Methadone maintenance

src: i.ytimg.com

Methadone maintenance care is the use of methadone, given over a long period of time, as a treatment for someone addicted to opioids such as heroin, where detoxification is unsuccessful and/or admitted to substance abuse treatment facilities requires total abstinence. "Methadone maintenance allows the first step towards social rehabilitation" as it allows the addict to avoid the uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms caused by total abstinence. Methadone treatment can also be used for patients suffering from severe pain problems that are resistant to other drugs.

Video Methadone maintenance

Modality

Methadone maintenance has been used to treat opioid dependence for more than 45 years (discovered in 1937). The dose of therapy depends on the individual patient's needs, and the range of therapeutic doses is generally between 25 and 150 mg. Such doses will not be tolerated by naïve individuals. The number of oral Methadone needed by an individual depends on the amount of illicit substances they have previously used, but as a general rule 1 gram of Heroin path is approximately equivalent to 50 to 80 mg methadone. Methadone is taken orally as a mixture of 1 mg/1 ml of DTF methadone (Medication Tariff Formula) provided as red or clear liquid, but now also can be prescribed as a mixture containing 10 mg methadone in 1 ml of fluid (blue color) or 20 mg methadone in 1 ml (brown color). This is often used when a person uses large quantities of methadone and is rarely allowed to be consumed unattended, because the formulation is not as thick as the 1 mg/1ml mixture, they are easier to misuse because it is easier to use. injected, and also because of the high risk of the diverted drug causing an overdose in individuals unaccustomed to large doses. An individual given a 200 mg prescription only needs to swallow 20ml of 10 mg/1 ml of mixture, thus making it easier to consume. Methadone maintenance can also be given by IV or IM injection, and the ampoule has various strengths ranging from 10 mg to 50 mg, this method is often used for individuals who have "needle fixation" and who otherwise will re-use heroin iv. Methadone is widely distributed to the tissues of the body where it is stored and then released into the plasma. This combination of storage and disposal keeps the patient comfortable, free from addiction, and feels stable.

With the emergence of several treatment options such as buprenorphine (Buprenorfin approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October 2000), and heroin treatment (Dutch, Swiss & English) since 1990 some professionals no longer hold the opinion of the General Accounting Firm and maintain that buprenorphine is superior. This trend is being expanded in the field of US Human Services in the field of Community Services.

Maps Methadone maintenance

Removing

Methadone is an opioid agonist. If the initial dose during initial treatment is too high or in conjunction with the use of illegal opioids, this can lead to an increased risk of death from an overdose. Methadone treatments generally require patients to visit a clinic or daily dosing, depending on state controlled substance laws. Most countries allow methadone clinics to close on Sunday and give the drug taken home the day before. States may require or mandate drug testing in drug abuse groups in clinics and/or outside meetings of Anonymous Narcotics. Methadone, when administered at a constant daily dose of milligram, will stabilize the patient and relieve withdrawal symptoms. Patients will not feel "high" associated with drug abuse.

In the UK, most clinics will start new patients at 35 mg doses and increase the dose of 5 mg or 10 mg per day until stabilization is achieved. This ensures that new patients do not overdose for over-prescribing: some patients will exaggerate the amount of illicit substances they have used to prescribe large amounts of methadone, but knowledgeable practitioners should be able to ascertain when the correct dose has been achieved. It is normal for a practitioner to prescribe daily consumption in place during the first three months before allowing a take-home dose, but it is the wisdom of the practitioner when and if a take-home dose is allowed.

src: www.syl.ru

Travel

In the UK, patients undergoing methadone treatments who wish to travel abroad are subject to certain legal requirements surrounding methadone export and import. The organizer must be given travel details, after which the prescriber will arrange for the Office Home Office License to be provided. This license is only required if the total amount exported exceeds 500Ã, mg. Licensing makes it impossible to import methadone into overseas jurisdictions. For imports, patients should contact the Embassy of the destination country and ask permission to import methadone to their shore, although it should be noted that not all countries allow the import of the drug being watched. The license also makes it possible to re-import the remaining methadone into the UK. It is normal for patients traveling overseas to be prescribed methadone in tablet form, because the tablets are easier to transport. For patients who want to be abroad for a long time, a "courtesy" arrangement should be made at a local clinic that will arrange prescribed medications as needed.

src: stgec-ausc.uplynk.com

Controversy

Maintenance of methadone or known as drug replacement therapy or ORT (opiate substitute therapy), and has been the subject of much controversy since its inception. Initially, medical researchers responsible for the manufacture of drug replacement therapy treatment facilities have great hopes that methadone maintenance treatment will put an end to heroin addiction in America. However, in early 1976, only 10 years in their project, Dr. Vincent Dole and his wife, Marie E. Nyswander, reported their findings to the Journal of the American Medical Association which stated that unexpected opposition to the substitution of one drug to another seemed to affect the success of the Methadone maintenance program.

In England and Wales, drug criminal justice workers employed by the 'Drug Intervention Program' are based in most of the national capture suites. Heroin and crack cocaine users are identified either with mandatory urine tests (in areas known as 'intensive' DIPs), or by cell sweeping and face-to-face discussions with prisoners (in areas known as 'non-intensive' DIP sites). The use of identified drugs will often lead to referrals to local drug services, whose first-line response to heroin dependence is likely to involve a replacement recipe (buprenorphine or methadone).

This line of work originated in the mid to late 1990s, as large-scale studies identified significant levels of heroin and cocaine use in the prison population (especially for theft offenses). In a large-scale study of drug abuse in the population being captured, Holloway and Bennett identified 466 'drug abusers abuse'. Of these, 80% state 'unmet needs for treatment' (2004: 33)

Simultaneously, the National Treatment Research (NTORS) study found high levels of offensive (money-related) offenses in populations of people seeking community treatment for drug problems. In an initial NTORS report, Godfrey et al. identifies that every Ã, Â £ 1 spent on drug therapy can result between Ã, Â £ 9.50 and Ã, Â £ 18 savings in social costs, largely due to a decrease in inhibiting levels of seeker care.

These studies, along with others, were taken by Tony Blair while still Minister of the Interior of Shadows, as Conservative policy on drug abuse is relatively undeveloped. Blair disseminated a press release in 1994 entitled Drugs: The Need for Action, claiming that drug abuse causes crime worth  £ 20 billion annually; a report dismissed by the Conservative Secretary of State for the Ministry of Home Affairs as a 'four-page hot waffle against the Government, with three miserable paragraphs in the end' (Hansard, March 10, 1994, column 393).

After winning the British election in 1997, Blair's first cross-government drug strategy established the development of a nationally integrated drug/crime strategy as a priority. Drug workers are inside police detention centers across the country, and see 50,000 people each year, in 2001. The work of these teams was then formalized in 2003, granting extended powers (working with prisoners after being released, for example) and cut Drug Intervention Programs.

The founding strapline for DIP, significantly, 'out of crime, into care' - reflects the crime-reduction philosophy behind the criminal justice drug treatment and the ongoing maintenance of methadone (or buprenorphine). In their Drugs Strategy 2010, the Conservative/Liberal Democratic coalition declared their intention to support the DIP. [4]

src: i.vimeocdn.com

See also

• Disruption of opioid use
• Maintenance of stimulants

src: s2.dmcdn.net

References

src: i.ytimg.com

External links

• US. National Medical Library - Methadone Definition
• Metadon Maintenance Facility Directory

Source of the article : Wikipedia