Determining Benchmarks for Addiction Recovery
Addiction recovery is a lifelong journey with many milestones along the way. Determining benchmarks or goals as you come out of opioid addiction is an essential part of recovery. While each person’s situation is unique, these goals will help you keep a positive outlook and encourage you to keep moving forward in your recovery. Here […]
Becoming a New Parent in Treatment
Motherhood is an incredibly awe-inspiring, life-changing experience, while often stressful for women with substance use disorder. Pregnancy rates among women who are actively using opioids show that there is a need for support for both expecting mothers and their developing fetuses to ensure that their safety is protected through treatment. Pregnancy and Addiction It’s been […]
Sticking to Sobriety After Opioid Addiction
After you finish opioid addiction treatment, it takes an ongoing effort to stay on the path to recovery. With the right strategies and support, you can improve your chances of success and know what to do if a relapse happens. Consider these approaches to staying sober after an opioid addiction. Develop a Relapse Prevention Plan […]
How to Prevent Opioid Relapse
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 40% to 60% of people with addiction experience relapse. This rate resembles the relapse risk for patients with conditions like type 1 diabetes, hypertension and asthma. Relapse does not indicate a moral failure on the patient’s part — it just means that they need an adjustment in treatment. […]
Methadone Maintenance Treatment Pros and Cons
The opioid crisis continues to destroy lives in the United States, and few people receive the treatment they need to overcome addiction. Part of this issue is a lack of public understanding of what forms of treatment are available and effective. Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is a form of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) that offers people […]
Under-utilization of MAT in opioid addiction treatment
There is an old saying that goes, “use the correct tool for the job”. While that may often refer to automotive repairs or woodworking or some other “hands on” task, the same advice can be applied to most other aspects of life, whether that be computer software, verbal negotiation or the treatment of opioid addiction. […]
Unexpected Ways to Enrich your Recovery
Entering recovery opens up a new world to you after you’ve felt the deep darkness of addiction and how it can deplete the joy and energy you once had for hobbies and interests. Through treatment, you work with substance use counselors to get you onto a healthy path to recovery by working out past issues […]
Will Methadone or Suboxone Show in a Drug Screening?
Methadone and Suboxone help patients manage their withdrawal symptoms and cravings during medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Since they count as opioids, some patients worry that they will show up on drug tests for work or sports. These medicines infrequently appear on drug screenings, and patients have protections even if they show positive results. Learn more about […]
How Long Does Buprenorphine Stay in Your System?
As someone taking buprenorphine or considering treatment, you may wonder how long it stays in your system. Every medication has a half-life, the length of time it circulates through the body. This half-life impacts how long you feel its effects and when it will show up on a drug screen. Learning how long buprenorphine stays […]
How Long After Methadone Can I Take Suboxone?
Contributor: Dr. Joseph Py, DO FASAM Patients in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) are prescribed methadone, buprenorphine or buprenorphine with naloxone (Suboxone®, Zubsolv®, etc.), for opioid use disorder or, commonly, opioid addiction. These medications work due to their ability to eliminate withdrawal, decrease craving and normalize brain function. Similar to other treatments for medical disorders, a person […]