fbpx
Skip to content

TH: +66 20 385 469     Toll Free USA/CAN: 1 888 806 6776     Toll Free UK: 0 808 189 0393     Toll Free AUS: 1 800 251 994     HK: +852 3008 5841     SG: +65 3158 7621

  • Home
  • What We Treat
    • Addiction
      • Alcohol Addiction Treatment
      • Drug Addiction Treatment
      • Amphetamine Addiction Treatment
      • Cocaine Addiction Treatment
      • GHB Addiction Treatment
      • Heroin Addiction Treatment
      • Ecstasy Addiction Treatment
      • Marijuana Addiction Treatment
      • Methamphetamine Addiction Treatment
    • Mental Health
      • Anxiety disorder treatment programme
      • Depression treatment programme
      • Co-treating Addiction and Trauma Disorders
      • Dual Diagnosis/Co-Occurring Disorders
    • Behavioral Addiction
      • Co-Occurring Disordered Eating Treatment
      • Internet Addiction Treatment
      • Rehab for Gambling Addiction Treatment
  • Our Programme
    • Changing Pathways Addiction Programme
      • Physical Therapy
    • The Kintsugi Programme
    • Disordered Eating Programme
    • Continuing Care
    • Recovery House at The Cabin
    • Sunday Excursions
  • About Our Rehab
    • About the Cabin
    • Accommodation and Facilities
    • Gallery
    • The Cabin Group
    • Our Team
    • Client Testimonials
    • In The Press
    • Blogs
  • Admissions
    • Admissions Process
    • How Rehab Works at The Cabin
    • Online assessment
    • FAQ
    • Family Advice
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Referring a Client

Get Help Now
09/04/2012

Methadone Use, Abuse, and Addiction

Home › Blog › Methadone Use, Abuse, and Addiction

Methadone use, abuse, and addiction 

Methadone is a type of opioid and is given by doctors as a prescription medication. It is used to treat severe pain. It is also given to heroin addicts to help come off of the drug without experiencing the severe withdrawal symptoms. Methadone has been used for decades to treat people in pain, or who abuse or have an addiction to other drugs. In the last decade, methadone itself is becoming a serious problem as many people abuse it and are developing addictions to the drug.

Methadone Use

Methadone Use for Pain

Methadone is a very strong opioid that is given to people who are in severe pain. However, in many countries, a doctor must have a special license to prescribe methadone. In other countries, this drug is given to people much easier and sometimes in a large quantity. This puts the person at a high risk to abuse it or accidentally developing an addiction to the drug.

Methadone Use for Heroin Addicts

Heroin causes an excess of dopamine to be released in the users brain. When a heroin addiction develops, the addict will feel a constant need for this drug and will put every bit of effort into maintaining their high. This can make it even harder to want to stop, or to even think about stopping.

When the addict decides to get treatment, they may be given methadone; because, it satisfies the brain’s need for an opiate, but does not give the person that euphoric like feeling that is associated with heroin. What this means is that the addict remains physically dependent on the opioid, but becomes free of the controlling, compulsive, and disruptive behaviour that heroin caused them to have.

Methadone also reduces the physical cravings that are associated with withdrawing. This drug can help to reduce withdrawal symptoms and can even help restore the addict’s body functions back to normal.

Methadone, the Substitution for Heroin

Methadone’s properties make it a very good candidate for helping people with a heroin addiction to quit, but many times, abuse of the drug occurs. This drug is oftentimes given to a person for a long period of time, possibly months and even years. A rehab will make sure to give the person the right amount of methadone without the risk of addiction. The rehab will then gradually lower the person’s dosage over a prolonged period of time. Doing so will leave little or no chance of a person abusing or becoming addicted to methadone.

People who leave rehab early or never get treatment at a rehab, but continue to take methadone instead of heroin, must be able to maintain the right dosage without building up a strong tolerance. The good news is that a doctor will have to give the person the prescription, but unfortunately if the person begins to abuse methadone, they may turn to the streets to get it.

Methadone Abuse

People who use methadone for pain may begin to abuse the drug; because, they enjoy the feeling that it gives them or they have built up a tolerance to the drug.

When heroin addicts use methadone, they may begin to abuse it when they leave the treatment center. In both of these situations, if a person begins to abuse methadone, they can develop an addiction to the drug; this is what is known as swapping one addiction for another.

There are also people who may have an addiction to another opiate or opioid; such as, OxyContin. If they are unable to get OxyContin, many times the user will opt for Methadone. Sometimes, a person who has a severe heroin addiction will take methadone with it to increase their high.

Overdose

Whatever the reasons for the use and abuse of methadone are, many people are overdosing on the drug; this is because, many people don’t realize that there are no euphoric effects associated with the drug. Abusers may take it and believe that it is not working, so the user takes more and more, eventually the person will have an overdose.

Withdrawal

Once a person develops an addiction to methadone, if they decide to quit, they will go through withdrawal. Withdrawal from methadone can be even worse than heroin, and can take more than 30 days. Many times a person with a methadone addiction wishes to quit, but they never do; to avoid dealing with the symptoms of withdrawal.

Treatment

If you or someone you know abuses or has an addiction to methadone and wants to get treatment, contact The Cabin Chiang Mai today, we have experience in treating all drug addictions.

Get A Free Consultation
Search

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • Alcohol Addiction Treatment
  • Behavioral Addiction
  • Blog
  • Co-occurring Disorders
  • Cocaine Addiction
  • Drug Addiction
  • Food Addiction Treatment
  • Gambling Addiction Treatment
  • Gaming Addiction Treatment
  • Infographic
  • Infosheet
  • Internet Addiction Treatment
  • Prescription Drugs Addiction Treatment
  • Reach
  • Recovery
  • Relapse Prevention
  • Rise
  • Sex Addiction Treatment
  • Trauma and Addiction
  • Video
  • Youth Addiction Treatment
A New Connection Found Between Energy Drinks and Alcohol
Alcohol Addiction Treatment | Blog

A New Connection Found Between Energy Drinks and Alcohol

A new twist has been revealed about possible triggers for alcohol abuse. Those shiny bottles of energy drinks widely found for sale in convenience stores are now linked to increased drinking, and also to increased intoxication. While experts agree about the genetic basis for alcoholism, researchers are still uncovering environmental triggers linked to drinking behaviors....
01/13/2013
sober celebrities james franco
Alcohol Addiction Treatment | Blog

Eight Sober Celebrities Who Might Surprise You

Hollywood often glamorises alcohol and drug use, but these celebrities have managed to find their own path. Some of these actors, actresses and musicians who are living sober may just surprise you. Rates of addiction and alcoholism continue to be a problem across the globe, and of course celebrities are far from immune. Always in...
06/28/2016
Focus Cory Monteith’s death was not in vain
Blog | Recovery

Focus: Cory Monteith’s death was not in vain

Following the death of Glee star Cory Monteith from a heroin overdose after being discharged from rehab, questions have been raised about the ‘safety’ of abstinence-based programmes. The debate stems from a difference of opinion between advocates of ‘harm reduction’ policies adopted by many governments around the world and  the 12 Step style treatment offered...
08/28/2013
The Cabin Logo

The Cabin Rehab Centre
9 Khua Mung, Saraphi District,
Chiang Mai, Thailand 50140

Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Linkedin

OUR TREATMENT

  • Alcohol Addiction Treatment
  • Drug Addiction Treatment
  • Disordered Eating Programme
  • Gambling Addiction Treatment
  • Changing Pathways
  • Kintsugi Programme
  • Sunday Excursions
  • Relapse Prevention

ABOUT THE CABIN

  • About Us
  • The Professional Team
  • Why The Cabin
  • Our Accommodation
  • Admissions Process
  • What is Our Client Say?
  • FAQ
  • The Cabin’s Blog
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms and Conditions

CONTACT US

TH: +66 20 385 469
USA/CAN: 1 888 806 6776
UK: 0 808 189 0393
AUS: 1 800 251 994
HK: +852 3008 5841
SG: +65 3158 7621
Download Our Brochure

© 2023 The Cabin Chiang Mai. All Rights Reserved.

Get Help Today!
Getting the Help You Need Today!

If you require further information, Please do not hesitate to contact us.

  • TH : +662 038 5469
  • US : +1 888 806 6776
  • UK : +44 808 189 0393
  • AU : +61 1 800 251 994
  • HK : +852 3008 5841
  • SG : +65 3158 7621
close
Manage Cookie Consent

To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by using the toggles on the Cookie Policy, or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen.

Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Statistics

Marketing

Features
Always active

Always active
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Statistics

Marketing

Features
Always active

Always active
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Scroll to top
  • Home
  • What We Treat
    • Addiction
      • Alcohol Addiction Treatment
      • Drug Addiction Treatment
      • Amphetamine Addiction Treatment
      • Cocaine Addiction Treatment
      • GHB Addiction Treatment
      • Heroin Addiction Treatment
      • Ecstasy Addiction Treatment
      • Marijuana Addiction Treatment
      • Methamphetamine Addiction Treatment
    • Mental Health
      • Anxiety disorder treatment programme
      • Depression treatment programme
      • Co-treating Addiction and Trauma Disorders
      • Dual Diagnosis/Co-Occurring Disorders
    • Behavioral Addiction
      • Co-Occurring Disordered Eating Treatment
      • Internet Addiction Treatment
      • Rehab for Gambling Addiction Treatment
  • Our Programme
    • Changing Pathways Addiction Programme
      • Physical Therapy
    • The Kintsugi Programme
    • Disordered Eating Programme
    • Continuing Care
    • Recovery House at The Cabin
    • Sunday Excursions
  • About Our Rehab
    • About the Cabin
    • Accommodation and Facilities
    • Gallery
    • The Cabin Group
    • Our Team
    • Client Testimonials
    • In The Press
    • Blogs
  • Admissions
    • Admissions Process
    • How Rehab Works at The Cabin
    • Online assessment
    • FAQ
    • Family Advice
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Referring a Client