Diagnosis. According To The Diagnostic And Statistical

This rise in opioid abuse and overdose, warrants an increase in awareness. Over the years reversal agents have been developed and others are still under investigation. The most commonly used opioid reversal agent in the US is naloxone. Many organizations are reporting an increase in the number

This analysis has a special interest in the use of buprenorphine/naloxone and methadone in the treatment of opioid addiction. More research is being conducted as to

The United States currently faces an unprecedented epidemic of opioid addiction. This includes painkillers, heroin, and other drugs made from the same base chemical. In the couple of years, approximately one out of twenty Americans reported misuse or abuse of prescriptions painkillers. Heroin abuse and overdoses are on the rise and are the leading cause of injury deaths, surpassing car accidents and gun shots. The current problem differs from the opioid addiction outbreaks of the past in that it is also predominant in the middle and affluent classes. Ultimately, anyone can be fighting a battle with addiction and it is important for family members and loved ones to know the signs. The cause for this epidemic is that the current spike of opioid abuse can be traced to two decades of increased prescription rates for painkillers by well-meaning physicians.

behavioral therapies, to provide a whole-patient approach to the treatment of opioid use disorders" (p. 2). There are two types of medications commonly used in opioid use disorder MAT; Naltrexone and Buprenorphine. "Naltrexone is

Have you ever witnessed an addict experiencing the effects of withdrawals from opiate abuse? Having witnessed my 24 year old son go through these, while I was experiencing them right by his side, was an eye opener. Even though Methadone and Suboxone both treat opiate addiction, their use is controversial; however the benefits of their use outweigh the controversy.

Solution l: Other drug treatment facilities use partial opioid agonists like methadone and suboxone. Suboxone is a combination of two drugs that reward a user for correct usage, block the effects of other opioids, and if misused gives a nasty hangover. The drug gives the user similar

I agree that the withdrawal process makes opioid addiction debilitating. It takes time for the bodies of addicts to adjust when the opiods are not in their system. During withdrawal addicts experience many negative symptoms varing in severity. A form of treatment to reduce withdrawal symptoms and helping with detox is methadone which is also an opiod. When addicts are first put on methadone they take the instructed dosage, then over time the dosage slowly decreases. Methadone decreases the cravings of opioids and helps in maintaining to be free from other substances. Although I do not completly agree with taking medication to stop drug addiction, methadone has shown to be effective in treating drug addiction.

Methadone is one of the most common medications used to treat opioid addiction. It decreases the symptoms of opioid withdrawal and inhibits the euphoric effects caused by abusing heroin and prescription opioids such as oxycodone. When used as prescribed and under the supervision of a trained physician, methadone is an effective complement to treatment. SAMHSA also recommends patients remain on methadone treatment for at least 12 months. Many people require multiple years of treatment. When discontinuing methadone treatment, patients should slowly taper off of it under doctor supervision. Buprenorphine decreases the potential for opioid abuse, reduces withdrawal symptoms and cravings and decreases the risks of overdose. Because buprenorphine

A literature search was conducted using Ovid MEDLINE (1946 to May Week 4 2015) and Embase (1996 to 2015 Week 22). Keywords used in the search were suboxone or buprenorphine, methadone, opioid, dependence, efficacy, and outcome. From there, 187 results were limited to English language and Humans studies, yielding 178 articles. Of those, 10 results

Opioid dependence in the United States is increasing in numbers with those addicted to heroin and prescription opioid analgesics. Opioid use includes morphine, codine, oxycodine, the painkillers oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, and heroin. Several different treatment options are available for opioid dependence. Behavioral therapy includes counseling, cognitive therapy, phychotherapy, and the twelve step recovery program developed by Alcoholics Anonymous. Prescriptions can also be used for the treatment of opioid dependence. For example, methodone is used to help treat heroin abusers, and buprenorphine is used to treat opioid dependence, more specifically, Suboxone.

There are two medication management when a provider suspects the patient is abusing opiates. First, methadone is one of the acute medication managements for the opioid withdrawal syndrome. It can be used in outpatient and inpatient setting. The initiate dose is 20 to 30 mg, then increased to 40 to 60 mg if the patient still shows signs of withdrawal. Besides methadone, clonidine is another regimen and can be used in an outpatient basis. The initial dose is 0.1mg PO TID, and the maximum dose is 0.4 mg, PO, TID. If the patient’s systolic blood pressure below 90 mmHg, then clonidine is held. Both medications should slowly tapered, if the patient’s withdrawal symptoms are suppressed. (McCarron, M., Xiong, L., & Bourgeois, A.,

Moreover, various kinds of treatment process for opioid addiction are being developed; Opioid agonist therapy tends to be one of the effective treatment procedures where opioid agonists like methadone and buprenorphine are

Vivitrol is an intramuscular, extended-release formula of naltrexone (XR-NTX), which is given once monthly to detoxified opiate dependent patients who wish to abstain from opiate use. Vivitrol is also used to treat alcohol dependent patients, but this paper will focus on its effects on opiate addicted patients. Naltrexone is an opioid receptor antagonist, which blocks the euphoric effects of heroin and prescription opiates by binding to opiate receptors in the brain and blocking the action of the neurotransmitters. The Vivitrol injection releases naltrexone slowly over the course of 4 weeks. The time-release system works by encasing the naltrexone in biodegradable microsphere-polymers, which break down at different rates to maintain therapeutic levels of naltrexone over a 4-week period. Vivitrol suppresses effects such as euphoria, pain relief, sedation, physical tolerance, and physical dependence. This medication, like other extended release injections, is designed to address patient medication-noncompliance. It is recommended that patient have no opiates left in their system for a period of 7 days before starting a Vivitrol regimen. Vivitrol is generally well tolerated with few adverse side effects. One study found the most common side effects to be pain at the injection site, nasopharyngitis, insomnia, and hypertension (Syed, 2013).

Some addiction psychiatrists have cautioned against the rising excitement concerning Vivitrol. “Naltrexone buys you a month, but if you stop taking it and you haven’t developed coping strategies you may relapse,” said H. Westley Clark, a retired former director in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “People do recover from opioid dependencies, but often to do so they also need to deal with other issues in their lives” (Tabachnick, n.d).

The most effective treatments for opiate addicts to stop use are medications and behavioral therapies. It is very important to focus on giving the best treatment to each individual according to the needs of each.