Many people struggle with substance abuse. Some grapple with alcohol, while others allow other drugs to get a grip on them. Some continue to deal with these problems for years, while others decide they will try to get clean.
Those who decide to get clean or who are convinced by family members or friends that they should try to do it might battle substances as devastating as crack or heroin. Those who abuse heroin might try methadone rehab in Utah. Methadone is used by some inpatient programs as a way to gradually get someone off more serious drugs.
Is gradual reduction a viable option for getting clean, though? We’ll talk about that in detail right now.
Methadone is Considered a Good Way to Wean Yourself Off Heroin
Let’s focus on heroin for a moment. There have been times throughout the past few decades when its popularity has risen and fallen. Those who get started on it often have a very tough time getting clean because of how addictive it is, though.
For decades, clinics that help heroin addicts get clean have used methadone as a way to wean people off this deadly drug. Methadone gives them a slight high. It’s not as satisfying as heroin, but it’s often enough to let the addict function as they try to get out from under this lethal drug’s control.
Some Addicts Find Success This Way
Some addicts who go through this process find it to be successful if they stick with it and follow a doctor’s orders. They might need to stay in an inpatient facility to make sure they don’t sneak off and relapse.
Heroin can have a powerful hold on them, and methadone may not give them the feeling they need if they’re hopelessly addicted. Much like any other addiction, having the right support around the afflicted person should help them. They must also genuinely want to get clean, though, or the efforts of the doctors, family members, and friends who want to help them might count for nothing.
It Doesn’t Work for Everyone
The gradual reduction method that methadone provides for heroin addicts doesn’t always work. Some addicts feel the need to get some heroin back into their system so strongly that blunting the edge with methadone is not enough. They might relapse several times before eventually getting clean.
They may also give up on getting clean and stop trying. For these individuals, death from an overdose is always a very real possibility.
However, the methadone option for treating heroin addicts has worked enough over the years so that doctors and clinic operators still consider it a viable choice. It helps many heroin addicts every year, and it’s often a better way to try to get clean than doing it cold turkey. Hardly any addicts break the hold that heroin has over them by stopping all at once.
Any heroin addict who wants to get clean should at least consider the gradual reduction method because of its proven track record.