Former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop, speaks in this short SAMHSA video about the need in America for ready access drug treatment. Many diseases and health conditions, including drug dependency, can be effectively managed through proper medications and best practice treatment interventions.

Drug addiction is a true brain disease. Drug use causes disruption in the brain's normal production of many natural chemicals including neurotransmitters essential to mood stability and emotional regulation.

Opioid addiction is not just about heroin or traditional "hard drugs". There has been a rapid increase in the use, and abuse, of prescription pain killers in America. Government estimates now put prescription pain pill abuse considerably ahead of heroin addiction. For more on this important topic, consider Dr. Jana Burson's book, Pain Pill Addiction: A Prescription for Hope.

Opioid dependency is a treatable illness. Addiction can be effectively managed. Detox, outpatient counseling, inpatient ...

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Methadone.US is now offering a free online methadone assessment. The assessment is meant to help site visitors review treatment interventions that may be appropriate for them based on their self-reported level of opioid dependency.

If you are a family, friend, or professional visiting the site, please feel free to refer those with an opioid addiction, and invite them to complete the assessment online. It takes very little time, is free, and visitors do not have to reveal their identity. The methadone assessment scores users' responses and then offers results & recommendations immediately following completion of the assessment.

Methadone.US aims to connect opioid addicted individuals with local treatment resources that can help them change their lives. Online assessments are useful tools for increasing a person's awareness of options. Choice, in addiction recovery, is a powerful and beneficial component of positive change. Thanks for visiting Methadone.US!

With an estimated two million people in America dealing with an opioid problem, finding solutions is obviously important to a great many individuals and families. Drug addiction treatment has been around for many decades as have Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous self-help programs.

Opioid dependency, in particular, can be a very tough addiction to live with due to the powerful physiological addiction (and withdrawal syndrome) that opiate addicts must face. However, people find recovery every day. Or perhaps more accurately said: People choose the path of recovery every day.

Recovery from opiate addiction is entirely possible and always available. Unfortunately, addiction tends to wear people down and sap one's energy. For this and other reasons, individuals will sometimes put off seeking treatment telling themselves "I'll call for help tomorrow." When tomorrow comes, something else seems to inevitably pop up delaying the decision yet another day.

Recovery is literally ...

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Each methadone program outlines important policies and procedures that their clients need to be familiar with as they enter methadone treatment. By necessity, methadone clinics operate with a considerable number of program rules pertaining to the clinic's operation and their clients' participation. These rules and procedures must be well-organized and readily available to all clients.

Most clinics publish a client handbook that is organized into topics & categories covering the essentials a client should know about program operation, client rights & privileges, important methadone cautions, advancing through the methadone treatment phase system, and numerous other issues.

If you are a new client, please do take time to review any orientation packet or program handbook that your methadone home clinic provides you. Becoming familiar with the procedures for each department (medical, clinical, billing) will help you become more comfortable with treatment and also reduce the chance of any future problems.

For example ...

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Methadone clinic availability seems to follow states with high population numbers or with a substantial population growth curve. The most populated states, in order, are: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Accordingly, these six states also have the highest concentration of methadone clinics although New York has more clinics than Texas, and both Illinois and Pennsylvania provide more clinics than does Florida (even though Florida's population exceeds both states).

On the lower end of methadone clinic availability in the United States are South Dakota (population 819,261), North Dakota (pop. 646,086), and Wyoming (pop. 548,870). None of these states currently have a methadone clinic in operation. One might surmise that their state tax revenue is comparatively lower than most other states. Whether this is a contributing factor to the absence of methadone treatment is an interesting question. Also, might these states have a lower percentage ...

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Admission to a methadone clinic is initially prompted by an individual's daily struggle with opioid withdrawal symptoms and the desire to avoid being sick. To address this problem, new clients arrive each day to receive their medication. The first 1 - 3 months are referred to as the induction period, and center around increasing a client's methadone dosage until the client's opioid withdrawal is effectively eliminated. Regular daily visits to the clinic are critical to this process.

Being a client in a methadone program requires careful attention to program guidelines and expectations. Clients must dose within a specified time frame, keep appointments for counseling, and provide a urine specimen upon request for random drug testing. There are payments for treatment services, and other considerations like participating in pill counts with the nurse, occasional lab work, and "call backs" for take home accountability, etc. 

Some clients find it helpful ...

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Not all methadone programs are the same. While regulations do exist that govern the operation of methadone clinics, the standard of quality & care will most definitely vary from one clinic to another. At the core of every reputable, high-level methadone clinic is genuine dedication to the consumer patient.

All clinics have a business component in which revenue is a major consideration. Sometimes clients will complain "Oh, it's all about the money with them." In reality, a clinic's revenue must be an important ongoing consideration. In fact, it's that way throughout all of health care in America. The true bottom line is being able to remain open & to offer a valuable service. Without revenue, this will not happen.

For-profit clinics, and non-profit clinics, both have an important task. And that is to provide a quality treatment service to their clients who have suffered with a debilitating opioid addiction ...

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New York City has the highest concentration of methadone clinics and buprenorphine providers in the country. Not only is New York the most populated city in the United States, but it is also one of the most densely populated areas in the world with 8 million people living in an area just over 300 square miles.

With larger populations come larger numbers of people in addiction. Consequently, it stands to reason that New York City would be a leader in providing opioid addiction treatment. There are well over 100 New York methadone clinics and area physicians approved to write prescriptions for suboxone (containing buprenorphine).

At one time, methadone was a treatment of choice primarily used for heroin addiction. However, with the enormous increase in pain pill addiction (Oxycontin, Vicodin, Percocet, etc.), methadone clinics are now accessed by many clients who have never used heroin. Quite a number of individuals report ...

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Methadone maintenance offers stability. Clients who have moved to maintenance often report a return of mental clarity, an improved mood, and elimination of withdrawal symptoms. "I feel normal again" is an encouraging statement often heard by treatment staff and it represents the ability of an individual to become employed again, return to school, reconnect with family, and ascend to a higher plateau.

The average methadone dose is between 80 and 120 milligrams daily. However, the correct dose is whatever works for a particular client. There are clients who will need more than 120 mg/daily, and there are those who can maintain comfortably below 80 mg per day. Each person's metabolism and opioid tolerance are different. To become stable, and to then transition into a maintenance phase, will take some months for most methadone clients. It's an adjustment process.

However, once stable on a consistent dose, many clients ...

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The amount of misinformation that is circulated in regard to methadone is pretty astounding. Methadone is truly one of the most well-researched addiction treatment medications in history, and is widely accepted as the most efficacious opioid addiction treatment ever.

Today, I reviewed a number of videos on YouTube based on the search word "methadone", and found a plethora of wild rants, exaggerations, and obvious paranoia ... often expressed by local community citizens who seemed determined to prevent a methadone clinic from operating in their locale. I wonder how many of these people would feel that way if it were their daughter that needed the clinic, or their best friend.

As an addiction treatment professional who has witnessed firsthand methadone's dramatic life changing benefits, I can only shake my head at the irrational beliefs, and mean-spirited condemnation, held by everyday people. Many of these folks seem to have good intentions, but ...

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Many decent people have wondered how they ended up in the middle of an opioid addiction. Looking back, they retrace their past wishing they could undo some steps along the way. Facing opioid dependency becomes its own exhausting daily routine. Thinking about the past hurts, and looking forward brings worry. So one sits in the moment feeling a certain pain that just won't go away.

As addiction and its related problems fester, and infiltrate the important aspects of one's life, worry and anxiety become familiar feelings. These painful feelings will deepen addiction for some people as they become paralyzed with indecision and regret. Many fall further into their opioid dependency as they numb the pain with more drug use. This, of course, is not the answer.

If change is to occur, there are decisions which the addicted person must make. Addiction can be a devastating illness, yes. But ...

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Vivitrol® is a new product of Alkermes (a U.S. based pharmaceutical company who specialize in disease management medications). Vivitrol received FDA approval in October 2010 for use in the prevention of opioid relapse following opioid detoxification. It is an extended release formulation of naltrexone designed to be administered through a once monthly IM (intramuscular) injection.

The medication is a non-addictive, opioid antagonist that blocks the effects of opioids, and thus discourages opioid misuse since no subjective euphoria is experienced. Opioid addicted individuals are often at high risk for relapse following opioid detox, and intensive support is very helpful in assisting these individuals with establishing a comfortable, lasting sobriety following successful opioid detox.

Vivitrol must be administered by a healthcare professional, and recipients should not have active liver disease complications since naltrexone (the active ingredient in Vivitrol) is contraindicated for those with acute hepatitis. Like any medication-assisted intervention, Vivitrol should ...

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Anxiolytics are a frequently prescribed classification of drugs that are utilized to reduce anxiety and which may provide some anticonvulsant benefits for those at risk of seizure. The most common of this class are benzodiazepines such as Xanax, Ativan, Valium, Klonopin, or Librium. These medications have helped many people who suffer with generalized anxiety or panic disorder.

However, there is some consensus that benzodiazepines are over-prescribed. They are typically provided on a short-term basis only since tolerance & dependency can develop with prolonged use. Of particular concern to opioid treatment providers is the potential for fatal overdose when "benz" medications are taken in conjunction with methadone.

This is a delicate issue in that many methadone clinics have adopted a policy that disallows any use of benzodiazepines while a client is receiving methadone. This decision came about several years ago, as a safety measure, when a number of client deaths occurred tied ...

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Methadone.US aims to serve a number of different purposes, including: educating the public on medication-assisted treatment, helping people to find methadone clinics & buprenorphine providers, and encouraging opioid dependent persons to commit to the recovery process as soon as possible.

You may have noticed that in addition to the above, Methadone.US has incorporated an employment section to aid professionals in locating job positions in the opioid treatment field. The job postings are updated daily, and highlight employment opportunities across the entire United States.

Our site is growing. Presently, contact information for methadone clinics and buprenorphine providers is being added daily to the Methadone.US database. More specialty sections and physician article feeds are soon to come such that site visitors can find new information & perspectives with each visit to the site.

It is estimated that over 2 million people in America are struggling with an opiate abuse or dependency ...

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