Methadone is a pioneering medication in opioid addiction treatment; it’s been in use since the 1940s, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and helped hundreds of people to achieve permanent recovery.
Our methadone clinic in Delaware provides doses tailored to your needs in a safe, physician-supervised environment, along with behavioral counseling and therapy to help you achieve stability in all areas of your life.
How Does Methadone Work to Fight Addiction?
Methadone is specifically formed to target the effects of opiates on the body and mind.
When you use substances containing opioids, like heroin or morphine, the opioids attach to receptors in your brain—resulting in the reward of euphoria or the “high” that comes with substance use. Over time your brain comes to rely on opioids to manufacture these positive feelings. You may find you need higher and more frequent doses of the drug to achieve the same effect. If you stop using opioids altogether, your body and brain won’t be able to work normally, and you’ll experience painful withdrawal symptoms.
Methadone has some similarities to opioids; the drug attaches to the same brain receptors that opioids do, but it works differently. If your system is used to opioids, you won’t experience a similar “high” from methadone. But since methadone follows the same brain receptors, your body and mind are still getting enough chemicals to minimize withdrawal symptoms, making opioid detox easier and safer and helping you feel more normal.
Over time, methadone changes how your brain and body respond to opioids. If you relapse and return to opioid use, you may not feel the same rewarding good feelings you once did.
Signs You May Need Methadone Treatment
Methadone clinics in Delaware have helped many people recover from drug use and thrive in sobriety, but this approach is better for some clients than others. Methadone treatment may help you if you:
- Have become dependent on opioids like heroin, oxycodone, or hydrocodone
- Are experiencing chronic pain and struggling with addiction to pain medications with opiates, like codeine or morphine
- Have tried and failed to stop using opioids on your own
- Are experiencing health problems related to opioid use
- Have taken dangerous risks or broken the law to obtain opioids
- Have needed to increase your doses of opiates to achieve the same effect
For clients who suffer from chronic pain, methadone can help control and relieve the pain while you’re working towards sobriety from opiates.
Your First Visits to a Methadone Detox Center
Methadone can only be administered at a certified clinic under the supervision of a doctor. Several hours after your last opioid use, you’ll start with a low dose of methadone to stabilize your mind and body and remain on this stabilization dose for about three days. Methadone is taken orally in tablet, pill, or liquid form. You should start to feel relief within a few hours.
After three days, your doctor will reevaluate whether the dosage amount is working. They may increase your methadone dose if you’re still experiencing pain or withdrawal symptoms. Eventually, you and your doctor will find the ideal maintenance dosage for you.
Most clients take methadone once a day at a methadone detox center (though clients using methadone for chronic pain may receive more frequent doses under medical supervision). If you’ve been stable and relapse-free on methadone for a while, you may be given a supply of medication to take at home. It’s important to take the exact amount of your prescribed dose, and not to share your medication with others.
Methadone is a safe long-term treatment, and many clients continue the medication for a year or longer. As long as methadone is helping you progress in recovery, your doctor should allow you to continue its use. If you discontinue methadone, doctors will work to safely taper you off the drug by lowering dosages gradually.
Benefits of a Methadone Treatment Program
Though methadone itself is highly regulated, methadone clinics do allow flexibility for clients. You can receive treatment on a residential or outpatient basis. Clients who live independently can visit a treatment program once a day with minimal disruption to their lives.
Methadone treatment also includes therapy, counseling, and social support, which are significant aspects of recovery. Counseling can give you insight into your behavior and help you practice healthy coping mechanisms to sustain a lifetime of recovery.
There’s plenty of evidence that methadone treatment leads to positive outcomes. Methadone is associated with:
- Higher likelihood of staying in treatment
- Better chances of maintaining employment
- Lower risk of criminal activity
- Lower risk of infectious disease transmission
Additionally, methadone is safe to take if you’re pregnant and breastfeeding, and methadone maintenance may include prenatal care.
Learn More at Lotus Recovery Centers
Recovery from opioid addiction is possible. Our methadone clinic in Prices Corner, DE offers treatment tailored to each client’s needs, including individual and group therapy. We accept Medicaid and private insurance, and we’re committed to making treatment affordable regardless of your financial situation.
If you think methadone treatment might help you or someone you love, Lotus Recovery Centers can help you take the first step. Contact us at 833.922.1615 or through our online form.
