methadone clinic?
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: florida
Posts: 26
methadone clinic?
Can anyone tell me exactly what the methadone clinic is. Where are they, how much do they cost, do they give you a script or do they give it to you there, is there therapy? I have just always heard of them but never really been sure what they are.
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Vineland,NJ
Posts: 8
A methadone clinic is a place u go to usually monday through saturday for ur dose, usually in liquid form, at least thats the way it isin my part of NJ. I live in new jersey and i know they arent open sunday so they give u a take home for sunday. I dont know about other states but in NJ its state law to only start u on 40 mil. then they bump u up from there depening on how much opioids u were using, untill they get u to a level that is right for u. U can find clinics through the internet just google them for ur state, I know when i was on it, it was 80 dollars a week for the maint. program, i know they have detox programs too. Before ur giving methadone u must take a drug test and come up positive for opioids. But after that they give u random urines and u must come up clean from all other drugs, they also assign u a counselor. There r a bunch within 15 m iles of where i live.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 23
Hi
As Mad Hatter said, a methadone clinic is a place that provides medication-assisted treatment and counseling for those suffering from opioid addiction.
Methadone treatment is recognized by the World Health Org., the National Institute of Health, National Institute of Drug Abuse and the White House Office of Narcotic Drug Control as being the most effective treatment for opioid addiction available today.
Patients start out visiting the clinic daily for their dose of liquid methadone, which is titrated upwards until they are at the right dose for them. After 3 months in treatment they can begin to earn take home doses. Depending on the state, they can earn up to a month's worth of take home doses at a time, though earning this many takes upwards of two years.
SOme clinics are state or federally funded--others are private pay.
Long term opioid addiction causes the brain to cease producing natural opiates (endorphins). This can be temporary, or it can be permanent. Methadone replaces not the drug of choice as is commonly thought, but the missing endorohins, normalizing the brain chemistry of the user without causing a high or euphoria in stable patients. Most people do not understand this aspect of the treatment and have various uninformed or prejudicial views about it, so patients suffer from discrimination and judgment more than with other modalities.
It is not legal for doctors to issue a prescription for methadone to treat addiction, though they may prescribe it for pain. Therefore, methadone taken for addiction must be dispensed in or by the clinic itself, not by prescription.
Suboxone (buprenorphine) is a newer medication, and is an opioid agonist/partial antagonist. It is somewhat safer to use (for risk of overdose), but is limited in it's effectiveness due to the ceiling effect of the medication. Studies show that anyone who needs more than 60mgs of methadone to stabilize is unlikely to do well on Suboxone, and the average dose needed by most methadone pts is 80-120mgs. Suboxone is really intended for people with addictions to Rx painkillers that are not to immense--for example, someone who has been taking 10-20 vicodin per day for 6 months would be a good candidate for Suboxone--someone shooting IV heroin for 20 years, maybe not.
As Mad Hatter said, a methadone clinic is a place that provides medication-assisted treatment and counseling for those suffering from opioid addiction.
Methadone treatment is recognized by the World Health Org., the National Institute of Health, National Institute of Drug Abuse and the White House Office of Narcotic Drug Control as being the most effective treatment for opioid addiction available today.
Patients start out visiting the clinic daily for their dose of liquid methadone, which is titrated upwards until they are at the right dose for them. After 3 months in treatment they can begin to earn take home doses. Depending on the state, they can earn up to a month's worth of take home doses at a time, though earning this many takes upwards of two years.
SOme clinics are state or federally funded--others are private pay.
Long term opioid addiction causes the brain to cease producing natural opiates (endorphins). This can be temporary, or it can be permanent. Methadone replaces not the drug of choice as is commonly thought, but the missing endorohins, normalizing the brain chemistry of the user without causing a high or euphoria in stable patients. Most people do not understand this aspect of the treatment and have various uninformed or prejudicial views about it, so patients suffer from discrimination and judgment more than with other modalities.
It is not legal for doctors to issue a prescription for methadone to treat addiction, though they may prescribe it for pain. Therefore, methadone taken for addiction must be dispensed in or by the clinic itself, not by prescription.
Suboxone (buprenorphine) is a newer medication, and is an opioid agonist/partial antagonist. It is somewhat safer to use (for risk of overdose), but is limited in it's effectiveness due to the ceiling effect of the medication. Studies show that anyone who needs more than 60mgs of methadone to stabilize is unlikely to do well on Suboxone, and the average dose needed by most methadone pts is 80-120mgs. Suboxone is really intended for people with addictions to Rx painkillers that are not to immense--for example, someone who has been taking 10-20 vicodin per day for 6 months would be a good candidate for Suboxone--someone shooting IV heroin for 20 years, maybe not.
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