Methadone: Revolutionizing Opioid Addiction Treatment

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Methadone revolutionized the treatment of opioid addiction in the 1960s by providing the first effective, practical, and legal alternative to detoxification for the treatment of opioid addiction.
Detoxification is inadequate on its own to provide lasting sobriety because most addicts eventually relapse without additional treatment. Medication-assisted treatment with methadone was the first of several medications to effectively protect from relapse. Treatment with methadone also reshaped our understanding of opioid addiction as illness because there was now a medical treatment that substantially aided in recovery.
Prior to the 1960s, the stigma of opioid addiction was pervasive and unfortunately continues to this day. Prior to the introduction …show more content…

For some, once on methadone, alway on methadone.
• Methadone is a powerful opioid. Even when used correctly under the direction of a physician, some patients report getting “high” and “nodding off” (falling asleep) after taking their dose. After all, it’s the same drug abused on the street (called “street methadone”).
• Constipation is a common if not universal side effect.
• Sedation, weight gain, difficulty with urination, and decreased sex drive are frequent side effects. Some patients complain they sleep both day and night. Patients should not drive or operate machinary after taking methadone until the side effects wear off.
• Abuse is possible despite the tight structuring of the OTP. An individual can supplement with “street methadone” to generate more of a “high” without detection. This increases the risk of an adverse event, such as an overdose or arrhythmia.
• Taking too much methadone or combining methadone with other drugs or medications, such as another opioid, benzodiazepines, or alcohol, can be fatal due to the consequences of respiratory failure, sedation, seizures, or an arrhythmia (http://bit.ly/1GIBN4m).
• Because methadone can generate a “high” under legal dosing conditions, patients may be reluctant to discontinue methadone when they can fully do

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