What is MAT for addiction treatment? Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is a technique used by therapists to help people overcome opioid, heroin, or prescription painkiller addiction. It pays to understand more about the MAT program, its effectiveness, and how a doctor can tailor it to fit your addiction’s unique needs. Here at ALEF Reidsville, we’ve made it a point to create a professional yet comfortable environment for individuals in need of medication-assisted treatment.
What Are Opioids?
Opioids are a group of drugs that have a high risk of dependence and addiction. They work by interacting with your brain’s opioid receptor cells. When opioid drugs move through your bloodstream and attach to opioid receptors in your mind, the brain releases dopamine.
Dopamine is a pleasure-causing hormone that suppresses your perception of pain and enhances your sense of pleasure.
Most commonly used opioids include:
- Prescription painkillers, such as Percocet, OxyContin, and Vicodin
- Illicit drugs like heroin
- Synthetic drugs like Fentanyl
- Methadone
According to The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), MAT is the use of medication like methadone alongside strong social support and comprehensive therapy to manage conditions related to opioid addiction.
Insight Into Opioid Addiction
Some people first use opioids as prescriptions after an accident injury or routine procedure like a tooth extraction. Examples of common prescription opioids are Fentanyl, Codeine, Morphine, Hydrocodone, and Oxycodone.
For various reasons—to cope with stress or celebrate and get high—some people intentionally misuse opioids. In the US, the vast majority of young adults and teens misuse prescription drugs they get from the medication cupboards of family members, friends, and acquaintances. Some teens start abusing prescription opioids and then shift to heroin as it’s economical or stress-free to acquire.
The use and abuse of opioids can cause brain alterations resulting in dependency. A hooked person develops an uncontrollable craving or urges for the substance. The individual eventually loses control of the situation, making it harder to stop using it, even when adverse effects become apparent.
The Use of MAT for Addiction Treatment
As an addict, you’ll feel sick when there aren’t opioids in your body. The sickness is often known as withdrawal. Together with intense cravings for the substance, the withdrawal symptoms are hallmarks of opioid dependence. Cravings and withdrawals can make your recovery challenging as they often lead to relapse.
By reducing the effects of the withdrawal symptoms and cravings, MAT for addiction treatment can help you to stop using drugs permanently. As a result, the program enables you to focus on going back to a healthy way of life.
A rehab center will customize treatments to address the root cause of your addiction. A comprehensive treatment plan will embrace counseling or therapy to address behavior-related issues, enhance recovery, and deter relapse.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the therapy programs to expect in rehab include:
- Matrix model
- Family therapy
- Group therapy
- Dialectical behavioral therapy
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
If you’re recovering from addiction in a drug or alcohol rehabilitation facility, some people might tell you that addiction treatment is merely replacing one addictive medication or substance for another; this is erroneous.
Medication-assisted treatment for addiction is comparable to taking pills for any other sickness or chronic disease, for example, diabetes, cancer, asthma, or ulcers. When you use the medication according to your physician’s guidelines, it’s less likely to produce a new addiction.
A Final Word
As a responsible person, you’re accountable for helping your loved ones to live safe and healthy lives, regardless of what they say or think. Ensure that you’re also free from addiction before assisting others. To overcome addiction, check into a rehabilitation facility and enroll in MAT for addiction treatment. Contact ALEF Reidsville at 833.938.2041 now for professional help.
ALEF Reidsville provides outpatient opioid addiction treatment that North Carolina residents can rely on. To learn more about our Reidsville, NC medication assisted treatment programs and outpatient rehab, please visit our website.