What Is Methadone?

What is Methadone? Methadone is something that has been used for treatment of narcotic withdrawal and dependence. It has been used for a long time and it is usually used under a physician’s guidance.

Methadone is used to treat things such as heroin and other opiate addictions. These addictions are often very hard for a person to shake on their own, so with the help of methadone, some addicts are able to bypass the symptoms of withdrawal that might make them too sick and then they are able to make a fuller recovery. The person does become dependent on the methadone, but there are no highs that are associated with this; and therefore the person is able to function while on the methadone and they do not experience the major highs and lows that a drug user will experience.

Methadone is taken once a day and it suppresses the narcotic withdrawal symptoms for a day or more. It eliminates the symptoms so well that many times methadone is used in order to help an opiate addict through detox and withdrawal. Most people think that they can use methadone for any type of drug addiction.  However, it is only effective when someone is addicted to heroin, morphine or other drugs that are opiates. It is not an effective treatment for other types of drugs. This is where many people have it wrong because it cannot be used for drugs like cocaine.

Methadone Helps With Withdrawal from Heroin and Other Opiates

Methadone is able to reduce the cravings that are usually associated with heroin use, and therefore the high of heroin is blocked from the user. Most often, patients who take methadone do not experience the extreme highs and lows that usually result from the heroin going through their bodies. They are fine with this because they have usually done so much heroin that they no longer feel the highs that are associated with that drug.

However, they remain physically dependent on the methadone, which means they are still addicted to a substance. It’s just not as dangerous as the drug they were addicted to.

There will come a point when a person is healthy enough to stop using the methadone. This might be something that takes a long time. Coming off of the methadone might actually take a couple of years; but eventually a person must manage to get through the withdrawal from methadone. This can also be a trying time for a person but is often much easier to get through than the withdrawal from a substance such as heroin, which can be much worse. Addiction treatment programs have closely supervised withdrawal programs for heroin and methadone.

A problem might occur with methadone when someone uses it in a way that it is not intended. If it is used under a physician’s care, there are not going to be any problems that are associated with the use of methadone. However, if a person decides that they are going to abuse methadone, and like most other drug abuse situations, there can be serious complications and side effects.

Sometimes a person will believe that since one dose of methadone was so effective, two will be even more so. When a person takes more methadone than they are supposed to, the chemicals in it are going to build up in their bodies and they are going to see the same negative effects that they would be seeing if they were still using their drugs.

It is also dangerous to stop methadone without the advice of a doctor. Methadone also creates an addiction, so you need to be taken off of this by a doctor and it is not something you should ever do on your own. In order to correctly stop using methadone, you need to take a look at your life and figure out how it is best to cut down. The doctor will help you gradually cut back on methadone until you are not taking it at all.

Contact Us Immediately Before It’s Too Late

If you or someone you love has a drug addiction and you are seeking help, contact us immediately and ask for more information on what is methadone.