Rust opens practice to help addicts achieve sobriety

SANDPOINT — When Robert Rust set up his first medical practice at Bonners Ferry in 1971, he was a Vietnam veteran with a young family.

 Now, almost 40 years later, Rust is setting up a new practice. But this time, his services are much more specialized. Now that Rust is retired from general medicine, he’s focusing on alleviating a very particular ailment — addiction.

“Patients undergoing withdrawal symptoms can have a very difficult time breaking free from their addiction,” Rust said. “Fortunately, there are some steps patients can take medically to ease the process.”

One of the most powerful tools at Rust’s disposal is the ability to write prescriptions for the drug Suboxone. A drug that requires special certifications to prescribe, Suboxone is a semi-synthetic opioid that is frequently used to minimize withdrawal symptoms for individuals addicted to opiates like heroin or morphine. Because the drug is highly binding to the neurological receptors that receive stimulation from opiates, it can reduce cravings in patients undergoing addiction treatment.

After using Suboxone to overcome his heroin addiction, actor and comedian Artie Lang called the drug a “miracle pill.” But Rust said that the medication doesn’t guarantee success.   

“Suboxone certainly increases a patient’s chances of success,” he said. “But it’s most effective when paired with counseling.”

According to Rust, it’s essential that addicts in treatment have a clear understanding of their recovery process. Even with chemically-addictive substances like opiates, treatment requires as much mental as physical fortitude. Patients need to have a clear perception of the boundaries on their path to sobriety.

“A lot of the success in curing addiction comes from the patient’s desire to get better,” Ruse said.

Rust first cut his teeth in the field when one of his retiring colleagues asked him to take over his patients battling addiction. With several years of his experience under his belt, he hopes to transform his new practice into a lifeline for troubled individuals in Bonner County.

Currently, Rust works on Tuesdays or by special appointment from his office in Urgent Care. He’s working on expanding the practice by earning his full license as an addiction physician and expanding beyond opiate addictions. With meth addiction a nationwide problem, Rust intends to study its most effective treatments. Beyond chemically-addictive substances, he also wants to address process addictions like gambling.

“I’m trying to broaden my scope,” he said. “It’s important that we increase the resources for addicts in Bonner County.”