There is very little choice for opioid treatment. There is suboxone and methadone. There has not been any suitable way to treat addicts without dealing with the chemical dependency issue. When a drug addict is abusing drugs they are called chemically dependent for a good reason. All drugs are made up of chemical that interact with the human bodies chemicals, usually hormones and other biological pathways. The body reacts by then changing pathways in response to this new and continuous chemical being introduced.
It is like any new food that we introduce to babies which could cause an allergic reaction. As parents, it is wise to introduce these foods slowly so the childs body doesn’t reject it. In some cases the body will need to create enzymes that will interact with the food and allow it to be absorbed in the body. Chocolate is a good example. It is the same for drugs of all types. Anti-depressant medication chemically interacts with the brain chemistry to change the way people feel to help them out of their depression.
So for narcotic users, opioid drugs are highly addictive not just because they make a person feel really good, it chemically alters the brain and when the addict begins to have withdrawl symptoms, they feel really, really bad. For the longest time the only treatment was to lock these addicts away and make them suffer. Then came Methadone medication but this has its drawbacks as the medication needs to be taken everyday at a clinic, is highly monitored for abuse by the DEA and can make users high as it is a mix of the opioid narcotic.
Then there is suboxone and several other derivatives of suboxone that have been around for just over 10 years. These are formulated to help prevent the addict from taking this medication to get high. It has a chemical in it that blocks the receptors that would normally take the opioid chemicals and even pushes some of them out. This prevents the high but it too has some opioid in it because the addict is chemically dependent so they must have some of that chemical to satisfy their bodies addiction. It too is followed closely by the DEA but there is some leeway to patients who may take the medication home for longer periods of time.
Yet some do not believe that a medication should contain any type of opioid to treat the addict. Yes, it would be nice to give them medication free of opioids and have a successful treatment but these people are not thinking of the chemical dependency part of the picture. So until a new medication is developed, treatment will be by methadone or a suboxone prescription.
Every hospital should at least try their best to ensure that all of the patient’s necessities are within reach. This can be in terms of money, food and even gifts. Miami Valley Hospital has many machines, cafes, eateries and even shops within their hospital walls for your convenience. There are ATM machines, cafes where visitors can loosen up and wait, and gift shops that offer other methods of expressing once feelings toward their admitted friend or family.