Tips for Choosing a Methadone Maintenance Program

What is Methadone Maintenance?

According to the Center for Substance Abuse Research, methadone maintenance treatment is known as one of the most common and effective means for treating heroin addiction. The term “maintenance” is used because the goal of methadone maintenance treatment is to maintain a narcotics abuser for the purpose of helping them avoid the severe withdrawal symptoms from opiate detox.

Opiate addiction is a chronic brain disease that often occurs with opiate dependency. When a person is dependent on an opiate drug, such as heroin, or Oxycontin, they will go through withdrawal symptoms every time they do not have enough of the drug in their system. These withdrawal symptoms can be painful and sometimes dangerous. Because of these withdrawal symptoms, mixed with the person’s intense drug cravings, quitting using opiates is an extremely difficult task for most people to do.

Methadone maintenance can help a person get through opiate detox and it can help them regain control of their life. Opiate addiction is not just harmful to a person’s physical health, but it can also damage other areas of their life, therefore methadone maintenance does not just help the individual struggling with addiction, but it is also beneficial to the entire economy.

According to the Center for Substance Abuse Research, a number of studies have found that methadone can reduce heroin user’s involvement in criminal activities, narcotics related deaths and the spread of AIDS.

Before choosing your clinic, it may be helpful to visit a couple in your area if possible.

Five Tips for finding the right Methadone Maintenance Program

Finding the right methadone maintenance program may seem like an impossible task, but if a person knows their likes and dislikes well, and does their research, they should be able to make the right choice.

Below are five tips a person should know when they are looking for a methadone maintenance program…

A person should remember that treatment is all about them and their needs. There is no right treatment for everybody, so when a person is looking for a treatment program, they should make sure they go to one that will meet their needs and adapt to their treatment preferences.
There are treatment programs that will work with a person on money. Money is a huge factor when a person is looking for a treatment program, but they should not be discouraged because they cannot afford treatment, because many programs will work with a person on cost.
A person should look for reviews on the treatment program. If other people were happy with the services provided, there is a good chance that they will be too.
An individual should visit the program’s facility and meet some of the people there before they decide to go. This will help them get a better feel of the atmosphere they will receive treatment in.
A person should research multiple programs before deciding on one. Many people just go to the first program they find, but taking time out to look at different places can be extremely beneficial to a person in the long run.