subject: Importance Of A Methadone Clinic [print this page] With a considerable growth in the number of drug addicts, the need for methadone clinics are also on a rise. A methadone clinic offers help to where drug addicted patients by treating them with the help of a synthetic opioid called methadone. Methadone is commonly known as Dolophine and at times is also popularly referred to as Symoron, Methadose, Amidone etc. Methadone as an analgesic is used in the detoxification services to cure patients of their addiction toward heroin and other opiates. However, methadone is not always used on patients at the very first instance. Patients mostly seek methadone treatment after they have gone through a series of failed treatments via other procedures.
Despite the fact that use of methadone for curing people who abuse heroin and other opiates has always created controversies, research has shown that methadone if used rightly in the treatment is helpful. Methadone clinics are kept under the constant supervision of the government as methadone has always been subjected to controversy because of their certain side effects which have even proven to be fatal. As per the rules, methadone clinics do not offer the treatment to patients who are below 18 years of age. The most common way of treatment applied by these clinics on victims is the Replacement Therapy. There exist both public and private methadone clinics. While public clinics are cheap to afford and draws in more patients, private ones has less people availing them because of their high rates.
Treatment at a methadone clinic is done under the constant surveillance of a doctor and the regular care of nurses as the process of detoxification via methadone is very painful and a long lasting one. The duration for this treatment can be of two or more years. People should only resort to treatment via methadone after they have been prescribed by the doctor to go for it. Patients whose bodies have become too dehydrated or are experiencing a deficiency of vitamins and mineral are likely to go through a lot of pain while methadone treatment is applied on them. Some of the side effects that methadone can have on patients are hallucinations, insomnia, anxiety, chest pain, shallow breathing, loss of appetite, dry mouth, fainting, impotence, general weakness etc.
A methadone clinic strives to give relief to patients from the misery of addiction and help people get back to their earlier normal lives. The treatment of detoxification offered by a methadone clinic is also accompanied by methadone counseling which guides patients towards a healthy life that is free from substance abuse, also educating them about the harmful effects of methadone. However, these days methadone treatments are no more a necessity for curing people from their addiction towards heroin.
