Tuesday, December 10, 2024
HomeHealth/MedicalMethadone Maintenance Treatment: What Should You Know?

Methadone Maintenance Treatment: What Should You Know?

Introduction

Opiate-induced drug addiction is rarely easy to escape. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines addiction as a disease of the brain that alters its structure and function. The result is that addicts have a psychological and physical dependence. The good news is that addiction can be treated by a top methadone clinic in Louisville KY.

Methadone Maintenance Treatment

It does not matter if the addiction resulted from the use of heroin or prescription drugs like codeine, hydrocodone, or morphine. Methadone clinics in KY are intended purposely for individuals that suffer from opiate drug addiction. Methadone has been used for over 40 years for short-term and long-term maintenance medication that addicts use after they leave a rehab program. In this article, we look at the options for treating your drug addiction: in-patient vs. out-patient methadone treatment programs. We also answer all possible concerns you may have about methadone treatment.

Inpatient Methadone Treatment Clinics Vs Outpatient Services

In all methadone clinics in KY, and indeed anywhere else, the addiction treatment starts with a stay in an inpatient program. While there is also outpatient care, it only happens when doctors establish that the body has been stabilized on methadone and is also free from other opiates. The advantage of inpatient care is that medical staff have more time to monitor you closely. During the early stages of the treatment, doctors offer several services like testing for adverse reactions, dosage, and regularly checking psychological and physical health. Once you are put on a methadone maintenance program, you can be discharged to an outpatient methadone clinic Louisville KY.

Must I go to an Inpatient Methadone Rehabilitation Program?

All opiate addicts, whether those addicted to illicit drugs or prescription medications, require a stay in an inpatient methadone clinic to recover. When an addicted person enters a rehab facility, the amount of opiates that is in their body is often not known. It is left to the medical staff at the facility to determine the amount of methadone needed to ease withdrawal until all the opioids are removed from the body.

Doctors will base on your degree of addiction to determine the methadone dosage to be administered. For example, long-term and heavy-use addicts will be given a higher dose compared to milder and short-term users. This dose can then be decreased or even increased as necessary to arrive at a balance that helps your body to function normally the way it did before you were addicted to opiates. It requires time for the medical staff to arrive at the best maintenance dosage, and this cannot happen if you are put in an outpatient facility.

Can an Inpatient Methadone Program Guarantee the Utmost Confidentiality?

One thing that most heroin users and prescription drug addicts struggle with is to keep their addiction a top-secret. Fortunately, methadone clinics in Ky ensure that this remains between you and your doctor. Anything you discuss with your doctor will be strictly confidential. No one outside you, the doctor, and the person that brings you to the hospital will know you are in a methadone clinic Louisville KY.

How Long Does In-patient Methadone Rehabilitation Take?

Opiates usually remain in the body system for a long time after taking your last bit of the drug. Also, physical dependence makes withdrawal symptoms go on for some time. This makes inpatient methadone programs take somewhere between three months to one year. It can even require more time to complete the treatment. The aim of detox treatment is to help the individual suffering from addiction to avoid going through severe symptoms that come with opiate withdrawal.

Detox can take several days to weeks. After that, you enter treatment. This takes a long time because you need psychological recovery from addiction. Addicts that suffer from mental health problems or those using more than one drug can expect to stay longer at a methadone clinic Louisville KY.

What Should You Expect During Methadone Treatment?

Once you check into a methadone clinic Louisville, you will be taken through a series of treatments that will be tweaked a little until the doctors establish the right amount of methadone to be administered.  The medical staff members assigned to you will check if you have withdrawal symptoms and also treat you for other substances you may have abused.

After getting through detox, doctors will immediately start looking for any mental health condition and treat it immediately. This happens simultaneously with methadone treatment. The opiate may be gone from your system. However, the body and the brain may still be dependent physically. This means that you require an opiate to enable your body to function normally for a while. That is why doctors will put you on methadone maintenance dosages. They fool the brain into believing that the opiate is there but they don’t intoxicate you or cause you to be high. You will act normally and leave the methadone treatment facility.

How to Pay for Methadone Addiction Treatment

The cost of administering methadone treatment can add up quickly, and it becomes even more expensive for heavy-use or long-term addicts as they need to stay longer in the facility. But the good news is that there are several non-profit and government methadone rehab centers to help individuals suffering from addiction fund treatment.  The programs are either free or have a sliding scale. This means that their fees depend on the income of the addict.

An individual or health insurance policy can handle much of the rehab stay cost. In most cases, insurance takes care of up to 80% of the entire costs. If you can afford it, there are luxury rehab clinics that give you resort-style treatment and stay. These methadone treatment programs are not for the penny-pinching, as they charge as much as five-figure fees for a short period.

Conclusion

Oftentimes, people with addiction problems are hesitant to seek professional help. Most of them are unaware of what happens inside a methadone clinic in KY, while some of them are concerned about their secret remaining intact. But understanding how methadone clinics Luoisville KY work and what to expect can help ease your concerns.

sachin
sachin
He is a Blogger, Tech Geek, SEO Expert, and Designer. Loves to buy books online, read and write about Technology, Gadgets and Gaming. you can connect with him on Facebook | Linkedin | mail: srupnar85@gmail.com

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