Want off a medication you were prescribed? We taper you off safely.

Because the reason it was prescribed may no longer apply, and long-term use of these medications can carry costs — on memory, balance, sleep, mood or the gut — that are only worth paying if the medication is still doing a job. A supervised taper is how you find out.

What it is not is a reason to stop on your own. Some of these medications are dangerous to stop abruptly.

Almost certainly not, in the clinical sense. Physical dependence means your body has adapted, so stopping abruptly causes withdrawal — that happens to people who followed every instruction perfectly. Addiction is a behavioral pattern of craving and loss of control. They are different problems with different treatment, and most of the people we see are dependent rather than addicted.

It depends on the medication, the dose, and how long you have been taking it. A post-surgical opioid taper is often weeks. Antidepressants, sleep medications and gabapentinoids usually take a few months. Benzodiazepines after long-term use take the longest. Your provider gives you a realistic estimate at intake.

No. Many of our patients contact us directly. Providers can also refer, and either way we coordinate with whoever manages the rest of your care.