How to deal with Methadone dependency
Methadone is a synthetic opioid medication that is used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is also often used to treat opioid addiction, particularly heroin addiction.
Methadone stabilizes patients and reduces withdrawal symptoms in the case of addiction by acting on the same opioid receptors as morphine and heroin.
Methadone Misuse
Methadone is a highly regulated medicine that is used to treat addiction and reduce cravings. It is so tightly controlled that patients who are prescribed methadone in an outpatient setting must visit a clinic every day to receive their medication.
Methadone, on the other hand, has euphoric properties. They may be limited, but they are significant enough that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has declared Methadone users “unfit to drive” because of the drug’s effects.
- Sedation
- Decreased reaction time
- Euphoria
- Decreased attention span
- Tiredness
- Droopy eyelids
- Muscle weakness
- Dry mouth
- Decreased body temperature
- Lowered blood pressure
- Little-to-no reaction to light
Methadone Abuse Statistics
- Between 1999 and 2006, the number of poisoning deaths from methadone grew from 790 to 5,420 (due to the drug’s increased use as a pain reliever).
- 750,000 methadone prescriptions were written for pain treatment in 2008.
- The number of patients treated for abuse of other opiates (including methadone) grew from 28,235 to 36,265 between 2000 and 2001.
- Methadone is involved in one-third of all overdose deaths caused by opioid painkillers.
Methadone Overdose
Overdosing on methadone can cause the following symptoms:
- Constricted pupils
- Discoloration of the nails and the tips of the fingers
- Dizziness
- Hypertension
- Loss of consciousness
- Vomiting and nausea
- Depression of the lungs (potentially fatal in extreme cases)
- Addiction
Methadone Contraindications
Methadone is a depressant of the central nervous system (CNS), and it has a greater risk of undesirable side effects when coupled with other depressants like alcohol and benzodiazepines.