Fork Vermillion or Little Vermillion River. About 64 percent are within 25 miles of forest land such as Black Hills National Forest or Black Elk Wilderness. Sioux Falls Regional Airport is the most common nearest airport, followed by Rapid City Regional, at a median distance of 9 miles.

Free help is available by phone and text. Calling 988 reaches the South Dakota Resource Hotline, run by the Helpline Center, at any hour for crisis support and treatment information, with Care Coordination on weekdays. Texting “opioid” to 898211 reaches the state opioid text line, and the national treatment referral line is another free option. For mental health conditions alongside pain and substance use, see dual diagnosis rehab in South Dakota. You can also browse all South Dakota listings or the national pain and addiction page.