Originally Posted by
thejunkyswife 
From all the research I've been doing, the damage to the brain from opiate addiction is really, really scary. It's also frustrating to me because I'm so aware of these issues, and it feels like every time he gets through withdrawal and starts to do well, my husband uses again. He isn't ever going to let his brain get better.
according to the hbo show - THAT's exactly what the replacement therapy helps with - when and addict stops using the drug the brain makes NO dopamine (it's used to the addict chemically feeding his body with dopamine) so the replace ment methadone, suboxone? helps replace some of the dopamine so that the addict doesn't feel 100% less than a normal person who isn't producing dopamine - it makes it a little easier for some - gives them the extra help they need - the dr. was pretty clear that all things don't work for all people - and i came away with a different conclusion that hurt - i think they were hopeful that with each new thing dr.s discover about addiction they come up with 10 new ways of treating it - the addiction series shows lots of different kinds of therapy besides replacement therapy - you should watch all of it - you can watch a 10- 20 minute overview of all the different episodes on hbo.com...
just my opinion...
s