Archive for month: January, 2018

Addiction is a disease that impacts those of us affected on a physical and psychological level. It’s not a sign of weakness, or simply a matter of self-control.

For those of us who are genetically and socially predisposed to drug use, prolonged use of any substance creates serious changes within our brain chemistry. For this reason, it’s only logical to understand methadone treatment and how it works.

These changes cause some of us to become reliant on drugs in order to maintain normal chemical levels within our brains. Opioids like heroin and prescription narcotics are particularly addictive and use of these drugs has risen to epidemic proportions.

The opioid epidemic has led to an increase in the use of maintenance medications like methadone. Methadone has been used for years in the fight against opioid addiction. It’s narcotic, but unlike more addictive drugs it works on our brains in a slightly different way.

Methadone works by plugging into our opioid receptors, stopping withdrawals, and it’s helped me to fight my drug cravings. When used correctly and under the supervision of a licensed physician, methadone has the potential to help us achieve a level of sobriety that we couldn’t otherwise reach.

What is Maintenance Medication?

Maintenance medications are medications that we take at precise intervals in order to help us maintain a certain level of comfort or health. When dealing with addiction, maintenance medications include things like methadone that help those of us suffering from addiction to achieve long-term sobriety.

Many of us suffering from opioid addiction will end up taking opiate maintenance medications for a period of over 12 months. It takes the brain a long time to recover from that level chemical dependency.

During this time the dosage of methadone may be decreased or increased to help us maintain a certain level of comfort. This has helped me to avoid withdrawal symptoms, and to cope with my stress without using illicit drugs.

Drug addiction can become a lifestyle when we’re constantly in pursuit of illegal substances and people to use them with. This is why it’s important that any type of maintenance medication accompanies a dedicated treatment program.

Taking something like methadone is only one part of the entire process. We have to want to be sober and seek help prior to any of these treatment methods becoming effective.

Ultimately, there is no magic cure for drug addiction. The only way that we can overcome the disease and achieve sobriety is through hard work and personal dedication along with the help of treatment professionals.

Who Needs Methadone?

For those of us feeling the effects of the heroin epidemic and opioid addiction, regular treatment methods may not be as effective. This is because of the chemical changes that we’ve made to our brains, and the addictive nature of these drugs.

Opioids also have the highest relapse rate of any other substance. Almost 90 percent of people who are long-term heroin users will relapse at least one after they’ve completed some sort of treatment program.

Many of us report that this is because of the extreme withdrawal symptoms that we experience when going through the detox process. Some of us are also unprepared to deal with the stresses of everyday life without seeking some outside substance to cope.

The way to combat this is a mixture of treatments combined with maintenance medications. We need to have active and ongoing therapy when trying to stop using drugs. Methadone can help some of us to avoid withdrawal symptoms that often drive us back into the arms of our drug of choice.

Methadone isn’t for everyone, but for those of us dedicated to long-term sobriety it offers a viable option. Maintenance medications can be abused when taken in excess or when sought out illegally. It’s very important that we only take these medications under the direct care of a medication-assisted treatment program run by a licensed physician.

What are Methadone Treatment Programs?

When some of us who are addicted to opioids attempt to stop using the drugs we may experience withdrawal symptoms or severe drug cravings. Withdrawals only last until the brain is able to compensate for the chemical imbalance.

Unfortunately, this can take a prolonged period of time for those of us who have been longtime drug users. Drug cravings can continue to strike even years after the actual drug abuse is stopped.

These are often in response to a stressful situation. Some of us may turn to drugs as a coping mechanism when we’re unsure of how to deal with the situation in our lives.

Those of us who actively and appropriately taking maintenance medications will be able to stop these uncomfortable opiate withdrawals from occurring and be able to fight the drug cravings more effectively. This is because the methadone works by filling some of the opioid receptors within our brains.

As the medication is metabolized, it emulates our naturally occurring feel-good chemicals. At the same time, it’s filling the receptors that would naturally absorb these chemicals, returning the body to a feeling of normalcy.

This results in an elevated level of these chemicals in our brains that are present for a longer period of time. This allows us to feel normal without experiencing the euphoria of drug use.

Methadone provides a safer alternative than illicit drugs and does so at a controlled rate.

What is a Medication Assisted Treatment Program?

A medication-assisted treatment program is a regime that’s overseen by the government and a group of licensed physicians. These programs are dedicated to providing these types of maintenance medications to those of us who are fighting addiction.

These programs have to be carefully monitored in order to make sure that all of us are receiving only our required dose each day. It is possible to abuse maintenance medications, and this has led to a need for extended supervision.

After a certain period of time in which we’ve successfully taken these medications, a physician might give us a prescription to take home on a short-term basis. Most of us will not be given these medications to take in their home unless they are being administered by a trusted family member and kept under lock and key.

Is Methadone Right for You?

Methadone has been used with great success in the fight against the opioid epidemic. It’s important to remember that each and every one of us experiences addiction in a very different way. Not all of us will need the same combination of treatments and methods to achieve sobriety.

If you or a loved one are experiencing an addiction to opioids, contact (855) 976-2092. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help. There are options out there that can help you to start living your life again.

Sources

NIDA. (2018, June 8). Medications to Treat Opioid Use Disorder. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/medications-to-treat-opioid-use-disorder on 2019, February 14

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2015, September 28). Methadone. Retrieved from samhsa.gov: https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment/treatment/methadone

The New York Times. (2019). Opioid Epidemic. Retrieved from nytimes.com: https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/opioid-epidemic

During the 1960s, there was a surge of heroin abuse in this country. So much so, in fact, that it became a public health problem. During those days, addiction was seen as a lifestyle choice associated with criminal and antisocial behavior. In 1962, however, Vincent P. Dole, a Rockefeller researcher, started to look at it as an unresolved health problem as part of his role as New York City’s Health Research Council’s chairman. He was the first to propose that addiction is a disease, and particularly a metabolic disease that manifested in behavior.

“The most important principle to recognize is that addiction is a medical disease. And, as a medical disease, it’s the responsibility of the medical profession.”

So committed was Dole to understanding the problem that he made it the sole focus of his laboratory research. Prior to this, his focus was on metabolism and obesity. However, he felt he needed to devise a pharmacological approach to treating the chronic illness of heroin addiction. This eventually resulted into the development of the Methadone Maintenance Treatment, or MMT.

The Development of MMT

By the end of 1963, Dole attracted clinical investigator Mary Jeanne Kreek and psychiatrist Marie Nyswander to his research project. Together, they conducted a study of heroin addiction at the Rockefeller University Hospital. Within six months, they understood the potential of MMT, moving away from the concept of using methadone for short term detox option only.

What the team’s study showed was that there are a number of key benefits of methadone maintenance treatment. “It’s not a perfect medication, it’s not without side effects, and it’s not for everyone – but methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) offers significant advantages over the use of heroin or the illicit abuse of prescription opiates. If you or someone you love needs help for an opiate addiction, methadone maintenance treatment deserves consideration.”

Specifically, the study found that:

• Methadone reduces heroin cravings.
• Methadone stops withdrawal symptoms.
• Methadone is non-euphoric, meaning people do not get high from it. This effect is known as “narcotic blockade”.
• Methadone only needs to be taken once per day.

The study conducted by Dole and his team was repeated by others with similar results. Long term studies were also conducted, and those were pivotal in the FDA approval of the drug in 1972, which was when methadone started to become an official treatment option.

“For nearly three decades, methadone hydrochloride (6-dimethylamino-4, 4-diphenyl-3-heptanone hydrochloride) has been the primary means of treating opiate addiction. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1947 for analgesic and antitussive uses, methadone was shown to be effective in treating opiate addiction in the mid-1960s and was approved by FDA for this use in late 1972.”

Of interest is also the fact that Mary Jeanne Kreek developed a method to analyze and measure levels of opioids and methadone in the blood and tissue. It was this that enabled researchers to understand the long-acting properties of the drug. The team truly changed the way addiction is treated.

Did They Do Enough?

Today, MMT continues to be controversial. That said, it is also accepted as the most effective form of addiction treatment. Additionally, the trend and use of Methadone is increasing.

“While the number of facilities with OTPs has remained constant at around 1,100 to 1,200 since 2003 (8 to 9 percent of all substance abuse treatment facilities), the number of clients receiving methadone on the survey reference date increased from about 227,000 in 2003 to over 306,000 in 2011.”

It is believed that around one million people around the world now use MMT to help combat their opiate addiction. While this is just a fraction of the number of people who suffer from an opiate addiction, this is mainly due to barriers to access the treatment, rather than due to the ineffectiveness of MMT.

For their work, Dole and Nyswander received the first ever National Drug Abuse Conference annual award in 1978. By 1982, the New York Urban Coalition, the Committee of Methadone Program Administrators, and the New York State Division of Substance Abuse Services started the Nyswander-Dole Award, which continues to be hosted by the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD), Inc.

Medication-Assisted Treatment

“AATOD has been the number one advocate, resource, and trainer for the field of medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction since its inception. Given today’s challenges, that role is more important than ever and AATOD continues to enthusiastically accept those challenges for all of us in the field; patients, medical staff, clinicians, researchers, manufacturers, and regulators.”

Thanks to the work of Dr. Dole and his team, there has been a tremendous increase in the understanding of addiction. While MMT is still controversial and certainly not accepted by all, it is undeniable that it has helped hundreds of thousands of people the world over. What is perhaps even more vital is Dr. Dole’s overall legacy.

“The underlying theme in Dr. Vincent P. Dole’s work is the effect of metabolism on behavior. This led to groundbreaking investigations at The Rockefeller University in electrophoresis, lipids, obesity, addiction, and the development of methadone maintenance in 1964 with his late wife, Dr. Marie E. Nyswander. Dr. Mary Jeanne Kreek, a research resident in his laboratory in 1964, is now continuing addiction research as a professor at Rockefeller. Dole developed methadone detoxification in the New York City jail system and office-based methadone medical maintenance with Nyswander. His major concern was to resolve the stigma that methadone patients encounter.”

Methadone Success Rates

Unfortunately, the stigma of addiction still exists. Nevertheless, there is now greater acceptance of the concept that addiction is not a lifestyle choice nor a sign of weakness. People with addiction are victims of circumstances and develop a disease for which the medical community must provide treatment.

There continue to be significant failings that perpetuate the stigmatization of addicts, particularly through the criminal justice system. The focus is on incarceration, hoping that people will magically come out of the system “cured” and free from substances.

In reality, most addicts who enter the system come out just as addicted as before. Fortunately, it’s possible to beat your addiction and start living free from the chains of the disease, contact (855) 976-2092 to learn more.

Sources