Opioid Addiction Treatment Options

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There are several opioid addiction treatment options to be considered when you need help. You have many choices when you are choosing a facility and considering whether or not you may also need detoxification treatment to meet your needs during this difficult time.

Essentially, medication and behavioral therapy are the two primary types of treatment that can be used independently or together. According to the National Library of Medicine, “… this study reveals that combined treatment is superior, but psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy alone are also efficacious for improving functioning and QoL (Quality of Life).”

Facility Options

Patients choosing to attend opioid addiction treatment first choose the facility type. This is a delicate step because, while some may think they need inpatient treatment, they may actually benefit more from outpatient treatment and vice versa. Knowing the difference between the two facilities helps make your options clearer and allows you to make an informed decision about your opioid addiction treatment management.

With help, support, and proper treatment you can recover from an opioid addiction!

• Inpatient treatment
  • 24-hour facility
  • Patient stays overnight
  • Controlled environment
  • Treatment is suggested to last at least 90 days or more for the best effects
  • Usually more expensive
  • Medication and therapy are offered as treatments
  • Patient is often given access to other treatment types, which fluctuate from acupuncture and yoga classes to arts and crafts and financial assistance
  • Luxury and private facilities exist
  • Free and low-cost facilities exist
  • Better for patients with
    • High psychiatric severity
    • Severe addictions
    • Co-occurring mental disorders
    • No support system at home
• Outpatient treatment
  • Patient visits the facility (usually daily, at least at first)
  • Patient goes home at night
  • Treatment is suggested to last at least 90 days or more for the best effects
  • Usually less expensive
  • Medication and therapy are offered as treatments
  • The range in other treatments fluctuates from vocational counseling and legal help to drug education
  • Free and low-cost facilities exist
  • Better for patients with
    • No co-occurring mental disorders
    • Less severe addictions
    • The ability to juggle treatment and other responsibilities
    • A strong support system

Consider your needs (whether or not you need to be home at night, if you can receive treatment and balance your life, if you need treatment for a co-occurring mental disorder as well, etc.) and decide which treatment facility is right for you. This is an important choice to make when it comes to your opioid addiction treatment.

Medication Options

Most facilities provide pharmacological options for addiction recovery. When patients are dealing with intense withdrawal symptoms, cravings, and other issues that come from opioid addiction, medication assisted treatment can be very beneficial to help patients focus on therapy. Some facilities provide natural addiction treatment (without medication), but in most cases, some medication options are recommended.

Several medications are used for short or long term treatment of opioid addiction. You and your doctor will likely choose the one that is best for you, and this may change over the course of your treatment.

These medications are:

• Methadone
  • According to the CDC, methadone works as a long-acting, full mu-opioid receptor agonist, which is a medication that activates opioid receptors in the brain to reduce pain or withdrawal symptoms and works for an extended period of time.
  • It can be used for both short term addiction and detox treatment and long term maintenance, which many opioid addicts need. Methadone maintenance helps people stop abusing opioids and can be maintained for as long as necessary.
  • Methadone can be taken once a day, and the treatment regimen can be continued for a few weeks, years, or even indefinitely.
  • Methadone use has shown significant decreases in illegal opioid abuse, crime, illness, overdose, and death as compared to those who do not use it.
  • The drawbacks are that you can become addicted to Methadone if abused and that it is widely available through illegal channels.

Will Methadone Help Me Overcome an Addiction to Narcotics?

Methadone maintenance treatment is designed to help people overcome narcotics addiction by mitigating withdrawal symptoms and preventing relapse episodes.

• Buprenorphine
  • Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist and is sold as both Subutex and Suboxone, the latter of which contains naloxone as well.
  • This treatment is often used for those who are looking to detox and attend addiction treatment to stop abusing opioids. However, patients can be maintained on buprenorphine as well.
  • Including naloxone in Suboxone makes it easier to avoid drug abuse, as patients who crush it up and snort or inject it will experience withdrawal symptoms as a result.
  • Buprenorphine is relatively new, safe, and beneficial to many patients and, unlike methadone, which a person needs to obtain from a treatment facility, it can be prescribed in a doctor’s office.
• Naltrexone
  • Naltrexone is a “long-acting opioid antagonist” and is better suited for treating professional healthcare workers or other individuals who are very serious about ending their opioid addictions.
  • Other patients find naltrexone difficult to use as it precipitates withdrawal symptoms in anyone who is currently dependent on opioids. For this reason, it is not very well tolerated by many individuals.
  • However, it also “blocks opiate receptors [and] neutralizes or reverses the effects of opiates.”

Therapy Options

Therapy is essential to most individuals’ treatment regimens for opioid addiction. However, there are some options for different therapy treatments. Some patients may use more than one during treatment, either at the same time or changing as they progress toward their recoveries.

These therapies are:

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy or CBT
  • Probably the most commonly used behavioral treatment for opioid abuse and addiction, CBT helps patients learn to identify and change dysfunctional thinking patterns, recognize high-risk triggers, and develop practical, long-term coping strategies. (Psychiatric Clinics of North America).
• Contingency management or CM
  • In CM, patients can receive vouchers that reward them for staying abstinent from opioids.
• Group therapy
  • Group therapy is often used to allow patients a chance to meet and speak with other individuals who have experienced the same issues as a result of opioid addiction.

There are many options when it comes to opioid addiction treatment. Always remember that in the course of your treatment, you progress to a different level of treatment and your program should reflect those changes.

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