Methadone Addiction
Worried that you or someone you know is hooked on methadone? Help is close. Here, we’ll tell you a little bit about methadone, what to watch out for, and how we can help you or someone you care about getting the best treatment possible.
How do you get hooked on methadone?
Methadone is an artificial opiate made for medical use. It is best known as a treatment for heroin addiction. Most of the time, it comes as a liquid that you swallow, but it can also be a pill or an injection. Methadone is also called “meth,” “mixture,” and “linctus.” Methadone’s effects aren’t as strong as heroin’s, but it still takes away the pain and makes you feel happy. It makes the person who uses it feel happy and at ease. As a replacement for heroin, it helps people deal with their psychological addiction and get their lives back on track. Even though methadone is used to help people who are addicted to heroin, it can be abused and can cause addiction. People who used to use heroin can become addicted to methadone.
Methadone addiction: signs, symptoms, and risks
Methadone can cause a number of side effects, such as a dry mouth, skin rashes, feeling sleepy, having trouble going to the bathroom, and holding on to urine. Some people who use it get confused, sad, have hallucinations, blurry vision, twitching muscles, and fast heartbeats. There is evidence that opiates may increase the risk of miscarriages and stillbirths, but people who are using opiates and get pregnant shouldn’t stop using them all of a sudden because that can cause labour to start too soon. When people take a lot of methadone, they are likely to feel very sleepy. If someone takes too much methadone, they could go into a coma or stop breathing.
Getting people off of methadone
Suddenly stopping methadone can cause bad things to happen, like shaking or seizures. Methadone withdrawal should be done under medical supervision, either in a residential treatment centre or at home under close medical supervision. For long-term recovery, the addict will need to take part in a rehabilitation programme that includes counselling and behavioural therapy. At Addiction Helper, we will help you figure out what your options are and give you and your family all the help you need.