Why is Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) so Important? October 8, 2018 0 0 Bowie MD
Research has proven a combination of medication and therapy can be beneficial in treating opiate addiction. For someone people, medications like Suboxone, Subutex, and Vivitrol can help them sustain recovery and remain drug-free. Medication-assisted treatment has been around for a very long time, it first involved methadone only, but as pharmaceutical companies developed other medications the Food and Drug Administration approved others for treating opiate dependence.
Why is Medication-assisted Treatment Important in Early Recovery?
Medication-assisted treatment is especially helpful in the early stages of opiate recovery because it lessens withdrawal symptoms and curbs cravings. When a person ceases using an addictive substance, the body will experience withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms can be so uncomfortable a person will continue using their opiate of choice to avoid going through it altogether. Suboxone during early withdrawal helps to stabilize a person, allows them to endure detox comfortably and be tapered off the opiate they’re taking.
How Does MAT Prevent Relapse?
After going through detox and getting clean from their opiate of choice, a person can be helped by suboxone, because it can prevent relapsing by normalizing brain function and decreasing cravings. Medications like suboxone wean a person off opiates slowly and it helps to increase a person’s treatment time. Additionally, suboxone can be life-saving for a person who has overdosed on opiates because naloxone, an ingredient in Suboxone, can reverse the effects of an overdose.
How is MAT Changing the Face of Opiate Treatment?
Medication-assisted treatment improves the chances a person will recover from opiate dependence, but sadly many addiction rehab clinics do not offer this type of service. With a lack of providers offering MAT and with the limited number of providers accepting new patients, it can be hard for someone to find treatment when it is needed most. Our program is available to assist people with MAT services, we are open 24/7 because you never know when someone is going to reach out and we are committed to being there, no matter what.
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