(left to right) Lærke Demant Lade-Foged, Founder and CEO Silvia Meyer and Michelle Barloese. photo courtesy of PRNewsfoto/Rebound Pro A/S
COPENHAGEN — The Danish team behind the new app, which is part of the Rebound program in Denmark, invites patients from all nations to join forces and give feedback to the current version of their app, so they can provide patients and health professionals an advanced withdrawal program called Rebound Pro in the summer of 2018.
The soft version of the app launched today, and is part of program development that seeks to prevent and decrease the epidemic rise of people getting addicted to medicine, having withdrawal injuries, relapses and overdoses due to failed and unsupervised withdrawal processes, from medicine they have relied on for months and/or years.
According to Rebound, withdrawals from opioid painkillers, antidepressants and benzodiazepines affects the lives and health of millions of individuals each year, but the focus on this critical stage of medicine discontinuation is lacking.
“Despite the continuously growing usage of antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and especially strong opioid painkillers — in [the] USA alone between 43 – 50 percent of the population above the age of 12, are on prescription medicine. There is no research supported method or individual support available to patients that reduce and withdraw from medication where the body experiences severe withdrawal symptoms,” Founder and CEO Silvia Meyer said.
Meyer explained, “The current practice of health care today is expecting patients on high-risk medication and antidepressants, to taper off on their own without being supported by an individual protocol, regular follow-ups, communication and monitoring. It’s against common knowledge and beyond reason that this can be so with the technology we have today. We believe that the withdrawal period, it’s the direct cause of many relapses, overdoses and injuries that come along with a failed withdrawal.”
When quitting high-risk medicine, the experience of a recurrence of severe physical or psychological symptoms and withdrawals, can be extremely hard and for many, a reason to not quit and stay on medication.
Rebound Pharmacy Withdrawal is the first app version of the program developed by previous patients in collaboration with specialists within the field of medicine and drug addiction.
Meyer has personally struggled with medicine and opioid addiction for 14 years. It took many attempts, before discontinuation was possible and recovery succeeded since 2007.
In 2012, she established the NGO Addiction Association Misbrugsportalen to support people and families affected by drugs and medicine through social impact projects.
With a team of five professionals and in collaboration with previous patients, she founded the startup health/tech venture, Rebound Pro A/S, to develop the Rebound Program motivated by the millions of patients across the world that are affected by side effects, withdrawal injuries and medicine addiction each year.
This will give patients control and insight into their own progress. In the app they can measure, evaluate and track their well-being and daily withdrawal symptoms and keep a diary all in one place.
“This program will not only benefit patients in the future, but [healthcare] professionals as well, when doctors are able to access patients individual progress, and thereby follow, support and adjust the dosage according to their symptoms and well-being,” said Meyer.
You can download the released soft version here and be part of influencing the next version by joining the team https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LSGCRNQ.
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