Following up on the benefits of detox medication in long term drug treatment, it is important to understand the risks involved in using medication as a recovery mechanism. Detox medications are employed in opiate addiction recovery specifically due to the extreme physical dependency that opiate drug use causes. With prolonged usage, the brain starts to rely on the drugs to function and produce endorphins (good feeling hormones). Nerve cells will degenerate, leading to intense physical pain upon discontinued use. The cardiopulmonary and central nervous system are at risk for permanent damage during withdrawals, and death is also a possibility during the detoxification process. Withdrawal frequently includes sweating, shaking, headache, drug craving, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, inability to sleep, confusion, agitation, depression, anxiety, and other behavioral changes.

Detox medications work to alleviate the onset of painful withdrawals and ease the brain off the abused opiates. As mentioned in the previous post, Suboxone is an opiate addiction treatment intended to support long-term drug recovery. Methadone is also a powerful addiction therapy drug for users of heroin, Oxycontin and other types of opioids, but is tightly regulated by the FDA due to its abusive properties. Suboxone is the only opiate addiction therapy drug that can be prescribed by a physician, and is a treatment method for addicts who seek addiction maintenance and relief from anxiety-inducing opioid cravings. However, abuse of Suboxone and other detox medications like Methadone is a risk factor that may derail the recovery process.

Methadone is only administered through clinics, but Suboxone was created to divert the abusive dangers inherent in Methadone. Both detox medications have the potential for abuse because they are classified as opioids and can produce sensations of euphoria, analgesia and sedation like other opiates, though to a lesser degree. The medications also don’t impair cognitive or motor skills like their addictive counterparts, and work by blocking the effects of more potent opiates on brain receptors, thus disabling the user’s ability to get high. Suboxone has a "ceiling effect" that prevents increased pleasurable effects in the patient, and actually produces uncomfortable, withdrawal-like symptoms upon excessive intake.

Relapse for opiate addiction is very common, making treatment difficult in the long term. Studies show that on average addicts will stop and start detox 10-25 times in their lifetime relapsing back to opiate use each and every time. But recovery is possible, especially with the right combination of treatment methods.

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