Millions of people use heroin each year, and about a quarter of them will eventually become addicted to it. They need assistance to stop using. As it turns out, medication may be one of the best ways. Methadone detox is an effective means of detoxification that allows patients to avoid withdrawal symptoms while they work on minimizing the effects of their addiction.
Why Methadone?
When some people consider the idea of taking methadone detox to decrease their dependence on an illicit drug, they wonder if they are just exchanging one addictive drug for another. While this may be true for some drugs, it is not the case for methadone. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) notes that heroin users have a particularly difficult time breaking free of heroin addiction because the use of the drug provides a very quick and brief high. Before they realize it, they are on their way back down again and the cravings for more heroin begin.
Methadone Detox
Methadone detox stops this cycle in its tracks. First, methadone is a synthetic opioid agonist, which means that people who use it get the full sense of the opioid. However, methadone detox has a few more things going for it. First, it dulls the cravings that people feel when they start to get withdrawal from heroin. Second, it makes using illicit drugs ineffective. So if you take methadone and then shoot heroin, you will not feel quite the same effect from the heroin. The result is that the heroin is less appealing and easier for you to avoid using it.
Painless Detox From Heroin
The point of methadone is to increase the success of a methadone detox from heroin, according to NIDA. People consider it a so-called “painless detox,” because patients who take methadone to stop using heroin are less likely to suffer the terrible withdrawal effects, including:
- pain
- insomnia
- diarrhea
- vomiting
People are more likely to continue with therapy and work to avoid taking heroin again if they are not desperate with cravings for it.
If you want more information about painless methadone detox and whether or not it is right for you, you should ask your doctor for advice and a referral to a nearby rehab center that offers methadone detox services. A better life is just a few months away, if you have the courage to take the first step.