More and more, opioid dependence is being accepted as a chronic disease, much like high blood pressure or diabetes.
Yet unlike these other diseases, opioid dependence carries a very powerful reputation.
This reputation is rooted in the centuries-old belief that opioid dependence is a moral failure. It was only within the last 20 years that researchers began to realize opioid dependence was a medical condition caused by changes in the brain—changes that didn't go away, sometimes for months, after patients stopped using opioids.
Today, opioid dependence in the United States is growing at unprecedented rates. Sadly, fear of the stigma associated with treatment keeps many people from seeking help.
Removing the stigma of opioid dependence is critical to helping patients receive proper care. A key part of achieving this goal is wider recognition that opioid dependence is a medical—not a moral—issue.
The information here is offered to help promote better understanding of opioid dependence as a medical condition by exploring the prevalence, biological origins, impact on behavior, and symptoms of this disease.
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About METHADONE
METHADONE is a medicine discovered in the 1940's by German scientists as a substitute for morphine. Soon, American companies brought METHADONE to the United States for use as a painkiller and, later, to help treat persons going through heroin withdrawal.
METHADONE, heroin and morphine belong to a class of drugs called opioids. They all act in the brain on pain, mood and other emotions. However, methadone has some special qualities.
METHADONE Maintenance Treatment (MMT)
In the early 1960s, two New York physicians, Vincent Dole and Marie Nyswander, discovered that if METHADONE is taken every day – called a “maintenance dose” – as part of a program offering supportive services, it is an effective medical treatment for opioid addiction.
METHADONE works in several ways:
The right methadone maintenance dose doesn’t make you feel “high” or “drugged,” like other opioids do, so you can lead a normal life.
METHADONE’s gradual, long-lasting effects – 24 hours or more – take away the hunger or craving for other opioid drugs.
METHADONE is taken by mouth once a day, so you avoid using injection needles with their risks of diseases like hepatitis and HIV.
It helps you to live a healthier and better life, free of illegal drugs.
About SUBOXONE
SUBOXONE is the first opioid medication approved under DATA 2000 for the treatment of opioid dependence in an office-based setting. SUBOXONE also can be dispensed for take-home use, just as any other medicine for other medical conditions.
The primary active ingredient in SUBOXONE is buprenorphine.
Because buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, its opioid effects are limited compared with those produced by full opioid agonists, such as oxycodone or heroin. SUBOXONE also contains naloxone, an opioid antagonist.
The naloxone in SUBOXONE is there to discourage people from dissolving the tablet and injecting it. When SUBOXONE is placed under the tongue, as directed, very little naloxone reaches the bloodstream, so what the patient feels are the effects of the buprenorphine. However, if naloxone is injected, it can cause that person to quickly go into withdrawal.
SUBOXONE at the appropriate dose may be used to:
Suppress symptoms of opioid withdrawal
Decrease cravings for opioids
Reduce illicit opioid use
Block the effects of other opioids
Help patients stay in treatment
What's Next?
To more fully understand what MMT or Suboxone can mean for you, discuss this with our clinic staff, we are here to help you.
