Methadone and Methadone Treatment

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Methadone and Methadone Treatment

Methadone is an Analgesic and can reduce pain for persons with injuries or following surgeries.

Methadone has pharmacological properties similar to Morphine and Heroin, including Habituation and Addiction. Liquid Methadone It is sometimes substituted for heroin, morphine or other Opioid drugs during Drug addiction treatment.

Used in drug addiction treatment, methadone can be substituted for heroin, morphine, dilaudid, Vicodin or OxyContin due to a cross-Tolerance. Meaning that the symptoms incident to Withdrawal from Opiates can be reduced by taking methadone.

If increasingly smaller doses are given, the idea is that the addict will be able to endure withdrawal symptoms more easily and be successfully “detoxed” from whatever they were using.

More often, an illegal addiction to opiates is replaced with a legal dependency or addiction on methadone.

Methadone Buildup

One of the problems with methadone maintenance programs is that methadone stays in the body for up to 60 hours, even though the perceived benefits may be gone in 4 to 6 hours. Methadone levels in the body can therefore build up over a period of days to toxic levels and the user, trying to maintain the same level of relief might continue to take higher doses, compounding the problem. Such a toxic buildup of methadone in the body can lead to dangerous changes in breathing or heart rate that may cause death.

This can be especially dangerous if certain other medications are taken along with the methadone.

Signs of Methadone Overdose

Overdose of methadone can result from days of the same or similar doses indications include:

Shallow breathing
Trouble breathing
Disorientation
Confusion or dizziness
Difficulty walking or talking normally
Blurred vision

Patients experiencing these symptoms should seek professional help immediately.

The ultimate goal of all drug rehabilitation is not simply a switch from one drug to another but the elimination of dependency on any drug and the regaining of personal strength and abilities sufficient to survive and live a happy and productive life.

At Narconon drug rehabilitation centers, we don’t pull the old switcheroo, taking one drug away just to replace it with another, perhaps even more addicting drug.

Students of the Narconon program leave the center drug free and confident in their ability to face life and succeed without the use of any drugs.

It's not possible to change the past, but it IS possible to change the future. We help people do it every day in over one hundred worldwide centers.

For help with Prescription drug abuse or addiction:

Call Toll Free: 888-9NO-DRUGS or 888-966-3784

Definitions of Terms Used

Term	Description
Addiction	Strong physiological, emotional and/or psychological dependence on a substance such as alcohol or drugs that has progressed beyond voluntary control. For more on addiction see the section Addiction Information in this website.
Analgesic	A group of medications that reduce pain.
Drug	Any substance, other than food, that changes the function or structure of the body or mind when ingested. Drugs essentially are poisons. The degree they are taken determines the effect. A small amount acts as a stimulant. A greater amount acts as a sedative. A larger amount acts as a poison and can kill one dead. This is true of any drug. Each has a different amount at which it gives those results.
Habituation	The result of repeated consumption of a drug which produces psychological but no physical dependence. The psychological dependence produces a desire (not a compulsion) to continue taking drugs for the sense of improved well-being.
Heroin	The potent, widely abused opiate that produces a profound addiction. It consists of two morphine molecules linked together chemically.
Methadone	A long-lasting synthetic opiate used to treat cancer pain and heroin addiction.
Morphine	Morphine The most potent natural opiate compound produced by the opium poppy.
Narconon	A non-religious, non-profit drug rehabilitation program using technology developed by author L. Ron Hubbard. The Narconon program was originally organized in Arizona State Prison in 1966 by William Benitez, an inmate who was himself a drug addict. He applyed basic principles regarding self awareness and self assurance contained in books by L. Ron Hubbard and, by doing so, completely cured his own addiction to heroin. Mr Benitez then went on to help twenty other inmates do the same. Today there are Narconon centers in 45 countries.
Opiates	Any of the psychoactive drugs that originate from the opium poppy or that have a chemical structure like the drugs derived from opium. Such drugs include opium, codeine, and morphine (derived from the plant), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid), methadone, and meperidine (Demerol), which were first synthesized by chemists.
Opioid	Any chemical that has opiate-like effects; commonly used to refer to neurochemicals that activate opiate receptors (see Opiate Receptors).
Overdose	The condition that results when too much of a drug is taken, making a person sick or unconscious and sometimes resulting in death.
Tolerance	A condition in which higher doses of a drug are required to produce the same effect as during initial use; often leads to physical dependence.
Withdrawal	Symptoms that occur after chronic use of a drug is reduced or stopped.

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