Methadone
Methadone is a manmade medication that is taken to treat opioid addiction. It is derived from the opium such as morphine as well as codeine. The medication is made in the laboratory and is often in the form of liquid in the facilities treating addiction or at the methadone clinics. The medication can also come in the form of a tablet and powder. Methadone is very effective alongside counseling and therapy.The prescription is often used under physician supervision in order to eliminate the chances of abusing it (Akerele, & Olupona, 2017). Methadone can result in relaxation and euphoria if abused. The frequent use of methadone may result in dependency as well as addiction to the drug prescription. Methadone is a prolonged action dosage form which usually takes a couple of hours for the drug to come into full effect where the effects last for a duration of up to 36 hours. Individuals undergoing through the methadone maintenance therapy receive it once in a day at the minimum of one year. However, in some cases, individuals may receive a prescription for many years. According to a review from 52 studies recorded in the journal of substance abuse and treatment, methadone therapy is said to be a more effective treatment in reducing the use of heroin and retaining patients in treatment than the other forms of treatment.
Methadone is a very valuable tool in the recovery of the opioid due to several reasons which are: its long action duration, its effectiveness once it’s taken orally as well as the fact that it continues to work besides being consumed over long duration period (Kerensky, & Walley, 2017). The physician is always in the track of an individual’s body response to methadone while adjusting the treatment accordingly.
Purpose of Methadone: Primary and Side Effects
Methadone acts by changing the manner in which the nervous system and the brain to pain making someone feel relieved. It prevents one from getting so high from drugs such as morphine, heroin, hydrocodone, and oxycodone. Methadone can be prescribed to treat pain from chronic illnesses, injuries or surgery. Methadone also assists in the treatment of addiction to other opioids where it prevents withdrawal symptoms while still giving similar symptoms (Akerele et al., 2017). It acts by weakening withdrawal symptoms as well as cravings resulting from addiction to other opioids like heroin. Methadone is referred to as replacement therapy as it helps in replacing the opioids in the body system with milder effects
The side effects of short term use of methadone include heavy sweating, nausea, urinary retention, sexual problems, itchy skin, dry mouth, constipation, restlessness as well as slow breathing. Methadone may result in serious side effects which require medical attention by a physician. Such side effects include shallow breathing, chest pains, Anaphylactic reactions, swollen throat, face lips or tongue, hives, rapid heartbeat feeling light-headed, tremors and in some cases Death due to overdose. In addition to that, methadone can result in psychological side effects such as paranoia, hallucinations, suicidal ideations, insomnia, reduced concentration, anxiety, delusions, and depressions. Prolonged use of methadone may result in irregular menstrual cycle in women, lungs nerves and brain damages as well as pregnancy difficulties.
History of Methadone Use in the United States
Synthetic drugs were used in the world war 2 by the German medics to treat the soldier’s Methadone once the morphine stores ran out of shortage. It was recognized as a less addictive painkillers substitute for opiates and morphine.by the end of the second world war the news of the drug reached the allied forces of the united states. Methadone was first introduced in the united states in 1947. It was introduced as an all-purpose pain medication through advertisement. After 14 years methadone was recognized as a maintenance drug. It was however faced with strong opposition from the United States Bureau of Narcotics. In spite of the resistance, the research continued up to the recognition of methadone as a significant clinical application. In 1971 methadone was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a feasible heroine medical treatment as well as other narcotic abuse treatment (Biersack, 2015. Later on, the Food and Drug Administration lifted their regulatory control to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, which in response issued fresh regulations.The new regulations allowed doctors to prescribe methadone to their patients who are under the recovery program together with those having chronic pains. Today methadone is used both illicitly and medically. The drug is accepted for medical use in the United States where it can be prescribed by the doctors legally. Methadone is prescribed in treating chronic pains like those linked with cancer.it is also used as a painkiller prescription as well as treating the addiction to heroin. Despite methadone being considered as a better substitute to other narcotics, it is associated with dangerous side effects and high risks of abuse
Synergistic Effects of Methadone and Benzodiazepines/ Other Licit and Illicit Drugs
Drug consumption is accompanied by several side effects and so the abuse of several drugs poses a potential danger to human health. Each year there is increased reports of overdose deaths in the United States from illicit and licit drug abuse. The drug interaction of benzodiazepine with opioid has a potential mechanism of action in cases of overdose that is drug-drug interaction. Such actions include the alterations of the of active metabolite concentration, alteration of parents drug concentration, loss of tolerance, muscle relaxant throats effects as well as the genetic alterations in sensitivity changes during the transport of drugs.
Individuals who abuse both methadone and benzodiazepines are said to experience adverse health conditions. This is contrary to having a combination of licit and illicit drugs. Benzodiazepines and methadone may sometimes be used in the treatment of individuals having an opiate addiction. According to the alcohol and drug dependency, researchers’ buprenorphine-benzodiazepine and methadone-benzodiazepine abusers are negatively affected where methadone-benzodiazepine abusers have higher healthier risks. The methadone and benzodiazepine action is slower with lower higher effect compared to other frequently abused illicit drugs and heroin. Benzodiazepines are referred to as tranquilizers or sedatives (Johnson, Barnsdale, & McAuley, 2016). They are prescribed by the physicians in the treatment of anxiety as well as muscle relaxants during the withdrawal symptoms treatment. Benzodiazepines act by slowing the rate of communication between the central nervous system and the nerve cells. They, therefore, act as the depressants of the central nervous system. Despite being taken under the physician instruction, abusers of the benzodiazepines are exposed to high risk of developing physical dependence. Long term excessive use of benzodiazepine results to disastrous effects such as memory impairment, psychomotor deficits as well as cognitive deficits. Concurrent abusers of methadone and benzodiazepine experience severe adverse health conditions than abuse of other drugs. Thus, such victims of the abuse end up dying while others get hospitalized (Biersack, 2015). The synergistic effects of benzodiazepines and methadone include low blood pressure, lethargic body response, coma, respiratory arrest, cardiac arrest as well as abnormal shallow breathing.
Treatment Strategies
The Mixing of the methadone with other substances results in devastating effects. However, the abuse can be stopped through various counseling techniques and treatment. An example is contingency management in counseling. In contingency management counseling behavioral management therapy is used to assist the methadone with other substance abusers in learning how to abstain from the drug abuse (Weiss, & Rao, 2017). Through counseling, the abusers are able to have back their fulfilling and creative health lifestyle. Contingency management counseling allows the inpatients to stay where the patients are able to participate in various support groups which assist them in keeping track of their drug-free program. Counseling approach method is very significant when it comes to behavioral reinforcement. This is because the patient is frequently motivated in addiction management by a constant reminder of the possibility of being discharged from the counseling program only if he continues with the medication of the drug.
The other treatment method used is the psychological model approach. This approach focuses on maladaptive motivational learning of the individual primary cause of substance abuse as well as their emotional dysfunction.
Methadone maintenance and other pharmacotherapies treatment modality is also used.it is proved to be a very effective treatment method for heroin as well as other opiates. This kind of treatments assists in preventing opioid withdrawal. Methadone enables individuals to continue with their productive lives while used on a maintenance basis as it does not produce sedation nor euphoria. Basically, patients get their oral medication from the clinic daily where those patients recording better performance are allowed to take with them home dosages. In addition to that, a derivative from methadone known as Levo-alpha acetylmethadol (LAAM) is used as a maintenance drug treatment. It’s a long-acting form of medication thus inexpensive. Naltrexone is another fast-acting innovative drug abuse treatment. It is very effective and safe for opioid dependence treatment.
Finally, the therapeutic community can be used as a standard treatment modality. They are usually a long term residential program which gives more emphasis on lifestyle, socialization as well as the behavioral change (Weiss et al., 2017). Therapeutically treatment is a thorough communal form of treatment which is aimed at self-help. The approaches used include reality oriented group sessions, group meetings as well as psychological counseling. Such approaches help in promoting prosocial behavior and reducing negative thinking.in addition to that, there is a reward and punishment system which assists in promoting prosocial behavior and a sense of responsibility.
The individuals in the treatment live in a large self-sufficient communal setting with a set of proscribed and prescribed rules which must be followed. The treatment objectives include the adoption of more socially accepted behaviors and norms as well as the primary goal which is to reduce the drug use. The length of stay in the therapeutical community can go from four to two years.
Conclusion
Though benzodiazepine and methadone abuse are fatal on their own, the combination of methadone with benzodiazepine or other substance can indeed be lethal. The psychosocial and pharmacotherapy treatments advances are very effective in increasing motivation to access and seek treatment as well as retaining those under treatment.