Heroin Addiction Treatment
Heroin addiction treatments usually include medications and behavioral therapies
. The most successful heroin addiction treatments combine medication treatment with other supportive services.Heroin addiction treatment usually begins with medically assisted detoxification to help patients safely withdraw from the drug. Detoxification programs aim to achieve safe and humane withdrawal from opiates by minimizing the severity of withdrawal symptoms and other medical complications. Detoxification is intended to relieve withdrawal symptoms while patients adjust to a drug-free state.
Methadone has been used for more than 30 years in heroin addiction treatment, and decades of scientific research have proven methadones effectiveness. Methadone targets the same receptors in the brain as opiates do and can relieve many of the symptoms of opiate withdrawal. Methadone reduces the drug cravings and harsh withdrawal symptoms that often lead to relapse.
Buprenorphine is a more recently approved heroin addiction treatment medication. Buprenorphine has both opiate and "anti-opiate" properties, and is what is called an opioid partial agonist. When administered while the patient is suffering from opiate withdrawal, it rapidly reduces and often eliminates symptoms within an hour. Buprenorphine produces less risk for overdose and withdrawal effects than methadone does, and produces a lower level of physical dependence.
Buprenorphine/naloxone, brand name Suboxone, is a combination drug product formulated to minimize abuse. Suboxone is a combination of Buprenorphine and Naloxone. Suboxone is sublingual, which means it is taken under the tongue. Suboxone cannot be injected, because the Naloxone element will cause instant opiate withdrawal.
Naltrexone is another medication approved as a heroin addiction treatment option. This medication blocks opioids from binding to their receptors and prevents an addict from feeling the effects of the drug. Naltrexone is usually prescribed as a part of outpatient treatment, though usually after medical detoxification has taken place in a residential setting. Patients must be opioid free for several days prior to taking Naltrexone.
Intensive medically supervised outpatient treatment programs for heroin addiction, for approximately a 2 year duration, will allow an individual to move from his or her current level of drug usage to being free of the addictive opiate. Medication treatments for heroin addiction, followed by a support program which offers weekly counseling, support groups and comprehensive referrals are highly successful.
Behavioral treatments for heroin addiction can be delivered in residential or outpatient settings. Examples are individual or group counseling, voucher-based systems where patients earn points based on negative drug tests, and these points can be exchanged for items that encourage healthy living, and cognitive-behavioral therapy which is designed to help modify a patients expectations and behaviors related to drug abuse, and to increase coping skills.
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