How Methadone Treatment Centers Help in Opiate Detox
The media presents a skewed view of methadone treatment centers. Many methadone treatment centers are nothing like what you see on television. Without these centers, many people addicted to opiates would not be able to detox from this highly addictive drug. In order to understand how a treatment center helps opiate addicts, you have to understand how methadone works, what it does, and why going to a treatment center is the right choice.
Explanation of Methadone
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, methadone is a synthetic opioid agonist. This means when you take this drug it prevents the majority of the withdrawal symptoms associated with opiate addiction. It is a cost effective way to safely get off opiates.
To find an opiate addiction treatment center call 800-315-1376 (Who Answers?). We can help you find the treatment that is right for you.
What Methadone Does for you
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Department, methadone changes the way the brain and nervous system perceives pain. This means it alleviates the symptoms of painful opiate withdrawal. It also blocks the high that you would ordinarily get from taking an opiate. People on methadone have:
- an improved ability to function because they are no longer in pain or withdrawal
- less desire to take an opiate to get high
- diminished or absent withdrawal symptoms
- once the dosage is correct, a stability that they would not have on opiates
Methadone relieves opiate withdrawal symptoms so you can function normally.
All of these are benefits of methadone. You can only take advantage of these benefits by going to a methadone treatment center or a drug treatment center that uses methadone to treat chronic pain or withdrawal.
What a Treatment Center Does
Since methadone is a highly controlled substance, a specialized physician has to provide it daily at first. Most methadone patients are not allowed to take the methadone home when they first start treatment. A treatment center gives you a place to go and get the methadone on a daily basis until you are stable enough for a doctor to prescribe it on a take home basis.
Treatment centers also offer:
- individual counseling
- group counseling
- 12 step programs
- medical evaluation for chronic pain and mental illness
- medications for other underlying disorders
- treatment for issues caused by the use of opiates
- help with community support services if needed
- family therapy if necessary
Methadone treatment centers are often the hub of opiate addiction treatment. They come in both inpatient and outpatient varieties and usually have both physicians and counselors on staff to help with any problems that arise during methadone treatment.
Why go to a Methadone Treatment Center?
Methadone is a very powerful drug and only a small part of overall addiction treatment. A methadone treatment center can provide you with both the methadone for your withdrawal symptoms and treatment for the actual addiction to opiates.
For more information or to find a treatment center that works for you call 800-315-1376 (Who Answers?).
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