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Common Drug Treatments

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3. Common treatments (or methods) and quality of life:
a. There are three common treatments for painkiller addiction.
i. Detoxification ii. Recovery Programs iii. Therapy
b. Detoxification is the process of removing or clearing the drug from the body.
i. This process works by using opiate receptor antagonists which are medications that block the ability of opiates to have any effect on the brain and block the opiate craving as well. ii. The most common opioid drugs that are used during detoxification are Methadone, Buprenorphine, and Naloxone.
1. They are all opioid drugs that activate opioid receptors that help reduce drug craving and prevention of withdrawal. iii. There is another type of detoxification that is called “Rapid” or “Ultra Rapid” Detox which accelerates the process of detox by giving large doses of opioid blocking drugs under anesthesia.
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This process is much faster because it is conducted for only several hours while the traditional process of detoxification lasts for days, or even weeks depending on how much of the victim abused on a drug.
2. Also, this “rapid” process is have not proven to be more effective than traditional methods of detox, and may be more dangerous.
c. Recovery Programs are programs that help overcome a drug addiction or abuse. These programs involve attending groups, individual counseling, and other activities.
i. For example, there are residential programs which are rehabs that help an individual by staying in a treatment facility for a period of time like 90 days, or 28 or 30 days, depending on the program. ii. There are also support groups where an individual meets with others with the same situation and help one another.
1. This type of recovery program is offered by accredited facilities, volunteer organizations, churches and community

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