Does the Morph Device Really Kill Withdrawal?
If it weren’t for withdrawal, a majority of addicts would walk away from opioids in a nanosecond. But the pain and discomfort is so debilitating, they end up doing anything simply to prevent it from happening. In fact, most addicts are chasing their “high” simply so they won’t be brought low. Well, word is the Morph Device can change all that. And no, we’re not kidding around.
Brought to market by New Orleans-based Therapeutic Neuromodulation Systems, the Morph Device gets temporarily implanted behind a person’s ear and helps ease them through detox.
“I think these neuromodulation devices that can be very effective and helpful to people,” Dr. Bryant George told WDSU’s Travers Mackel.
In fact, the Metairie-based neurosurgeon has been behind the device since the FDA approved it back in 2018.
Dr. George wanted to be perfectly clear about one thing though:
“The Morph device is not a cure for opioid addiction. It’s a cure for withdrawal symptoms, and that’s the key to get people to the next stage of treatment.”
Okay. But if it can overcome one of recovery’s most burdensome hurdles, why isn’t it being widely used?
100% Drug and Opioid-free
Great question. Especially considering the Morph Device is 100% drug and opioid-free.
Dr. Dennis Tracey wants to know what’s what with all that too. So much so that he’s even willing to have his Big Easy Medical help switch up the scenario.
“It’s the fix that everyone wants to cure this opioid addiction problem we’re dealing with,” said Tracey.
Now Big Easy Medical is basically going door-to-door, pitching the Morph as an alternative to opioids for medical professionals.
“Therapeutic Neuromodulation Systems are definitely on the forefront,” said Tracey. “There is only one other company in the country that is doing this — so it’s put New Orleans and the medical community here in the vanguard.”
The Morph Device: How it Works
The Morph Device website sounds about as promising as it gets:
A Compassionate and Effective Detox Solution
The Morph Device offers opioid-dependent patients a 100% drug-free way to withdrawal. The device is cleared by the FDA to help significantly reduce the painful symptoms of opioid withdrawal. The Morph Device is a small electrical nerve stimulator placed behind a patient’s ear. It stimulates the cranial nerves in the ear to aid in the reduction of withdrawal symptoms.
The Morph Device is a percutaneous nerve field stimulator (PNFS). Once implanted, the device causes electrical stimulation which enhances the release of neuropeptides in patient’s central nervous system. These neuropeptides then bind with specific receptors to alleviate the physical symptoms of withdrawal.
Then things really get interesting – and understandable:
The Morph Device has a 10-day lifespan, and it can achieve more a 60% reduction in withdrawal after just 20 minutes of use. Better yet, it can provide an 80% reduction of withdrawal within an hour. That’s right. A reported 80% reduction in withdrawal symptoms within 60 minutes.
Important details about the Morph Device
Since the Morph is a physician-prescribed device, it’s not directly available to the public. And since it’s categorized as a Class II medical device designed specifically for patients with cardiac pacemakers, hemophilia and psoriasis vulgaris, it hasn’t really reached the addiction treatment market.
There also are apparently some risk of rare side effects, including skin irritation, bleeding or infection at the implantation site, pain at the implantation site, sore ear, allergic reactions to the tape/adhesive, fainting or dizziness. And any patients taking blood thinning medications or those with bleeding disorders or psoriasis in or around the ear are disqualified from using the device.
What’s in the Morph?
The site says the Morph Device consists of a battery powered externally affixed generator, three wire leads attached to three electrode/needle arrays and one ground wire. These leads are inserted into the left ear, controlling 85% of the brains ability to transmit pain symptoms, through application to branches of Cranial Nerves V, VII, IX and X.
The exact location of the implantation is identified by an ear map included in the programming box, an impedance meter, knowledge of auricular neuroanatomy and visualization of the neurovascular bundles.
Got it? Good.
Ashley’s Morph Device Story
This clip will provide some idea about how the Morph Device works. It stars Ashley, who detoxed using the Morph after a dozen years of prescription drug abuse and a further five years on 50mg of Methadone. Anyone who knows anything about opioids will know that folks don’t walk away from that much addiction without a whole lotta serious pain and agony. As you’ll see, it took Ashley 17 days and two different devices, but she did it.
All for the Morph
If the Morph Device does indeed deliver on its promises, Healing Properties is all for it. Then again, who wouldn’t want to back a drug-free way to detox? After all, we’ve seen what subs and bupes and methadone can do to a person. Heck, sometime it’s harder to kick MAT than it is the opioids from the street. And if the Morph Device can get even a fraction of America’s addicts into recovery, we’re there!
Again though, why has it taken so long to come to market? Could it be because pharmaceutical companies are making money from methadone and subs? Let’s not forget Narcan, which has become a veritable goldmine for Emergent Solutions. And while the company is supposed is supposed to set a lower OTC price, it’ll still be racking in the loot.
Yeah, yeah, we know. Narcan saves lives. In fact, it’s become an indispensable fact of our lives. Wouldn’t it be fantastic though if we didn’t need to stop people from overdosing anymore?
If you’re ready to get outta the opioid racket, give us a ring. We’ll help get you sorted pronto. No foolin.’
