Millenium Health Tips

There are a variety of treatment options for heroin addiction, including medications and include behavioral therapy. Science has taught us that when combined drug therapy with other support services, often the patient can stop using heroin (or other opiate) and return to a more stable and productive life.

Methadone, a synthetic opiate medication that blocks the effects of heroin for about 24 hours, has a history of proven success when prescribed in doses high enough for people addicted to heroin. Other approved medications are naloxone, which is used to treat cases of overdose, and naltrexone, both work by blocking the effects of morphine, heroin and other opiates.

Buprenorphine is the newest addition to the range of drugs available to treat addiction to heroin and other opiates. This drug differs from methadone in that it offers less risk of addiction and can be dispensed in the privacy of the doctor’s office. There are also several other drugs being studied for use in treatment programs for addiction to heroin.

For pregnant women who abuse heroin, methadone maintenance combined with prenatal care and a comprehensive treatment program for drug abuse can improve many of the detrimental maternal and neonatal outcomes associated with heroin abuse without treatment. There is preliminary evidence that buprenorphine also is safe and effective in treating heroin dependence during pregnancy, although infants exposed to methadone or buprenorphine during pregnancy typically require treatment for withdrawal. For women who are unwilling or unable to receive pharmacotherapy for their heroin addiction, detoxification from opiates during pregnancy can be accomplished with relative safety, although one must consider the likelihood of relapse in the use of heroin.

There are many effective behavioral treatments can be used for addiction to heroin. These can include residential and outpatient approaches. Several new behavioral therapies are proving particularly promising for this type of addiction. The Contingency management therapy uses a voucher-based, where patients earn “points” for having a negative result in laboratory tests that determine if you have used drugs. You can then change these receipts for items that encourage healthy living. Cognitive-behavioral interventions are designed to help change the thinking, expectations, and the patient’s behavior and increase their ability to cope with multiple stressors in life.

Possibly Related Articles:

• Heroin: Tolerance and Addiction
  The regular heroin use produces tolerance to the drug, which means that the user has to use more heroin to achieve the same intensity of effect. This use of higher doses has, over time, physical depen...
• Heroin
  Heroin is an addictive drug whose use is a serious problem in the United States. Heroin is derived from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of the poppy, also known a...