Fighting Withdrawal: Methadone Abuse & Methadone Addiction & Methadone Testing
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What is methadone? You or a loved one is on methadone because it is a medication that doctors subscribe to treat very severe pain. What most people know it for is for treating heroin addiction. What it does for heroin addicts is relieve the absolutely painful withdrawal symptoms and anxieties that accompany heroin withdrawal. You need to understand that heroin causes the body to release a huge shot of dopamine into the brain. The addicted person then wants to feel that high forever. The only way they can keep that feeling up is to take more heroin. Methadone allows the body to go without the heroin because it takes the place of heroin. The body craves an opiate and methadone supplies this. It may seem like you are just switching one drug for another, but what you are doing is getting rid of the erratic behavior that comes with being a heroin addict. Finally when the desire to take heroin is gone, the addict is taken off methadone very slowly. This process can take many years to finally complete.
Can my child be abusing drugs including methadone? The sad answer is yes. Keep in mind that if you are a parent who is concerned about your child abusing drugs, you can purchase a very reliable drug test to help deal with the situation. This will allow you as a parent to know exactly what you are dealing with. At that point, you can look into rehabilitation for you child.
Is there a risk of methadone overdose? There is always a risk of methadone overdose. This threat of methadone overdose can lead to very serious conditions. If you see any showing signs of methadone overdose, such as loss of consciousness, difficulty breathing, coma, extremely small pupils, having a loss of their muscle tone, and/or skin becomes clammy, call the 911 or a poison control center as soon as possible.
Does methadone react with other drugs? Yes, methadone has some interaction to other drugs and when it does, it can be very high. Methadone reacts with the drug Elavil. Elavil, the common brand name for the drug amiltriptyline, is a tricyclic antidepressant. If you combine both of these drugs, methadone and elavil, a very dangerous amount of methadone could be sent into the system thus causing an overdose. If there are no side effects from the combination, there is still a very high likely hood that the body will experience withdrawal symptoms due to unnormal high levels of methadone that was in the body. These symptoms will include dilated pupils, nausea, runny nose, fever, stomach pain, and some irritability.
Can you get addicted to methadone? The answer is sadly YES. The addict will spare no expense to get more of the drug. They may start taking more then what is prescribed to them. This is known as doubling up. They will try to convince their doctors that are treating them that they need higher doses of the drug. Some addicts will relapse back to heroin and continue to use methadone in addition. Most addicts will unfortunately become addicted to methadone when they are overcoming their addictions to heroin and other opiates. Once the dependence forms and their tolerance increases, they will most likely need to go through a detoxification program to alliviate this dependence. This can take a very long time to overcome as stated before.
Is there a way to test for methadone abuse? The good news is that there are methadone drug tests available to serve in different situations. Employers, government, parents, and love ones can test for methadone abuse in order to keep the person safe from side effects. Remember that high levels of methadone can leave to some serious side effects and should always be watched.
What are the drug tests for methadone? These tests come in the form of urine test, doing a saliva drug test, and taking hair follicle test. Each has its own merit, but for long term testing, the hair follicle methadone test seems to be the best way to go. The results of this testing, once completed, can identify methadone usage that has been done for up to 90 days.
Why do employers need to test for methadone abuse? There are always drug related liability issues that can arise from a worker that is on drugs. If an employer can test their workers, they can avoid these liabilities all together. Taking some time and investing into a solid drug testing program will both increase employee reliability and keep the image of your company the way you want it.
Can you get methadone without a doctor’s prescription? Like any drug, methadone can be obtained illegally. Drug dealers will sell all sorts of drugs including methadone.
Can my child be abusing drugs including methadone? You can purchase a very reliable drug test to help deal with the situation. This will allow you as a parent to know exactly what you are dealing with. At that point, you can look into rehabilitation for you child.