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800-864-8403The Need for Methadone
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there are approximately 980,000 people in America that are addicted to opiate drugs such as heroin and Oxycontin. These people are at risk for premature death and they often suffer from diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, as well as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Moreover, it is estimated that around 5,000-10,000 injected drug users (IDUs) die of drug overdoses every year.
Many methadone treatment centers will also offer therapy to help patients recover.
When a person is dependent to an opiate drug, such as heroin, Percocet, morphine or Oxycontin, and they stop using the drug, their body will begin to go through withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms are unavoidable and can be painful for a person to go through without any help. Methadone treatment is one of the most effective ways to lesson withdrawal symptoms and to help people overcome their opiate dependency and addiction.
Methadone has the same effects as opiates do when it is in a person’s body, and therefore an individual’s body will not go through severe withdrawal symptoms when methadone is present. A person receiving methadone treatment will be provided with certain doses of the drug every day, and the doses will continually decrease to the point where the individual will no longer take methadone.
Although methadone helps to lessen the physical withdrawals of opiate detox, a person will still need to deal with the mental effects and psychological withdrawals of their detox.
Types of Treatment at a Methadone Clinic
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, methadone maintenance treatment was developed in the 1960s as a program that provided addicted individuals with daily doses of methadone, as well as emphasized on other treatments such as socialization and vocational training.
At a methadone clinic a person will detox from opiates, but also learn to regain control of their life again through therapy and socialization. Most methadone clinics will provide a patient with a therapist so that they can deal with the psychological withdrawals of their drug addiction, as well as deal with any emotional problems that they have endured from their drug addiction, such as the loss of a job and the destruction of relationships.
There are various types of therapy treatments offered from methadone clinics, the top of which is behavioral therapy, which focuses on positive reinforcement and reconditioning a person’s thought process in regards to drug usage. Group therapy and family therapy are also common types of therapy utilized to help individuals heal relationship bonds and form new ones. Many methadone clinics will also help a patient regain self-confidence and assist them with finding a job once they are ready to work again.