Are you tired of methadone maintenance? When a methadone maintenance client becomes preoccupied with the next dose, an invisible line has been crossed. The client is no longer being helped, but rather is getting a “fix”. What once improved the life of the client is now as much of a burden as the original addiction to heroin or a prescription opiate. Detox should be considered when methadone maintenance becomes methadone preoccupation.

Harm Reduction

Methadone maintenance is an acceptable harm reduction strategy. Addicts need a way to function without using heroin or other opiates. Methadone maintenance satisfies this need, and can help addicts resume normal lives without the burden of chasing after heroin or other opiates. Methadone’s effects last longer than other prescription opiates, and much longer than heroin. And with lower doses, it does not interfere with a feeling of being high, as is the intended effect when abusing heroin and other opiates.

Long-term Negatives

The down side is that methadone is a highly addictive opiate, and, as tolerance to the drug grows, clients need higher and higher doses. Whether an addict uses heroin, methadone, or a prescription opiate, dependence to opiates includes severe withdrawal symptoms. As tolerance and dosages increase, the difficulty in quitting rises. Now, instead of the preoccupation on the next “fix” of heroin, or the next prescription opiate pill, it is on the next dose of methadone.

Methadone Detox vs. Heroin Detox

Medical detoxification from methadone is not necessarily harder than from heroin or other opiates. But it generally takes longer. Heroin Detox patients start at low doses of methadone and taper down from there. Patients who have been clients of methadone maintenance for a long period of time are used to high doses of the opiate, and must start tapering from a safe level below that dose. The extra time in detox also allows for adjustments to dosage levels if withdrawals become overwhelming.

We Can Help

Tarzana Treatment Centers can help if you are tired of being on methadone maintenance. We are well known in Southern California for our expertise in heroin and opiate detox. Call us at 888-777-8565 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for 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, Woodland Hills, and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.