Due to the nature of the personal disclosures in this review I am using a new Yelp account which is not my real name. I hope that Yelp moderators will understand and not remove my review, as it is based on over 2 years of regular treatment, and I feel can be incredibly valuable to other potential patients. Now that I've completed my disclosure, onto the review...
I am a recovering addict. Heroin was my original drug of choice, along with any other type of opiate / opioid I could get my hands on, including pills and poppy seed tea. I had gotten clean by myself in 2005 and was clean for 3 years until my father committed suicide. This triggered a relapse, leading to a self-administered regimen of poppy pod/seed tea that I referred to as my homemade methadone program. After a couple years of being an opium addict, I decided it was time to stop it all. After doing some research online, I gave Dr. Friedman a call. I went to him to go on Buprenorphine treatment - a form of opiate replacement that is like methadone, but is more precise and contains additional chemicals that help block other opiates from having an effect.
Before discussing Dr. Friedman, it is important to note that the type of patients he specializes in (addicts) are notorious for being some of the most difficult patients to treat. They (and I include myself in this description) tend to lie to their doctors, think they can keep using while starting on a program to get clean and generally want everything to go they way THEY want it. We addicts are spoiled, self-indulgent people, and there is always a sense of urgency about our needs. God knows that if we run out of our meds, we are going to call the doctor any day of the week to make sure we get more.
So with all this in mind, I can tell you, the reader of this review, my experiences with Dr. Friedman. To be honest, during my first few months of treatment, I often had some of the thoughts expressed by some of the negative reviewers here on Yelp. I felt like Dr. Friedman was a bit abrupt and caustic, and I felt like he wasn't letting me participate enough in my own treatment. And so I didn't stick with the program. I tried to just take enough to deal with the withdrawals from the poppy tea, because I didn't want to become addicted to another med. And I ended up dabbling in my old ways (getting heroin and pills).
Finally I realized that my life had to change and I decided to just stick to the program. 2 years later I am happier than I've been in ages. My professional career is going great and personal relationships have improved. And I know that a lot of this is thanks to the help I got from Dr. Friedman. I am now working on slowly tapering my self off the meds - Dr. Friedman is not forcing me to do this. He is letting me decide when it's time to try and take it down to the next dosage, which I appreciate. I don't feel rushed to stop, and I don't feel like I have to stay on Buprenorpine the rest of my life.
I urge the negative reviewers to give him a chance. Try to appreciate how Dr. Friedman is trying to help you. Regarding issues of cost, $300 for an initial consult and $150 per monthly follow-up isn't much to spend compared to the cost of a heroin / vicodin / oxy habit. And given that he has spent nearly a decade in school and training, it isn't an excessive fee (compared to what a good lawyer charges per hour, it's a deal). I pay cash, so I don't know about the insurance issues - however I don't blame him for preferring not to accept it, given he is in practice by himself, and doesn't have a billing department to file claims and collect amounts outstanding.
If you are considering going to Dr Friedman for Buprenorphine treatment, give him a shot. Just make sure you a ready to work with him. Try to not lie to him and more importantly, don't lie to yourself. Good luck and I hope you can get clean. read more