Medications Used During Treatment of Opioid Addiction

The use of medications to help suppress withdrawal symptoms and cravings in people struggling with addiction to heroin and other opiates has helped success rates in rehab.

There was a time when the common opinion within a rehab program was that a person needed to quit “cold turkey” in order to truly kick their drug addiction. The concept of using medication to help a person control their urges was not considered to be relevant, since many treatment doctors believed that this was merely replacing one drug for another and did not teach the patient how to live a drug-free life.

This idea was fallen by the wayside in recent years, as drug treatment concepts have advanced. Treatment specialists now release that a well-rounded treatment program can include the use of medication along with therapy and other treatment methods. Advances in treatment have made it easier for people to get effective treatment for their drug addiction and have a better chance of remaining free of drugs.

When it comes to heroin and other opioids, there are several different types of drugs which can be used in treatment received in an addiction center. Many different types of medication are used during the withdrawal process. Opiate addiction creates some of the most demanding withdrawal symptoms, and medication can help with both the physical and mental problems that arise during withdrawal. In the case of severe dependency on opiates, this withdrawal treatment can be done in a hospital setting with doctors and nurses who can treat patients in case significant side effects occur.

There are several types of drugs that are used in the treatment of heroin and opiate-derived prescription drug abuse. Drugs such as methadone and buprenorphine target the same sensory receptors that are excited during the use of heroin and morphine. These drugs help to relieve the cravings that addicts have along with suppressing withdrawal symptoms.

Another drug that is frequently used in the treatment of opioids in drug rehab centers is naltrexone. This is one of the more recent advancements in the medicinal treatment of heroin addiction. Naltrexone actually blocks the effects of heroin and other opioids at the brain’s receptor sites, limiting the amount of pleasure that a person receives from using it. However, naltrexone is not the best option if a person has not gone through detoxification in a drug rehab facility.