When people seek treatment for opioid addiction, they have many treatments to consider. No matter which programs they choose, they should include treatment with medication. Medication assisted treatment for opioid addiction will help them during and after withdrawal. In order to understand the importance of this program, though, they have to understand how it works.
Medication Assisted Treatment
Medication assisted treatment (MAT) involves using Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs to aid drug addiction treatment. The medications that rehab centers administer depend on the addiction from which people suffer.
For example, those with opioid addiction might receive methadone, buprenorphine or naltrexone. For alcohol abuse, however, they’re more likely to receive disulfiram or acamprosate.
Does MAT Substitute One Addiction for Another?
There are several misconceptions when it comes to medication assisted treatment for opioid addiction. One of the biggest is that MAT trades one addiction for another. However, this isn’t the case.
In reality, MAT relieves many of the symptoms that people suffer from during withdrawal. It makes the detox process easier so that they’re more likely to stick to the program. Also, the drugs that rehab centers use during MAT are less likely to cause dependency and addiction.
Are there ways to abuse MAT drugs? Of course, people always find ways to abuse medications. However, it’s much harder to abuse these drugs. When people seek professional detox, the risk of abuse falls considerably.
MAT Does More Than Help With Detox
Another misconception is that MAT can only help people detox from addictive drugs. While it’s helpful during detox, MAT helps during rehab as well. While people are in rehab centers that offer this treatment, they’re less likely to relapse. The reason is that MAT continues to keep their cravings for drugs at bay.
The fact that MAT can help during rehab is why so many rehab centers offer it. Even the facilities that don’t offer detox still use some kind of MAT program. When people search for rehab centers to enroll in, they should find one that offers this treatment.
How Do the Medications Work?
All MAT medications work in different ways. For opioids, they typically trick the brain so that it still believes that the drug chemicals are present. Also, they block the high that opioids create so that people can experience feeling normal without withdrawal symptoms.
Get Treatment That You Can Count On
At Crestview Recovery, we pride ourselves on offering treatment programs that you can count on. We strive to take treatment to the next level while still making it affordable. A few of the programs that we offer include:
- Partial hospitalization
- Intensive outpatient program
- Aftercare
- Extended care
- Dual diagnosis treatment
Don’t let addiction consume your life. Find a rehab center that offers medication assisted treatment for opioid addiction. Reach out to our friendly staff today at 866.262.0531 to learn more about our MAT program.
Since 2016, Dr. Merle Williamson, a graduate of Oregon Health Sciences University, has been the Medical Director at Crestview Recovery, bringing a rich background in addiction medicine from his time at Hazelden Treatment Center. He oversees outpatient drug and alcohol treatments, providing medical care, setting policies, detox protocols, and quality assurance measures. Before specializing in addiction medicine, he spent 25 years in anesthesiology, serving as Chair of Hospital Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and Chief of Anesthesia at Kaiser Permanente. This experience gives him a unique perspective on treating prescription drug addiction.
