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Opiate Addiction Treatment Options
Methadone & Buprenorphine
Methadone
"Of the various treatments available, methadone maintenance treatment, combined with attention to medical, psychiatric and socioeconomic issues, as well as drug counseling, has the highest probability of being effective."
— 1997 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Panel
Methadone treatment provides opiate-dependent patients with medication, health, social and rehabilitation services that relieve withdrawal symptoms, reduce physiological cravings and allow body functions to return to normal. Available since 1967, methadone treatment has been confirmed effective in a number of scientific studies.
Patients receive their medication from qualified health professionals and routinely meet with a primary counselor (social worker, caseworker or certified substance abuse counselor), attend treatment groups and access medical and social services.
Methadone is not a substitute for opioids or any other short-acting opiate and does not affect individuals in the same way. Unlike the disruptive nature of short-acting chemicals on the brain, methadone has long-acting properties that provide metabolic stability. What’s more, when taken as prescribed, long-term administration of methadone causes no adverse effects to the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, blood, bones, brain or other vital body organs.
Buprenorphine
The Drug Addiction and Treatment Act of 2000 allows physicians who meet certain requirements to treat opioid addiction with FDA- approved narcotic medications, such as buprenorphine.
Unlike methadone, which must be dispensed under supervision at drug treatment clinics, buprenorphine is available by prescription at local pharmacies and can be taken anywhere by dissolving a pill under the tongue. Buprenorphine is designed to ease withdrawal and satisfy cravings without the rush of abused opioid drugs. It can be used to treat addiction to pain killers such as OxyContin, Vicodin or codeine, as well as heroin, and can be as effective as methadone in most cases.
Compared with other medications such as methadone, buprenorphine causes weaker opiate effects and is less likely to cause overdose problems. Buprenorphine also produces a lower level of physical dependence, so patients who discontinue the medication generally have fewer withdrawal symptoms. Because of these advantages, buprenorphine may be appropriate for use in a wider variety of treatment settings than currently available medications.*
*Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH Publication Number 05-4165. Printed October 1997; Reprinted September 2000, Revised May 2005.