Methadone and Methadone Detox

Before we dig into what methadone detox is, let us first learn what Methadone addiction is.

Many opiate addicts turn to methadone with the best intentions. At times it is a last ditch effort to get clean. The sad reality is methadone is simply replacing one addiction for another. Many addicts end up staying on methadone for prolonged periods of time or begin taking it with other drugs. This doesn’t have to be the way of life for a recovering opiate addict. It is possible to be free from all addictive substances. At Summer House, medication is dispensed in a slow, gradual method until the patient is freed of their methadone addiction.

Signs of Withdrawal

Methadone withdrawal is just as horrific, if not more so, than opiate withdrawal. This is because methadone is slower and longer acting in its effects on the brain. Symptoms include, but are not limited to sneezing, body aches, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, fever, tremors, excessive perspiration, tearing of the eyes, and irritability. Many continue with methadone maintenance for fear of the withdrawal that will occur when they stop.

After several days of stabilizing a patient with methadone, the amount can be gradually decreased. The rate at which it is decreased is dependent on the reaction of the individual keeping Methadone withdrawal symptoms at a tolerable level is the goal.

The Solution

While an addict’s intentions may have been good when deciding to begin a methadone detox program, most feel discouraged from the cross addiction that takes place when replacing opiates with methadone. No addict wishing to seek freedom from addiction should be forced to continue living on a methadone maintenance program. It’s simply exchanging one addiction for another. There is a way out. Summer House provides a thorough and successful detoxification process giving methadone users freedom to reclaim their lives.

Why is methadone detox necessary?

When methadone detox treatment originated, it was to be a 20-day process to help ease the pain of withdrawal from opiate addiction. Today these treatment clinics are run based on their financial success. They base their success on profit from their customers. Think about it this way, if a methadone clinic is licensed to treat 200 individuals and they are currently only treating 199, you are not going to get off methadone. This is due to the fact that they need you as a customer. Their twisted outlook on helping fight the battle of drug addiction is atrocious. How can one possibly conceive that the trading of opiate addiction for methadone addiction is a step in the right direction? Methadone detox treatment clinics claim that they help reduce the spread of HIV and Hepatitis because their customers receive their “treatment” orally. This is a very naive philosophy, having done an extended amount of research it is known that many of these individuals not only inject the methadone they receive but abuse other drugs as well or trade their doses for other drugs like heroin.