Medication-Assisted Treatment - OHIO Community Health

What is Medication-Assisted Treatment?

Medication assisted treatment, also known as MAT, is a type of treatment specifically for substance abuse. It involves the use of medication in combination with counseling and behavioral therapy to help people overcome addiction.

MAT can be used for various types of drug addictions, including alcohol, opioids, and other substances. It can help by reducing cravings, withdrawal symptoms, and the risk of relapse.

MAT is not a cure for addiction, but it can be an effective tool to help people recover. It is important to note that MAT is only one part of a comprehensive treatment plan. Other elements such as counseling, behavioral therapy, and support groups are also important in helping people recover from addiction.

What MAT Can Help With

Cravings & Urges
Improve Patient Survival
Improved Treatment

Cravings & Urges

One of the biggest issues associated with addiction, and one of the biggest causes of relapse, is the urges and cravings feel to use not only during the treatment process but after discharge. It will impede a person’s ability to focus and remain attentive during their treatment.

Luckily, medication-assisted treatment has been shown to be an effective hedge against these urges and allow clients to focus their attention solely on their recovery.

Improve Patient Survival

While many people believe that medication-assisted treatment is harmful and perhaps replacing one addiction with another, the evidence doesn’t lie.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, MAT programs have been proven to improve patient survival, and in turn, improved overall treatment retention.

Improved Treatment

Medication-assisted treatment is considered an evidence-based treatment option as it has been proven through various trials and studies to improve overall treatment retention. At the end of the day, the goal is to help a client overcome their substance abuse problem. While MAT may seem a bit strange at first, it is aiding in that overall goal by allowing clients to taper off their current addiction problem.

CALL NOW

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, it’s important to get help as soon as possible. Substance abuse can lead to serious health problems, and even death. There are many resources available to help people who are struggling with addiction, including intensive outpatient programs.

If you or someone you know is ready to get help, call our team at Ohio Community Health Recovery Centers today.

How Do Medications Work During Medication-Assisted Treatment Programs for Addiction Ohio?

The medications used in MAT work in one of the two following ways:

Some FDA-approved medications bind to opioid receptors found in your brain, activating them in the process. The mechanism works in a broadly similar way to the mechanism of opioids, but the opioid receptors are less intensely activated.
Other FDA-approved medications will block the opioid receptors and negate the rewarding effects of the substance.

If you become dependent on opioids, whether in the form of heroin or prescription painkillers like Oxycodone and Vicodin, you’ll feel sick without opioids in your system. The sickness you feel is classified as withdrawal. Opioid use disorder is characterized by withdrawal alongside intense cravings for opioids.

The medications used to soothe withdrawal symptoms and minimize cravings in medication-assisted treatment centers Ohio can be broadly divided into the following categories:

Partial opioid agonists: Partial agonists mildly activate the opioid receptors in your brain.
Opioid agonists: These medications fully activate the opioid receptors in your brain.
Opioid Antagonists: Opioid antagonists will block the opioid receptors in your brain while simultaneously countering the euphoric effects of opioids.

Medication-assisted treatment Cincinnati Ohio should be highly personalized, and may include the following medications, all FDA-approved:

Naltrexone
Buprenorphine
Methadone

Naltrexone

This medication is an opioid antagonist that disrupts the action of opioids. Naltrexone is neither sedative nor addictive. An injectable form of naltrexone is also approved by the FDA and marketed as Vivitrol. Naltrexone is delivered in a controlled setting, usually a clinic or an addiction treatment center.

Methadone

Methadone is an extremely slow-acting opioid agonist. Doctors have used the medication to treat heroin addiction for the past fifty years. As a prescription opioid, methadone has the potential for misuse and abuse. It can also lead to dependence forming. Methadone is available in the following forms: Tablet Oral solution Intravenous injectable Oral-soluble tablet When applied to the treatment of opioid use disorder, methadone is delivered instead of the opioid you’re not using any longer. This helps to eliminate most of the adverse effects of opioid withdrawal as you will still have opioids in your system. Methadone is delivered in a controlled setting due to the risk of misuse. The medication must be acquired from a certified treatment program.

Buprenorphine

Buprenorphine serves to minimize the cravings typically associated with withdrawing from opioids, but without the same rewarding euphoric effects that opioids deliver. This medication is a weak partial opioid agonist, so while euphoric effects can still manifest at low doses, this does not occur to the same extent as with full opioid agonists like methadone or heroin. Before using buprenorphine, you’ll need to abstain from using opioids for at least 12 hours, ideally 24 hours. Taking the medication with opioids already in your bloodstream could trigger the symptoms of acute withdrawal. The medication is safe to be administered on an ongoing basis if required. A combination medication of naloxone and buprenorphine is marketed as Suboxone. This is available as a sublingual film.

These medications are used to treat alcohol use disorder, and they are all approved by the FDA:

Naltrexone
Acamprosate
Disulfiram

Naltrexone

By blocking the pleasurable effects experienced after alcohol, naltrexone is an opioid antagonist that’s proven effective for treating alcohol use disorder as well as opioid use disorder.

Acamprosate

If you have already stopped drinking, acamprosate is a medication that can reduce your chances of relapse.

Acamprosate does nothing to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms associated with alcohol abuse, though.

Disulfiram

Disulfiram works by interfering with the metabolic pathway normally taken by alcohol.

If you consume alcohol while taking this medication, it will provoke the following adverse outcomes:

Vomiting
Nausea
Headache

This occurs because of the way disulfiram reacts with acetaldehyde, one of the chemicals in alcohol.

Medication-assisted treatment programs in Ohio should always be supplemented with behavioral therapy and counseling for optimum results. When addiction treatment is integrated, outcomes are typically superior. Additionally, medication-assisted treatment relapse prevention in Cincinnati can enhance the likelihood of sustained sobriety from alcohol addiction or opioid addiction.

Is MAT Effective?

There is a great deal of research to suggest that MAT is an effective treatment for substance abuse.

For example, a large-scale review of studies found that methadone maintenance treatment can reduce the risk of death from overdose by up to 50%.

Other research has also shown that people who receive medication-assisted treatment are more likely to stay in treatment and less likely to relapse than those who do not receive this type of care.

Is MAT Dangerous?

MAT is a safe and effective treatment for substance abuse, but it is not without its risks.

For example, people who take methadone or buprenorphine may be at risk for overdose if they stop taking their medication suddenly.

That said, MAT is a proven and effective form of treatment that can assist clients in overcoming the early stages of sobriety and help them avoid relapse by mitigating cravings and urges to use.