Tag Archives: methadone maintenance treatment

How to Get Methadone : What You Need To Do Legally

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How To Get Methadone : For Chronic Pain or Opioid Addiction

How To Get Methadone

How To Get Methadone

If you are looking how to get methadone , there are two main, legal reasons for its use today.  The first is for the treatment of chronic pain. The other reason is for opioid treatment at a methadone treatment center.

Some patients are looking for how to get methadone for their pain because they have found it more effective and longer lasting than other opioid medications. If this is the case, you can go to any physician and get it prescribed to them for this reason. As long as the methadone is not being prescribed for opioid addiction treatment, any doctor can prescribe the medication.

Some doctors, however,  are uncomfortable with giving methadone this way.  They may prescribe is for only a short period, or they may not want to use it at all.  Much has to do with a particular doctor’s comfort level. They may refer you to a pain specialist who has more experience with methadone because methadone requires special monitoring.

How To Get Methadone : For Opioid Addiction

For centuries, it has been known that opioid medications are addictive.  Methadone was invented in Germany during the Second World War.    Between about 1910 and 1960 opioids were used illegally by doctors and others to treat opioid addiction.  It was not until the 1960’s that it’s use for opioid addiction began to be used legally. The first studies indicated the many benefits of methadone treatment.  Then the use of methadone clinics was born.

Finding how to get methadone for opioid addiction starts with finding a methadone clinic near you.  They are located in most cities. There are methadone support groups online you can access. Other than hospitals and addiction detox centers, methadone treatment centers are to only place to go for addicts.

Methadone is highly regulated.  There is a risk of theft and misuse (diversion) of this medication. This, along with the public’s fear of the idea of giving the opioid addicted individual a narcotic for treatment, led to these restrictions.  Here is more information on methadone treatment.

How To Get Methadone : What About Suboxone

While everyone is worrying about how to get methadone, people forget there is a newer medication for the treatment of opioid addiction. This medication is called Suboxone.  This medication is safer and less addictive than methadone, although suboxone does have its risk.  Find out more about suboxone treatment.

Methadone Treatment Directory and Suboxone Treatment Directory

Dr. Rich is a Board Certified Psychiatrist with licenses in Texas and Hawaii. He treats opioid addiction with buprenorphine and runs a FREE locator service to find Methadone Treatment including Suboxone treatment for those wanting oxycontin help. Find a Suboxone Treatment Clinic in your area. Dr. Rich has written more articles on methadone, buprenorphine (Suboxone) including d a recent post : Opioid Addiction : 10 Questions For You

More Resources Related on How To Get Methadone

National Library of Medicine Abstract: Methadone maintenance treatment: a review of historical and clinical issues

Certification for Opioid Treatment Program: SAMHSA

National Institute On Drug Abuse

 

 

Methadone Treatment Cost For Opioid Addiction

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Methadone Treatment Cost For Opioid Addiction : For You and Society

Methadone Treatment Cost

Methadone Treatment Cost

According to the NIDA Methadone Research Web Guide, the money spent on methadone treatment cost is easily returned.  For every one dollar invested in treatment, four dollars are returned. Methadone treatment easily pays for itself.  Even if a person continues to use drugs while in methadone treatment, there is a cost savings as well and other benefits that last for years.

In 2002, the cost for methadone treatment was between $10,000 and $17,000 per year. Just taking methadone during treatment was not as cost effective as taking methadone combined with other services.  These other services include vocational counseling, individual therapy, marital and family counseling, relapse prevention counseling, and psychiatric treatment. The more treatment a patient received, the more money that was saved. The actual cost to provide services in a methadone treatment clinic is about $4,100 per year.

So how much is the methadone treatment cost for you going to be?  This will vary from clinic to clinic along with your income.  If you are paying entirely cash and out of pocket, you could be responsible for all you treatment. This could be $5000 to $10,000.  This is so unusual that it is almost not worth mentioning.  Most people I’ve seen on the web are talking about paying between $50 and $300 out of pocket with the average being around $150.

Getting Help With The Methadone Treatment Cost

Most people should be able to get the help with the cost for methadone treatment.  The first place to start is to find a call a methadone treatment center by you. Look one up in a methadone treatment center directory. The social worker and administrative staff at your local methadone maintenance treatment facility should be quite good at helping you find help with finances.  Many facilities will work on a sliding scale.

If you have no money at all, your State Medicaid offices may be able to supply you with health insurance.  If you have private insurance, make sure to call them too.

Methadone Treatment Cost and the Benefits of Methadone Treatment

There are many benefits of methadone maintenance treatment. Methadone clinics provide a place for the addict to talk to someone.  Most addicted individuals have other psychiatric issues that need to be addressed including depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia.  Methadone clinics are able to provide psychiatric treatment.

The number of people in 2002 addicted to opiates and heron in the United States was about 1 million. About 20% receive treatment through methadone maintenance.  Despite the out of pocket cost to patients and the cost to run the clinics, this treatment has been very valuable to many.  Here are some benefits of treatment:

  • Reduced crime
  • More productive
  • Reduced (or stopped) drug use
  • Less chance of suicide
  • Improved employment
  • Better health
  • Decrease in chance of premature death
  • Pregnancies go better
  • Family becomes stable

Other Methadone Treatment Cost Resources

National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery

The Cost of Methadone Treatment: Results from a National Sample of Treatment Programs : Abstract

Suboxone Treatment Directory And Methadone Treatment Directory

Dr. Rich is a Board Certified Psychiatrist with licenses in Texas and Hawaii. He specializes in the treatment of opioid addiction with buprenorphine and runs a FREE locator service to find Methadone Treatment including Suboxone treatment for oxycontin addiction. Suboxone Treatment Clinic in your area.
Dr. Rich has written more articles on the cost of oxycontin, buprenorphine (Suboxone) including frequently asked questions and a recent post : Suboxone Treatment : What To Expect With Narcotic Treatment

What is Methadone Treatment ? Facts On This Opioid Addiction Treatment

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Methadone Treatment Basic Facts

Information on the website of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) features the following information about methadone treatment for people who are having problems with opiate addiction:

  • Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) began in the 1960’s. Medication along with vocational and social counseling is part of methadone treatment
  • Untreated Opioid Addiction costs 20 Billion dollars per year

    Methadone Treatment and Methadone Maintenance

    Methadone Treatment and Methadone Maintenance

  • Up to 10,000 people die per year from IV drug use
  • Methadone Treatment stops opioid cravings
  • Methadone Treatment stops opioid withdrawal
  • Methadone is taken once per day
  • 70-80% of Methadone Patients have Hepatitis B
  • Methadone Maintenance Treatment is very effective
  • Methadone Treatment is available in most cities

Problems with opioids have gone back hundred’s of years. Some treatment approaches need a very high level of motivation (abstinence, therapeutic communities, step programs) and are not helpful for many. Methadone treatment can help on it’s own, or help those where other addiction treatment has not helped. So what’s in it for you?

The Benefits of Methadone Treatment:

  • Patients stop or reduce injecting drugs
  • Reduction of the use of opioid drugs
  • Decrease of transmission of blood borne illnesses
  • Patients have healthier babies
  • Patients have more stable employment and a more stable family
  • 30% reduction in early death
  • Less criminal activity

Methadone Treatment : How Safe is It?

Using an opioid that is prescribed and monitored by a physician for the treatment of opioid addiction has been used in the United States since the 1800’s.  In fact, around 1914 several thousand doctors went to prison for prescribing opioids to their addicted patients after the Harrison Act. It prohibited this type of drug treatment. Only until recently, have patients been getting steered by society toward treatment. Between 1914 and around 1970, addiction was basically criminalized and many simply ended up in jail.

Methadone treatment has been studied since the 1960’s.  The White House Drug Policy Fact Sheet on Methadone states the following “When methadone is taken under medical supervision, longterm maintenance causes no adverse effects to the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, bones, blood, brain, or other vital body organs.”  When taken appropriately, methadone doesn’t have serious side effects.  The are some side effects of methadone (and a related medication suboxone).

When taken as directed, methadone will not cause a problem with your employment.  You will not suffer from a change in your intelligence from methadone treatment. You should be able to drive without problems with being sedated.  Although methadone is an opioid medication, at the correct dose, it will not cause a person to “get high” and it will prevent any opioid withdrawals from occurring.

Methadone treatment has been the standard for treating opioid addicted pregnant patients.  The substance abuse and mental health administration has a pamphlet that discusses this information in more detail. We now have 40 years of experience managing patients on methadone who are pregnant.

Finally, methadone treatment is highly monitored. In fact, it is one of the most monitored treatments in the United States.  The chain from the methadone manufacturer all the way down to the requirements of clinic are watched closely.  The Drug Enforcement Administration along with State Agencies keep close tabs on the clinics to ensure their safety.

Summary of Methadone Treatment Facts:

Methadone treatment is a highly monitored, safe treatment for opioid addicted individuals.  We have over 40 years of experience with the use of methadone and it has been well studied.  Methadone has helped hundreds of thousands of individuals break the cycle of addiction, get back their families, and maintain employment. It keep people out of prison and improves their lives. See the links below for more methadone treatment information including suboxone treatment.

Here are some other methadone treatment useful links:

Suboxone Treatment : This is another alternative for the treatment of Opioid Addiction. It is a medication based treatment and works well.  This site has a suboxone doctor directory and helpful articles on suboxone.

Centers for Disease Control : This link will bring you directly to the the source pdf for this article.

White House Drug Policy : This link brings you to more information on methadone and other sources. It is another pdf file.

Suboxone Treatment Directory And Methadone Treatment Directory

Dr. Rich is a Board Certified Psychiatrist with licenses in Texas and Hawaii. He specializes in the treatment of opioid addiction with buprenorphine and runs a FREE locator service to find Methadone Treatment including Suboxone treatment of oxycontin addiction. Find a Suboxone Treatment Clinic in your area.
Dr. Rich has written more articles on the cost of oxycontin, buprenorphine (Suboxone) including frequently asked questions and a recent post : How Do I Find A Suboxone Physician?

Can the Chronic Administration of the Combination of Buprenorphine and Naloxone Block Dopaminergic Activity Causing Anti-reward and Relapse Potential?

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We describe a mechanism whereby
chronic blockade of opiate receptors, in spite of only partial opiate agonist action, may ultimately block dopaminergic activity
causing anti-reward and relapse potential. While the direct comparison is not as yet available, toxicity to buprenorphine
can be found in the scientific literature. In considering our cautionary note in this commentary, we are cognizant that, to
date, this is what we have available, and until such a time when the real magic bullet is discovered, we will have to endure.
However, more than anything else this commentary should at least encourage the development of thoughtful new strategies to
target the specific brain regions responsible for relapse prevention.

Content Type Journal ArticlePages 1-19DOI 10.1007/s12035-011-82…

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Compensation Effects on Clinical Trial Data Collection in Opioid-Dependent Young Adults.

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Conclusion: These findings suggest that variations in the amount of compensation for completing assessments can differentially affect outcome measurements, depending on treatment group assignment. Scientific Significance: Adequate financial compensation may minimize bias when treatment condition is associated with differential dropout and may be a cost-effective way to reduce attrition. Moreover, active users may be more likely than non-active users to drop out if compensation is inadequate, especially in control groups or in groups who are not receiving active treatment.
PMID: 21936751 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher] (Source: The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse)

CADTH Rapid Response Report: Clinical evidence for Suboxone® (buprenorphine/naloxone) for short-term detoxification

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Source: Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)
Area: News
This Rapid Response Report from the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) discusses the available evidence regarding the comparative clinical efficacy and safety of short term (<4 weeks) use of Suboxone® (buprenorphine/naloxone) compared with other opioid detoxification agents such as buprenorphine alone, methadone, and clonidine, and placebo.
 
The results of their limited literature search are described and summarised in the report (see link below); the main conclusions drawn were as follows:
 
. The evidence comparing the clinical effectiveness of short term Suboxone® detoxification with other alternative medications in the treatment of patients with opioid…

Combined liquid chromatography-coulometric detection and microextraction by packed sorbent for the plasma analysis of long acting opioids in heroin addicted patients.

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Authors: Somaini L, Saracino MA, Marcheselli C, Zanchini S, Gerra G, Raggi MA
Abstract
The sublingual combination of buprenorphine and naloxone (Suboxone(®)) and Methadone Maintenance Therapy have been found effective in treating heroin addiction. A new analytical method suitable for the simultaneous determination of buprenorphine, norbuprenorphine, methadone and naloxone in human plasma by means of liquid chromatography with coulometric detection has been developed. The chromatographic separation was achieved with a phosphate buffer-acetonitrile mixture as the mobile phase on a cyano column. The monitoring cell of the coulometric detector was set at an oxidation potential of +0.600V. A rapid clean-up procedure of the biological samples using a microextraction by packed sorbent te…

How Is Suboxone Treatment Different than Drug Abuse?

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Physicians who treat opioid addiction also have the option of utilizing ‘medication-assisted treatment,’ and the most common medications used in the treatment of opioid dependence today are methadone, naltrexone, and buprenorphine (Suboxone).
Most people cannot just walk away from opioid addiction. They need help to change their thinking, behavior, and environment. Unfortunately, “quitting cold turkey” has a poor success rate – fewer than 25 percent of patients are able to remain abstinent for a full year. This is where medication-assisted treatment options like methadone, naltrexone, and Suboxone benefit patients in staying sober while reducing the side effects of withdrawal and curbing cravings which can lead to relapse.
Methadone
Methadone is an opioid and …

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