There is a fascinating article in The New York Times which explores the use of methadone and buprenorphine in treating babies born addicted to opioids. While this is often an emotionally-charged subject, it is a very important topic and points to the benefit of methadone in relieving suffering and in stabilizing one's health through the elimination of painful opioid withdrawal.

The article explains the dilemma that hospitals face when an opioid addicted woman is pregnant. Depending on the type and length of her opioid use, her baby may be born with an opioid dependence. And the newborn could begin experiencing painful withdrawal symptoms within 1 to 5 days.

The Times article addresses the use of methadone (or buprenorphine) in alleviating a baby's suffering. Prior to birth, methadone has also been used to reduce the chance of miscarriage and the probability of in utero seizures. Many doctors have little ...

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Methadone treatment has been in existence in the United States since the 1960's, and it became fairly well-established in the 1970's particularly in the larger metropolitan cities where heroin addiction was more pervasive. In the 1980's, methadone clinics continued to emerge across the country since they successfully helped opioid addicted individuals experience dramatic improvement in their lives.

During the 1990's, this expansion continued and the efficacy of methadone treatment became further substantiated through research. Eventually, full endorsement occurred by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). In November of 1997, the NIH converged to make a formal, consensus statement for this purpose:

To provide health care providers, patients, and the general public with a reasonable assessment of the effective approaches for treating opiate dependence.

A 12 member panel, assisted by 25 experts, had coordinated a study. Various professional fields were represented including psychology, psychiatry, family ...

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The Kitsap Sun, a newspaper based out of Bremerton Washington, has published an article on the advantages of methadone replacement therapy in dealing with Washington State's opioid addiction problem. The article reporter is Josh Farley, and he did a nice job of presenting the facts around methadone's benefits.

Josh interviewed Ron Jackson, the Executive Director of Evergreen Treatment Services, an opioid treatment clinic in Seattle, Washington. In the article (and embedded video), Mr. Jackson describes how methadone treatment incorporates counseling, and is not just medication-assistance alone. The general tone of the article was fair and fact-based, and it recognized the various ways in which methadone treatment participation helps to stabilize addicted individuals' lives. Articles of this nature are a welcome relief from the fear mongering that some media outlets resort to when referencing methadone.

For the Kitsap Sun report, several methadone clients came forward to share details of ...

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The total number of U.S. private and publicly funded methadone clinics has risen substantially just in the last few years. Moreover, opioid addiction treatment is receiving increased attention across the country as organizations like SAMHSA, NIDA, ASAM, and CARF become familiar acronyms to everyone working in the addiction treatment field.

We now have various suboxone formulations with increased availability, in addition to methadone, and new products aimed at treating opioid addiction are being researched and periodically released (such as Vivitrol). A generic version of suboxone is said to be on the horizon too thus becoming a more accessible & affordable option for many. The message is out that opioid addiction is a disease which can be successfully treated & managed using a combination of medication and behavioral health counseling approaches.

Methadone programs received a quality boost in 1999 when the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services identified methadone as ...

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I had the pleasant good fortune of seeing a former client the other day who had entered methadone treatment for his opiate addiction about 7 years ago. I remember him struggling for the first 2 years with relapses (mostly to cocaine, not opiates) and our clinic offering a variety of different treatments to help him get on track.

Due to a string of drug tests always positive for illicit substances, we were critically close to detoxing him from our methadone program. As you might imagine, he was a daily prisoner in his addiction and the pieces of the recovery puzzle were just not connecting yet in a way that worked for him.

As a last chance run in formal treatment, he attended a Day Treatment program that we offered which provided group and individual counseling, psycho-educational classes, and activity therapy Monday through Friday from 8:00 am - 3:30 pm ...

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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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