Do you think methadone works for the heroin addict?!
Question:
Do you think methadone works for the heroin addict?
Answers:
More than 25 years of research shows that methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is the most effective known treatment for opiate addiction.
http://www.drugabuse.gov/medadv/00/nr3-7...
That said, there can be complicating factors for opiate addicted persons that may make it harder for some to get full benefits from methadone therapy.
1) Co-ocurring mental illness. People with bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders and personality disorders may have difficulty organizing their lives to adhere to the discipline of getting their daily dose. It's in the nature of these conditions. Many methadone clinics are aware of this and have extra services to help people with co-ocurring disorders.
2) Uncertainty about whether or not to quit using. If people miss the high, then they're not going to like methadone. Once you're on a stable dose, you won't get high on opiates.
3) Medical complications. People with kidney disease may not be able to take methadone. This is not a common condition amongst opiate addicts, so it doesn't affect as many as, say, a medication that has to be processed through the liver.
4) Inadequate finances or lack of insurance. Not all health insurance policies cover MMT. Many do, however. If yours does not, or if you don't have insurance and can't pay for MMT on your own, check with your state department of public health to see if there are other options. Or maybe the clinic has free care. Methadone is actually a very inexpensive drug, which is probably why so many insurance policies cover MMT.
Do NOT just buy methadone off the street for self-detox. You won't know what dose to take. Using methadone along with other substances like alcohol or benzos can be very dangerous; you can overdose or go into respiratory arrest.
I used to work at a methadone clinic. I was a skeptic until I saw how many people were able to turn their lives around on MMT. Not everyone is on it long-term. In the year I worked there, several of our patients were able to wean off MMT -- very slowly -- and stay clean. These were people who had gone back to college, repaired relations with their families, gotten steady jobs.