Will a Methadone Program Change My Life?

Methadone maintenance programs actually have the effect of changing your life for the better without taking you away from everything that matters. With methadone maintenance, you can help yourself get back on track from opioid addiction and still be able to live your life.

How Will a Methadone Program Change My Life?

According to Harvard Medical School, “More than 100,000 American addicts are now using methadone as a maintenance treatment.” While it does have its controversies, “this practice has better scientific support than any other treatment for any kind of drug or alcohol addiction.” Because of this, a methadone program is bound to change your life by helping you get back on track from your addiction and be able to stop abusing opioids.

The CDC actually states that there are many benefits to methadone programs that patients can expect to see. For example, methadone maintenance programs “reduced or stopped use of injection drugs” in many of its patients. The program can also:

Methadone can help you get back to being a productive, happy person.

• Reduce the risk of overdose
• Reduce the risk of “acquiring or transmitting diseases” like:
  • HIV
  • Hepatitis B or C
  • Bacterial infections
  • Endocarditis
  • Soft tissue infections
  • Thrombophlebitis
  • Tuberculosis
  • STDs
• Reduce mortality caused by overdose and other opioid addiction issues
• Possibly reduce sexual risk behaviors
• Improve the outcome of pregnancy in heroin and opioid addicts
• Reduce addiction-related crime

Harvard Medical School states that individuals who attend methadone programs are also more likely to be “less depressed… hold down a job and maintain a family life.” Methadone programs can certainly change your life in many beneficial ways, allowing to recover the life you lived before addiction. You will also be healthier, safer, and less likely to see other problems arise as a result of your heroin or other opioid addiction.

Methadone programs help individuals reduce the problems in their lives which stem from opioid addiction. It can be very beneficial and it can change your life. However, the other side of methadone maintenance can allow you to keep the parts of your life which you may not want to change.

How Can I Attend a Methadone Program and Still Live My Life?

Most methadone maintenance programs are a part of outpatient facilities, where an individual can attend treatment during the day and be home at night. This is just one ways you can receive your treatment without having to change your life very much. You can still be home with your family, support system, or children and be able to be treated for opioid addiction.

The CDC lists some of the ways that methadone maintenance can work within your life. Methadone:

• “Blocks the euphoric and sedating effects of opiates”
• Only needs to be taken once a day
• “Relieves the craving for opiates that is a major factor in relapse”
• Doesn’t cause the kind of euphoria or intoxication that other opioids my cause (as long as the dosing is done correctly)
• Helps to relieve the symptoms of opioid withdrawal

Because you do not usually have to attend inpatient treatment, you can go on living your daily life while receiving methadone treatment and you can adjust your treatment around your schedule. But a methadone program will also change your life in many ways for the better.