Find Methadone Treatment Near Needham IN
Methadone is an opioid agonist that works by attaching to the brain’s opioid receptors. It’s a synthetic opioid that activates opioid receptors slower than other opioids do, easing withdrawal symptoms without creating a euphoric feeling in people with an opioid use disorder. It also alters how the brain and nervous system react to pain, reducing the pain that people feel during opioid withdrawal. Methadone also blocks the effects of other opioids, discouraging people from using opioids to feel “high.”
In 1971, the federal government formalized the recognition of methadone as an effective recovery assistant by developing regulations governing its use in treating addiction to heroin. Those regulations stayed essentially the same until 2001, when they were modified so doctors and certain other health care professionals could provide methadone to patients more consistently. Today, methadone maintenance treatment is considered the gold standard for opioid addiction treatment.