Many people have received help and been successful in recovery treatment thanks in part to Medication-assisted treatment (MAT Drugs). There are several reasons why MAT is used so often in overcoming addiction. By combining MAT drugs with other recovery components, you’ll have a greater likelihood of remaining clean and on the path to recovery.
What Are MAT Drugs?
MAT drugs are FDA-approved medications that help reduce cravings, withdrawal symptoms or both as you work through a drug or alcohol recovery treatment program. These medications ease the process, reduce your discomfort, and make you less likely to use substances again.
MAT drugs are most often used to treat opioid use disorders (OUD), but they can also be used for alcohol use disorder and addiction to other substances, as well. These medications can:
- Improve your survival rates.
- Increase your likelihood of remaining in treatment.
- Decrease criminal activity associated with drug use.
- Increase your ability to retain employment.
Medically assisted treatment programs are part of a comprehensive recovery program that addresses several areas of your life to offer you the best chances at recovery.
What Are the Different Types of Drugs Used in MAT?
Regardless of the medication, the goal is to help you feel normal during the withdrawal process, with little to no symptoms and controlled cravings. There are several MAT drugs used for this purpose.
Drugs for addiction treatment include:
- Buprenorphine – This medication is considered a partial opioid agonist. It reduces withdrawal symptoms and cravings without creating a euphoric reaction like heroin and prescription pain relievers.
- Naltrexone – Naltrexone blocks the activation of opioid receptors, preventing a euphoric high. While it does not control cravings or withdrawal, it decreases your likelihood of trying to use opioids since they no longer produce the desired effect.
- Methadone – Methadone is a synthetic opioid that attaches to opioid receptors, but it does not induce a high. Although methadone dependence is possible, its dramatic effect on cravings makes it effective for addiction treatment when used in clinical settings.
These drugs may be combined with other forms of treatment, such as psychotherapy and process groups. You may also need to try more than one to find what works best for you.
Self-Assessment: Am I Addicted?
The Success Rates of Using Medication-Assisted Treatment
Using prescription drugs for addiction treatment can increase your rates of success while attending a recovery program. According to the outcomes from a medicated assisted treatment pilot program in rural Colorado, patients in treatment reported using less heroin, alcohol, and opioids when on buprenorphine, Naltrexone, or methadone administration schedule.
Medicated-assisted treatment also significantly increases your ability to adhere to a treatment program and reduce opioid use when compared with non-MAT treatment approaches. These medications improve your quality of life, social functioning, and ability to remain in recovery so that you can focus on getting healthy.
How Long Are Medications Used During Medically Assisted Treatment?
Although some people may only need drugs for addiction treatment for a short while during detox and their first weeks of treatment, others need them for an extended period to prevent relapse or manage symptoms. While it’s important to reevaluate your needs periodically, there is no recommended maximum duration for the length of time you use MAT drugs. Generally speaking, medication-assisted treatment should last long enough to see substantial improvements in your life and ability to move forward without using drugs.
Why Do These Medications Work?
While each medication works differently, they all have one thing in common: to help you feel normal while in detox and during the first few weeks or months of treatment. These medications work through:
- Restoring brain balance – By restoring the balance to your brain circuits, you can heal cognitively while still working on recovery.
- Reducing cravings – MAT drugs suppress your cravings, allowing you to get back to your normal routine.
- Preventing relapse – Through the various effects these medications have on the brain, they can diminish or block opioid receptors, keeping you from getting high and decreasing your chances of relapse.
- Balancing dopamine levels – Medicated-assisted treatment helps balance dopamine levels, improving your memory and learning capabilities while you participate in therapy.
What Is Medical Detox?
When you’re dependent on drugs or alcohol, your body becomes used to functioning with these substances in your system. Once you stop using, your body must learn how to function again without drugs and alcohol. Depending on the substance used, this process can be extremely uncomfortable and even dangerous. Medical supervision during drug and alcohol withdrawal is called medical detox. Supervised detox will limit your risks and reduce the uncomfortable symptoms that often accompany this timeframe.
During medical detox, your body will begin clearing toxins from your system while health professionals administer medications to manage the process safely. After medical detox, you will embark on your recovery program, where you can better understand your addiction, develop helpful coping tools and strategies, and learn how to build a life without drugs or alcohol.
Why You Need Medication Oversight for Detox and MAT Use
Close supervision is necessary when you are undergoing medication-assisted treatment. Medical monitoring during detox is also vital due to the potential for dangerous, even deadly, complications.
The medications you receive during detox are effective yet powerful. It’s not uncommon to experience some side effects when beginning treatment. In addition, some of these medications (like methadone) still carry some potential for misuse, and there is the chance you may inadvertently trade one addiction for another. Close supervision and following treatment guidelines help lower these risks.
While remaining supervised, your treatment team can slowly taper your dosage over time to minimize the occurrence of withdrawal symptoms and cravings. By receiving medication oversight while taking drugs for addiction therapy, you can increase your chances of a successful outcome.
How Footprints to Recovery Can Help
Addiction can be isolating. It’s important to know that you’re never alone. If you’re ready to get help for your addiction to drugs or alcohol, Footprints to Recovery can help. Our team of experienced treatment professionals is ready to provide you with the care and support you need at the beginning of your recovery and beyond. Contact Footprints to Recovery to begin your journey towards a healthier you.
Questions about treatment options?
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