Methadone Addiction

Methadone

Methadone is a common pain medication used for the treatment of opiate withdrawal and dependence. Methadone is administered in a doctor’s office or rehab clinic setting and has been used to treat opiate addictions for over 30 years. Methadone is commonly given to struggling heroin addicts, as well as those addicted to over the counter pain killers like oxycontin, oxycodone, percocet, morphine and vicodin. Methadone works by occupying opioid receptors in the brain which in turn stabilizes any withdrawal symptoms the opiate addict may be experiencing.

Methadone is to be taken once a day orally, and typically suppresses opiate withdrawal symptoms for the next 24-36 hours. Methadone is thought to be quite effective in treating and eliminating opiate withdrawal symptoms, and has been used successfully by many opiate addicts as a detoxifying agent. However, Methadone is not without its drawbacks.

Methadone Addiction

One of Methadone’s major drawbacks is that it comes with a high risk of addiction and dependency. While this may sound ironic since its primary function is to help detoxify patients from an opiate addiction, it too can have a similar addictive effect if not used properly. This is because Methadone is a full synthetic opioid agonist, just like heroin, morphine, and oxycontin. While Methadone is less addictive than these other drugs, they both have similar opiate effects, which have caused many patients to lapse back to heroin use or become addicted to Methadone itself. Another problem with Methadone maintenance treatment is that if the drug is abused it can have similar overdose effects to heroin, such as respiratory depression, which can be fatal.

Methadone vs. Suboxone Treatment

Suboxone is a similar drug to Methadone and is widely considered to be a safer and less addictive alternative. This is because Suboxone is only a partial opioid agonist, compared to Methadone’s full opioid agonist effects. This results in a less intense high, and if taken in small enough doses, it’s possible not to even notice any effect at all. This can be beneficial to struggling opiate addicts, because not only does Suboxone help ease any withdrawal effects they might be having, but it doesn’t produce the same overwhelming high that a drug like Methadone does.

Suboxone is widely considered safer than Methadone and comes with fewer side effects. Suboxone also has a built in ceiling effect, which means that the more Suboxone you take will not result in an increased high or feeling of euphoria. Methadone on the other hand, has no ceiling effect, which makes it more susceptible to abuse and overdose. On the other hand Methadone is cheaper than Suboxone and is also more widely available. For more information on Suboxone vs. Methadone treatment please contact us at (866) 531-4569.