Can Pills Help You With Addiction Recovery?

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Would it not be ironic if a pill can help you stop wanting a drug with your whole being? Ironic as it may sound, the following pills DO help you blunt cravings for drugs like heroin, cocaine or codeine.

*Buprenorphine (commonly known as "Bupe") is an opioid drug that is similar to heroin. Though it (buprenorphine) is similar to the drug that caused your addiction, it is an integral part of your recovery. When you stop taking heroin, you begin to feel withdrawal symptoms within a day or two of the last dose. Symptoms may range from sweating, tremors, stomach cramps to general aches and pains. It sounds awful, does it not? With "bupe" however, you are less likely to experience debilitating withdrawal symptoms and suffer intense cravings.

*Methadone is another opioid drug used to help people recover from addiction to heroin, oxycodone and hydromorphone. What is surprising is, methadone is in itself physically addictive BUT it is not as psychologically addictive as heroin, oxycodone and hydromorphone . In fact, it does not produce the same euphoric high at all. Those under methadone treatment describe their feelings as merely "normal". They go about what they usually do - work, go to school, take care of family. Methadone use cannot go on indefinitely however - and because it (methadone) is less psychologically addictive, the dose can be gradually reduced until physical dependence is at zero.

*Naltrexone is a narcotic antagonist. It subdues certain areas in the brain responsible for feelings of pleasure. It accomplishes this by actually displacing opioid receptors in your brain. In doing so, Naltrexone reduces the "high" associated with using heroin, cocaine or codeine. In place of the euphoric high typical of opioid drugs, is a feeling of intense calm which naturally counters strong cravings. Patients report they actually forget they are on naltrexone. In addition, naltrexone is not physically or psychologically addicting and seems to have no adverse effects when patients stop taking it.

Is Using a Replacement Drug for Recovery still "Drug Abuse"?

The more important question is - can addicts quit on their own? The National Institute of Drug Abuse's paper on The Principles of Effective Drug Addiction Treatment states that, the best drug recovery treatments address all the aspects of the addict. As with patients suffering from depression and schizophrenia, treatment approaches should be a combination of behavioral therapies, attention to social services - and use of medications. After all, if addicts feel like less of a train wreck while they are in the process of quitting, they are less likely to relapse.


About the Author:
Fred Agui writes for RecoveryNowTv.com. The noble goal of recoverynowtv.com is to save lives by helping people recover from addiction. Recovery Now TV provides the latest information about Addiction Recovery. Discover the effect and treatment of Alcohol to your health by visiting RecoveryNowTV.com.



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