How Methadone Centers Treat Oxycontin Addiction

Author: Emily Oconnor

Oxycontin, one of many opiate drug types, provides an effective treatment for both moderate and severe pain symptoms. People suffering from arthritis, back pain, post-op surgery and even cancer can benefit from the pain-relieving effects of Oxycontin.

Opiate drugs in general have a way of taking over essential brain functions leaving users helplessly dependent on the drug’s effects. People who start using Oxycontin for nonmedical purposes or those who take more than a prescription calls for place themselves at risk of developing Oxycontin addiction.

Methadone, commonly used as a treatment for opiate addictions, works just as well in treating Oxycontin addiction as any other addictive opiate drug. Methadone maintenance treatment or MMT offers recovering addicts a comprehensive treatment approach for overcoming Oxycontin addiction.

Oxycontin Addictions

According to the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, Oxycontin time-release tablets deliver up to 12 hours of relief from pain symptoms. While the risk of addiction does increase when taking more than the prescribed dosage amount, the way recreational users ingest Oxycontin greatly compounds the addiction risk.

When used for recreational purposes, users grind up the tablets into powder and either snort or inject the drug. In doing so, the tablet’s time-release mechanism of action is eliminated. In effect, users experience the full 12-hour effects of the drug all at once.

When ingested in this way on a frequent basis, brain chemical processes all but shut down in response to the drug’s powerful effects. Under these conditions, an Oxycontin addiction can easily develop in a week’s time.

Methadone Medication Therapy

Methadone can help you stop using Oxycontin and recover from its damaging effects.

Methadone medication therapy has been used as an opiate addiction treatment for over five decades. It’s method of action addresses the two main reasons why addicts find it so difficult to stop using: drug cravings and withdrawal effects.

Methadone works on the same brain cell receptor sites as Oxycontin does. As a synthetic opiate medication, methadone can duplicate Oxycontin’s drug effects without producing a “high.” As a result, users experience little to no drug cravings with minimal withdrawal symptom effects. Ultimately, methadone helps reduce the likelihood a person will relapse while in recovery.

Methadone Maintenance Treatment

Methadone maintenance treatment

entails a range of services designed to help recovering addicts overcome the physical and psychological aspects of addiction. While methadone plays a central role in helping reduce the brain and body’s physical dependency on Oxycontin, the risk of relapse remains unless a person addresses addiction’s psychological component.

As part of MMT, methadone centers use psychosocial treatment approaches as a means to eliminate the thinking and behavior patterns that drive addiction. Psychosocial activities include:

• Intensive psychotherapy work
• Group therapy
• Developing coping strategies for dealing with stress
• 12-Step support group work

Aftercare Supports

Once a person becomes addicted to any type of opiate drug, the risk of relapse stays with him or her long after the recovery process begins. Oxycontin addictions are no different. Aftercare supports provide recovering addicts with the tools and guidance needed to maintain abstinence on a long-term basis.

Some people may require ongoing psychotherapy treatment. Others may require ongoing medication therapy. Twelve-step support groups are also an essential part of the recovery process. When it comes to maintaining abstinence for the long-term, 12-Step support groups offer recovering addicts the best chance of a successful recovery.