Methadone Treatment Vs Detox

The differences are vast between controlling drug addiction through methadone maintenance or by entering into a detox treatment, the differences are vast. In fact, one might not even be in control, or able to choose what type of treatment they need due to outside influences, such as legal, or social problems. However, both treatments attempt to achieve the same ends by keeping addicts from using illicit drugs.

What is Methadone?

• Methadone, brand name Dolophine, is a synthetic opioid drug. According to Ralf Gerlach in, "A Brief Overview of the Discovery of Methadone," a drug called Va 10820, eventually called methadone by 1947, was synthesized as early as 1939 by the pharmaceutical laboratories of I.G. Farbenkonzern in Germany. Gerlach states that Germay wanted to become independent of foreign opium for the production of morphine. American pharmaceutical companies acquired the drug after World War II, and eventually discovered its potential to help drug addicts. Unfortunately, the drug is also highly addictive.
  Methadone is used to treat acute, and chronic pain, but is best known for treatment of opioid addiction. The drug comes in either liquid or pill form, and is dispensed as a liquid by clinics across the country, and by physicians in the form of pills. The liquid is often cherry-flavored to mask the bitter taste of the drug.

Methadone Treatment

• Methadone dispensed from a clinic ranges in doses between 20 and 180 milligrams per day. The drug works best over a long-term duration. Many addicts have been taking methadone for 10, even 20 years. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, "The length of stay in methadone maintenance treatment is associated with a reduction in heroin use: longer lengths of stay are associated with greater reductions in heroin use."

  Because of its long-acting nature, 24 to 36 hours, the drug is ideal for opiate addiction because there are no withdrawals between doses. RxList.com indicates methadone can stay in the body for up to 59 hours, dwarfing other opioid drugs like morphine that usually are diminishing one to five hours after injection or ingestion.

  Addicts visit methadone clinics and attend counseling and group therapy sessions. Random urinalysis tests are performed, and addicts may take home extra bottles of the drug so they don't have to return to the clinic to dose every day. Take-homes are usually reserved for patients staying clean from other drugs, as well as those with jobs.

Detox Treatment

• Detox treatment is another method drug dependent persons can use. Catapress, anti-anxiety medications, and other drugs are used to combat withdrawal symptoms. However, these patients still suffer from the symptoms, but slightly less than had they taken nothing. In yet other detox procedures, buprenorphine, a morphine-like substance, is combined with naloxone, a narcotic antagonist.

Benefits of Detox

• The benefits associated with detox treatment are:

  *The patient is drug-free, unlike methadone treatment;
  *Patient is not tethered to a clinic daily;
  *Being drug-free, the patients brain chemistry can return to normal;
  *Patient can pass a drug screen for employment.

  After detox, the patient is usually referred to either an inpatient or outpatient treatment center depending on his needs. Length of time spent in these settings range from two weeks to several months.

Benefits of Methadone Treatment

• Methadone has its benefits also. Some of them are:

  *Cessation of criminal activity associated with drug-seeking behavior;
  *No to very few withdrawal symptoms;
  *Methadone's calming affects;
  *Ability to seek and maintain employment.

  According to the Office for Drug Control Policy, "Methadone is a rigorously well-tested medication that is safe and efficacious for the treatment of narcotic withdrawal and dependence." Methadone has more than a 30-year history of study and is well-tolerated by the body with few side-effects.