Drug Addiction Treatment: Methadone Symptoms & Side Effects

Question: How come medicines are needed for drug addiction treatment?

(Posted by: clara ic on 2007-09-03 00:01:53)

I don't really get what the medications are for.

Posted by: citlaly a on 2007-09-03, 00:02:59

In a nutshell, medications help a lot in drug addiction treatment. They help in suppressing withdrawal symptoms. Having symptoms of withdrawal is mainly what makes it hard for a patient to quit doing drugs on his own. Thus, medication that will be able to free the person from these symptoms would matter much. Another reason why medicines are needed for addiction treatment is because it brings the patient's brain functioning back to normal. It also restores the body to its healthy state.

Posted by: JenH-RN on 2007-09-03, 00:08:04

To treat the adverse effects of stopping the medication generally people who have been on specific drugs go through a detox process that is very difficult and painful- that can include convulsions (seizures), chills, fever, vomiting, diarrhea so some of the meds are to decrease these side effects some of the meds are to trick the body into thinking that it has had the substance so that it doesnt feel the "need " for it for example heroine addicts would take methadone- the methadone occupies the same receptors as the heroine would thus tricking the body into thinking that it has had heroine without the "other " effects of heroine-