5 Benefits of Methadone Maintenance Treatment

Author: Emily Oconnor

Methadone maintenance treatment can significantly help a person get through the intensity of opiate withdrawals. A person deciding to stop using opiates should understand the primary benefits that methadone treatment offers. Such benefits may include pain relief, lessened withdrawal symptoms and reduced risk of relapse.

How Methadone Maintenance Treatment Works

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, methadone has been proven to be an effective medication to use in the treatment of opiate addiction. Methadone affects the same areas in the brain as opiates do, so the withdrawal symptoms from opiate detox will not be as strong. Methadone can help people stop their drug seeking behavior, and any related criminal behavior. Methadone can also help a person become more open to participation in behavioral treatments.

Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) can significantly lesson the physical pain from withdrawal symptoms of opiate drugs. When a person goes through MMT, they will be given a particular dose of methadone every day while they are detoxing from their opiate of choice.

As the days continue a person will receive less and less of methadone to allow their body a gradual decrease in the medication so that they are not bombarded with a plethora of withdrawal symptoms all at once. Eventually a person will no longer receive methadone and they will focus on the other areas of their life they need help recovering from.

5 Benefits of Methadone Maintenance Treatment

Methadone helps individuals by mitigating withdrawal symptoms, reducing the chance for relapse, and opening the door to a healthier lifestyle.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, treatment for drug addiction has been proven to help individuals addicted to drugs stop using them. In order for treatment to work there are some common principles that should occur, and one of these principals is the use of medication to help a person with detox. Medications play a large role in the road to recovery, and they are an important factor in treatment.

Methadone maintenance treatment is beneficial to a person in a variety of ways, but below is a list of the top five ways in which MMT helps a person achieve success in overcoming their drug addiction.

1. A person does not have to go through the pain and the stress of physical withdrawal symptoms. When it comes to opiates, the physical withdrawal symptoms can be extremely painful and difficult for a person to go through. These withdrawal symptoms can cause a great deal of stress on a person and will make recovery from opiate addiction harder.
2. Allows a person extra time to deal with their emotional connection to drug use. After a person goes through physical withdrawal symptoms they will immediately begin to deal with the psychological withdrawal symptoms in most rehabs. With MMT a person can begin dealing with their emotional and psychological issues while they are taking methadone to deal with the psychical withdrawals.
3. Less chance of complications. Sometimes physical withdrawal symptoms are too much for a person to handle and they need to be hospitalized, whether it is because of heart problems, high blood pressure, or seizures. With MMT a person has less of a chance of these problems from occurring.
4. Less chance of relapse. A person in MMT will have to go through opiate detox, and will do so with minimal pain, so the chance of relapsing is slimmer.
5. Supervised medical treatment. Through MMT a person will be medically supervised to ensure they are having a safe and healthy detox.