An addiction to opiates, whether it is to prescription opiates or illegal opiates like heroin, can be quite difficult and challenging to deal with and to overcome. However, if you are ready to put in the work to regain control of your life, there are numerous different treatment options designed to help you overcome your addiction to opiates. Before you jump into the recovery process and try to kick your opiate habit cold turkey, get to know some of the different helpful medical treatment options available to you for your addiction. Then, you can be sure that you are getting the help and the care you need to quit abusing opiates once and for all.
Medical Detoxification
Medical detoxification (also commonly referred to as medical detox) is a type of opiate addiction treatment program that is designed to be the first step in a longer recovery process. This particular treatment has the primary goal of getting the opiate drugs out of your system safely and as comfortably as possible.
When you stop using opiate drugs and you are addicted to them, your body and mind go through numerous reactions. These reactions can be quite painful and uncomfortable and even dangerous (such as seizures or sudden cardiac arrest). Medical detox programs offer people the chance to have full medical supervision while going through the process of getting opiates out of their system and also can make the process more gradual with the help of prescription medications. This medical supervision helps to keep a person going through opiate detox to remain safe while doing so.
Methadone Treatment
Methadone treatment is a treatment option that is sometimes offered as a part of the medical detox process or may be a long-term treatment option in some opiate addiction cases. The idea behind this type of treatment is that opiate addicts may be more successful in overcoming their addiction if they are able to gradually taper off the effects that opiates have on their body rather than try to eliminate them all at once.
Methadone is a synthetic prescription drug that blocks the body from feeling the effects of opiates. It actually has a similar chemical makeup to opiates but is not derived from the opium plant and therefore does not cause the "high" that true opiates do. Because methadone has a similar effect in the body as true opiates without producing the high, a single dose can reduce or block out the cravings and other withdrawal symptoms an addict feels for a day or two.
Taken daily, methadone can prevent relapse in opiate addicts struggling to get and stay clean. In medical detox, this is used as a short-term solution and the doses are tapered off gradually until the recovering addict is completely methadone and opiate free. It can also be used as a long-term maintenance treatment option for patients who have had trouble remaining opiate-free in the past.
With these medical treatment options in mind, you can be sure that you are getting the right opiate addiction treatments for you and your efforts to overcome your addiction. Talk with a doctor for more information about methadone and other detox treatments.
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