Drug Dependence and Prescriptions| A Real Problem

Drug Dependence

Prescription drug dependence affects not only families, but the individuals close at hand to them. Within the last fifteen years, the amount of narcotic prescribed drugs has risen dramatically. The U.S. Government Accountability Office reports the use of methadone alone rose eight times between 1998 and 2006 to 4.1 million prescriptions. This increase in the number of prescriptions has led to more diversion and drug dependence of opioids. The Centers for Disease Control has spoken that overdoses of prescription medication are so broad, that only automobile accidents are more frequent. These numbers signal a need for people to seek medication drug dependence treatment.

Medication drug dependence treatment has made advances over the past 10 years. Up until short while ago, doctors would prescribe other addictive opioids to help patients who could not get off their own opioid drugs. This was referred to maintenance treatment. This way of treatment was outlawed until methadone was approved for the treatment of narcotic dependence in the mid 1960’s.

Methadone Maintenance Treatment for Drug Dependence

Methadone Maintenance Treatment has served a valuable function aiding opioid addicts who have been unable to get completely off their drugs. Even though methadone is a narcotic and clients become addicted to this treatment, it is thought to be more useful to do this than have clients go to the streets to satisfy their drug dependence. Narcotic addicts could now go to a physician, receive counseling, and not have the permanent risk of having withdrawals from opioids.

Methadone Maintenance Assistance has many benefits. This treatment is supervised firmly by the people in Washington. It has shown to subdue crime in the areas where addicts are receiving treatment. Expectant mothers have better results for their babies. Methadone maintenance has allowed many drug dependent people to maintain stable employment.

There are downsides to methadone maintenance help. Many of these treatment facilities are positioned in areas that are far for patients to journey. Patients find it complicated to attend the treatment center on a daily basis. Finally, many patients feel these treatment facilities do not allow the amount of concealment they want.

Suboxone Treatment For Prescription Drug Dependence

A newer form of narcotic long-term drug dependence treatment has been a standard over the past 10 years. This approach uses the medication suboxone. It has several advantages over methadone. One main advantage is that suboxone is prescribed by thousands of physicians across the States instead of only a few hundred as is the situation with methadone.

Suboxone overdose rarely results in death. This means it is very much safer than methadone in this respect. Suboxone is abused less commonly than methadone because it does not provide the same high as methadone. Finally, suboxone can be written monthly which is an useful thing for patients. The major disadvantage to the use of suboxone is that it doesn’t seem to assist some of the extreme narcotic addicts that methadone appears capable of doing

Summary Prescription Drug Dependence Long-Term Treatment

Doctors now have two prescription drugs used for opioid drug dependence long-term treatment. The first medication is methadone, and this is administered at approved clinics. The newer drug suboxone, can be prescribed from a physician’s clinic. Because of the advantages of suboxone, many more individuals seeking help for painkiller dependence are able to receive treatment.

If you are trying to find painkiller drug addiction treatment, use our suboxone physician directory to seek out help around you. If you want facts on methadone facilities, you can find more about a methadone treatment clinic here.