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Most people are unfamiliar with Methadone and how it is used in the treatment of opiate addiction. The following questions and answers are provided to educate, dispel myths and familiarize people with methadone and its use in treatment. As always, if you have any additional questions or would like to share your comments you can always contact the staff of CBH via e-mail at info@centerforbehavioralhealth.com or contact any of our individual clinic locations.
What is Methadone? Methadone is a long acting synthetic narcotic analgesic. It was first used in the maintenance treatment of drug addiction in the mid-1960s, by Drs. Vincent Dole and Marie Nyswander of Rockefeller University. Today there are approximately 115,000 methadone maintenance patients in the U.S. Methadone is widely employed throughout the world, and is the most effective treatment for opiate* addiction. *Examples of common opiates include: Heroin, Lortab, Vicodin, OxyContin, Darvicet, Percocet, Morphine,, Codeine, Tylenol IV
What is Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT)? The goal of methadone maintenance treatment is to reduce illegal opiate use and the crime, death, disease and other negative consequences associated with addiction. Treatment is intended to eliminate opiate use among addicts by stabilizing them on methadone for as long as necessary to help restore their lives and avoid returning to previous patterns of illegal drug use.
How effective is Methadone Maintenance Treatment? The success of methadone in reducing crime, death, disease and illicit drug use is well documented:
How does Methadone work? Methadone is an opiate agonist which has a series of actions similar to those of morphine and other narcotic medications. Opiate addicts will experience withdrawal symptoms if the concentration of opiates in the body falls below a certain level. In maintenance treatment, patients are given enough methadone to ward off opiate withdrawal symptoms, but not enough to induce narcotic effects. In proper doses, methadone does not create euphoria, sedation or analgesia. At a therapeutic level methadone has no adverse effects on motor skills, mental capability or employability.
How safe is Methadone? Scientific studies have shown that the most significant health consequence of long term methadone treatment is a marked improvement in general health. Concerns about methadone's effects on the immune system and kidneys, liver and heart have been laid to rest. Methadone's most common side effects, constipation and sweating, usually fade with time and are not serious health hazards.
How much Methadone is prescribed? Medication levels are individually determined, due to differences in metabolism, body weight and opiate tolerance. The proper maintenance dose is one at which narcotic craving is averted, without creating euphoria, sedation or analgesia for 24 to 36 hours.
Is Methadone more addictive than heroin or other opiates? Physical dependence and tolerance to a drug are part of addiction, but they are not the whole story. Addiction is characterized by compulsive use of the drug despite adverse consequences. The methadone patient is no more an addict than the terminal cancer patient who is physically dependent on morphine or the diabetic who is dependent on insulin. They do not seek out the drug in the absence of withdrawal symptoms or pain; their lives do not revolve around drug use.
How long does Treatment take? The duration of treatment should be individually and clinically determined, and treatment should last for as long as the clinic staff and the individual patient agree is appropriate. Federal and state regulations require annual evaluation of patients to determine whether they should continue in methadone maintenance treatment.
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