Methadone Treatment

What is Methadone?

Methadone is a synthetic opiate, originally created to simulate the mechanism of heroin and other opiates in the body. The purpose? To help the body beat addiction to street drugs and opioid-based prescription drug addiction by mimicking and replacing the addictive substance, allowing for a monitored maintenance or slow and safe detox and withdrawal.

Methadone Treatment Articles

What are Methadone Treatment Options?

There are two types of methadone treatment: one is for chronic pain management and the other is for opiate and opioid-based prescription drug addiction maintenance. The difference is significant. Methadone prescribed for opiate addiction management is heavily restricted under the Controlled Substances Act. This means that most who use methadone for addiction maintenance must travel to the clinic to get their dose each day and take it under supervision. Only after an arbitrary number of months in the program, group meetings and counseling sessions are patients able to get 'take-homes' or doses for the following day, a few days or-at most-six days. Most clinics require patients to come in at least once a week.

What are the Alternatives to Methadone Treatment?

Meditox provides a bright alternative to methadone treatment thanks to a drug called buprenorphine. In the form of two prescriptions, Subutex and Suboxone, both approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the office-based treatment of opiate and opioid-based prescription drug addiction, Meditox has developed another way to break physical drug addiction.

How is Meditox Different?

Meditox is an outpatient program, which means that it does not require the 30 day to six month long stay at a residential treatment facility. It is also unique from traditional outpatient drug treatment facilities in that it does not require that you attend classes, group meetings or counseling. Though we encourage our patients to explore 12-step meetings or private therapy if they choose, it is in no way incumbent upon them to do so.

The only time commitment required at Meditox is a single appointment at the beginning of your treatment. During this appointment, you will undergo a thorough evaluation to make sure that our program is suited to your particular circumstance. If all sides agree to that it is a fit, your next step will be to develop a treatment plan with your Meditox doctor. This plan will include a prescription for either Subutex or Suboxone and a step-by-step process for you to follow on your own that may find you completely drug-free in as few as six weeks.

A Brighter Tomorrow

At Meditox, the treatment is goal is abstinence, a life free from physical dependency upon opiates and opioid-based prescriptions. If you're looking for the freedom to handle your addiction issues in the privacy of your own home, call 888-MEDITOX today and make an appointment.

Methadone Addiction Treatments

In terms of chemical structure, methadone is the simplest compound that is an opioid. It has a very long half-life in the body, but still binds to the same sites in the brain as do other opioids. That means that it has had a history as both an effective drug treatment and as a painkiller.

Morphine has been most frequently used to wean people off dependencies to more potent narcotics. This treatment works for both illegal and prescription opioids, and has been the cornerstone of opiate detox for many years. Although the patient then becomes dependent on the methadone, it is considered an improvement in quality of life due to the fact that methadone does not create any "high."

Methadone has recently become popular among physicians as a painkiller. When chronic pain patients don't respond to weaker painkillers, methadone can be prescribed. It makes a good alternative to opioids like morphine that have shorter half-lives and more dramatic "highs," but methadone's use as a painkiller is tempered by the fact that it does create a dependency when regularly dosed.

From both uses come a large number of people who require a daily does of morphine. This requirement is not just psychological, but biologically as well. The good news for these people is that you can put an end to methadone dependency with our safe, effective, and confidential treatment from Meditox. Over half of our patients come to us seeking to end their methadone addiction, and more than 80% of our patients successfully kick the habit.

If you feel that Meditox might be the right solution for you or your loved one, please call us for a toll-free and private consultation:

Additional Resources

Federal Regulation of Methadone Treatment
Government expands methadone treatment
PROGRAM FOR HEROIN ADDICTS

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“Today is week #5! I have my life back, this morning my husband told me he hadn't seen me like this in three years! My daughter told me "your back Mom"! My Fybromyalgia is down to 2 to 3 percent of what it was, I am fully able to live with the Joy and Love and Laughter which has always been my way.”

Mother, Real Estate Agent, 49
August 11, 2006

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