Prescription Drug Addiction Treatment
Those who abuse prescription drugs may come to a point when they are ready for addiction treatment. They will find that their prescription drug of choice will have a different type of addiction treatment protocol than other prescription drugs have. The type of help you need will depend on your own special needs.
People who abuse opiods have a difficult time with addiction treatment. First, they must go through drug detox to clear their bodies of the prescription drug. Other medications can be used to make the transition smoother. The patient will likely experience withdrawal symptoms like pain, vomiting and diarrhea, and restlessness.
Once the drugs are cleared from the patient’s system, the addiction treatment can begin in earnest. Opiods are often treated with pharmacological solutions. Methodone is one such addiction treatment. It is a synthetic opiod. However, it does not have the harmful effects of the other opiods. It eases withdrawal and blocks cravings. It can be a part of a long-term addiction treatment plan.
However, abusers of opiates can find better addiction treatment solutions if they are in a combination program. Programs like this use behavioral methods along with the medications that are given during addiction treatment. When both types of addiction treatment are used together, they have been shown to be more effective than either is alone.
It is unwise to stop taking CNS depressants suddenly and without medical supervision. Addiction treatment can begin with a gradual tapering off of the drug use. The slower this process is done, the less the chances of extreme withdrawal symptoms. These can include heart problems or seizures if the drug is not tapered off properly.
When the person begins the addiction treatment for CNS depressants, it will be the use of therapy that helps the most. Cognitive behavior therapy, specifically, has been used successfully to aid in this type of addiction treatment. Patients learn how to monitor and control their drug-seeking and –using behaviors. Addiction treatment can help them to change their thoughts and actions.
For CNS stimulants the addiction treatment is slightly different. Although there is no known medication that will alleviate cravings for these drugs, medications can help in other ways. The withdrawal of stimulants can leave a patient in a depressed state. Therefore, their addiction treatment often includes the use of antidepressants.
There are several cognitive-behavioral types of addiction treatment for this and the other prescription drug dependencies. One is the system of contingency management. In this program, patients are given rewards points for each drug screen that they pass. Then, they can turn their reward points in for a prize that aids in their addiction treatment.
Other cognitive-behavioral approaches to addiction treatment are used to retrain a person to think and behave in healthy ways. Addiction treatment uses all these approaches to help a person to regain control over their prescription drug use. In most cases, a patient cannot go back to using that type of drug again. However, with the proper addiction treatment, problems can be overcome, and the patient can learn to live without them. |
