Medication for the Drug Addict

As strange as it may sound, the use of medication in treating people suffering from drug addiction is something that is not unheard of. In fact, almost all drug rehabilitation centers make use of different drugs along with their therapy programs.

In order to better understand how a treatment program utilizing certain medications goes, we first need to keep in mind that drug rehab programs focuses on two phases in an addict’s recovery – the treatment of the abuse itself and the provision of support to help the addict cope with the withdrawal symptoms.

During the withdrawal phase, one needs to understand that medication-assisted detoxification cannot be considered as the whole treatment program in itself. Doing so leads to the danger of the drug addict falling into a relapse. A medication-assisted detoxification is just the first step in the whole treatment plan.

During the treatment phase, medication is also used in suppressing the effects of withdrawal as well as control cravings.

During this phase of drug rehab programs, drugs such as Methadone, Buprenorphine and Naltrexone are made use of in order to control cravings for opiods. On the other hand, medications such as Bupropion and Varenicline are made use of in order to keep nicotine addicts from falling into a relapse. These medications also help the drug addict to become receptive to treatment.

Although many are quick to point out that recovering drug addict may also become addicted to the medications being given by those involved in drug rehab programs in Florida since some of them are also opiates, in truth, most of the medications involved in the treatment process react in a different ways than those that the addicts crave. The high they get from Buprenorphine, for example, stops at a certain level and does not create a higher tolerance level in the user. This is one of the reasons why it is considered to be as effective as methadone as a treatment plan.

Medications may reduce the craving and keep the patient from feeling the full force of the witdrawal. However, therapy should still form part of the various drug rehab programs in order to ensure the continued recovery of the drug addict.