Articles

Methadone is an opioid most-commonly associated with heroin addiction treatment. It can be used for medical detoxification and as a harm reduction tool with Methadone Maintenance. In either case, it is important that Methadone be administered by a medical professional at a treatment center or clinic.

Tarzana Treatment Centers has been providing Methadone in opiate detox treatment for decades, and we later added Maintenance as a service. Patients in our medical detoxification units are closely monitored by medical staff to ensure their safety. And our Methadone Maintenance program includes addiction counseling. Our goal is to lead you to a life free from all opiates.

Heroin and prescription drug addiction are difficult to overcome. The sad fact is that most opiate addicts that complete treatment will relapse several times, and they may never achieve long-term abstinence. While they are high, there is always a chance that harm will come to them or their loved ones. So the important task is to help them to live without the high.

Methadone can do this by reducing the cravings associated with opiate addiction. It provides addicts with a “narcotic replacement” that does not include the high. Methadone can remain in the body for up to 60 hours, so clients receive doses at the treatment center daily or every two days. It’s because of the long half-life that doses need to be monitored. Methadone overdoses occur when clients take a second dose, thinking the first has cleared because they don’t feel a high, and can be fatal.

When abstinence is the goal, the first course of action should be medical detoxification followed by residential or outpatient treatment. Some addicts will remain clean after one treatment episode. Others may need two or three. The discovery has not yet been made where one can tell who will relapse before treatment begins. A few attempts are made with opiate detox before looking at Maintenance as an option.

We ensure the safety of our detox and Maintenance patients by monitoring their health and by providing a roadmap to long-term abstinence. We work to move clients from Maintenance to detox when they are ready. Methadone treatment is covered by most insurance plans, and you may qualify for Medi-Cal, Medicare, or one of our other publicly funded programs. We want to see everybody recover.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides a full array of health care services including adult and youth alcohol and drug treatment. We specialize in treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, and have two primary medical care clinics in the San Fernando Valley and Antelope Valley and specialized services for HIV/AIDS care. If you or a loved one needs help with alcohol dependence, drug addiction, or co-occurring mental health disorders or from other services we offer, please call us now at 888-777-8565 or contact us using our secure contact form.

Telemedicine services are also available with online medical care, online mental health treatment, and online alcohol and drug treatment.

Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.