Drug addiction is a terrible thing, for the addict and their loved ones alike. Many people feel hopeless when at the peak of their addiction, but treatment for opioid addiction is possible and many former addicts who receive treatment for an opiate addiction are able to go on to rebuild and live long, happy lives.
Unfortunately, treatment for opioid addiction is becoming more and more necessary, with rates of drug use rising, particularly opioids. Addiction often starts small, with the occasional misuse of prescription medications, but can quickly escalate to full blown addiction. In fact, eighty percent of those who are addicted to heroin actually started out by misusing painkillers. And heroin, once begun, is a difficult drug to quit, with more than 20% of regular users developing an opioid addiction. Combing that with a pain pill addiction or other addictions, and drug use often, unfortunately, turns fatal. There are countless people addicted to heroin currently, an estimated 600,000 suffering from what is referred to as heroin use disorder in 2015 alone. Even more unfortunately, many of these addicts are teenagers and young adults just beginning their lives. In fact, more than 150,000 young adults are considered to have heroin use disorder, and more than 20,000 of those considered to be adolescents used heroin within the last twelve months, with 5,000 adolescents still using the drug regularly.
Treatment for opioid addiction can come in many forms. Abstinence based treatments for opioid addiction is one option, but recent data shows that these treatment programs, which are often non medical, only have about a ten percent success rate at most. Sometimes this success rate is as low as five percent. However, methadone has proved to be an effective treatment for opioid addiction for more than fifty years, a tried and true method that has provided countless people with the opportunity to break free from addiction and begin their lives again. Methadone, which can last up to thirty six hours in your system per dose, is so popular in part because of its success rates. Methadone treatment for opioid addiction has been proven to be up to 90% effective with the chance of a positive treatment outcome improving and improving the longer that the patient has been on the treatment.
Drug addiction is a terrible thing, something with the power to disrupt families, uproot lives, and even end them. However, with the proper treatment such as methadone and extensive therapy, drug addicts like heroin addicts and other types of addicts are able to begin their lives again, rebuilding the foundation as they embark out into the world clean and sober. Recovery from addiction is possible and though it may require much hard work on the part of the addict, it is well worth the price of it. For those addicts wondering if it is worth it to seek out treatment, consider all your treatment options and rally your support system. Treatment for opioid addiction is possible, but it has to be the right treatment for you.