Heroin Addiction Help: Why Methadone Treatment Works

Methadone rots teeth and bones is a sentence often banded around when people are considering treatment for opioid and heroin addiction.

Thankfully, this just is not true.

Our addictions clinicians each have over three decades of experience in assessing, diagnosing, prescribing for and treating people caught up in the madness of addiction.

They have prescribed Methadone for hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

Here they share there experience and knowledge with you.

Methadone rots teeth and bones : myths and legends

Many patients will tell you that Methadone rots your teeth, get’s into your bones and was invented by Adolf Hitler :not true .

Legend has it that there were declining stocks of morphine held by the Axis forces during world war two which is true.

Hence why IG Farben were tasked to look for a cheap alternative that could be mass produced.

There is a similar urban legend that the trade name of Methadone, Dolophine, was derived from Adolf Hitler’s first name.

This also does not have any basis in fact.

However, the trials were abandoned, and methadone was not examined again until after the war by the Americans.

It is true that IG Farben has a dark history in relation to world war and slave labour.

However, the potential of methadone for treatment in addictions was not actualized, or even considered, when it was first formulated.

Why people think Methadone rots teeth and bones

If you use Methadone over a number of years there may be a very small deterioration in bone density.

However, this is preferable to the damage of continued heroin use, especially is someone is injecting.

If your favourite food was a cheeseburger and you had one daily, your bones would not fill up with cheeseburgers anyone than they can with methadone.

Methadone is not full of sugar. Indeed, most people are prescribed a sugar free formula. Even the one that does contain sugar is not going to cause any problems.

These are urban legends.

Treating heroin and opioid use disorder

What is heroin?

In short, it is an opioid drug made from Morphine, which is taken from the seed pod of various opium poppy plants.

These are usually grown in Colombia, Asia and Mexico. Morphine, derives from Opium.

What Is Opium?

Opium is derived from the sap of the Opium poppy.

It is a milky sap and the earliest reference to it’s use and cultivation goes back to 3,400 BC to Mesopotamia.

Indeed, the ancient Sumerians (those who lived in the southernmost region of Mesopotamia, which is now Kuwait and Iraq) actually referred to the bright red poppy flowers as the “joy plant.”

Cultivation continued through Greece and in Persia and Egypt.

Indeed, under King Tutankhamen (circa 1330-1324) it’s used flourished. Indeed, the ancient Greek author Homer referred to the healing power of opium healing powers in his classic work: The Odyssey.

It was a German, Friedrich Sertuner, who first isolated Morphine from Opium in 1803. It was first used in the US civil war. However, as a result, over 400,000 soldiers became addicted to it. After all, it is ten times more powerful than Opium.

Statistics on opioid use and fatalities

All opioids, and that includes heroin, have the potential to cause physical dependency.

This means that someone who uses them will need ever-increasing amounts to maintain an equilibrium and prevent withdrawal.

It is estimated that, worldwide, there are around thirty-six million people dependent on opioids.

There has been a concerning increase in opiate-related fatalities.

Indeed, in the United States of America, in one year alone (2014-2015), there was a 71 per cent increase in deaths from synthetic opioids and a 21 per cent increase in deaths from Heroin.

In 2011, a quarter of a million people in America attended a hospital emergency department due to the adverse effects of heroin use.

More worryingly, twice this number attended hospital due to prescription opioid drug dependency.

What damage does long term heroin use do to the body?

Regular heroin use will cause major lifestyle and health problems including:

• Disrupted menstrual cycles
• Increased incidents of lung disease and pneumonia
• Damage to blood vessels
• Financial loss
• Risk of overdose
• Chronic constipation
• Blood bourne viruses

So what is Methadone?

Methadone is what is known as a synthetic opioid agonist.

In other words, it is works by opening up chemical channels and is made from chemicals.

By using methadone, at sufficient doses, withdrawal symptoms can be eliminated.

It acts on opioid receptors in the brain.

The very same receptors that other opioids, such as heroin, morphine and medications that contain opioids, activate.

Unlike other opioids, it does this more slowly than other opioids and for someone who is dependent on opioids, it does not provide the same level of euphoria. In the UK, it has been used for decades.

What are the symptoms of heroin/opioid withdrawal?

The severity of a person’s withdrawal symptoms will depend on how long they were using the medication, the dosage of opiates that they were using, and how suddenly they are coming off the medication.

Withdrawal symptoms occur as a result of the body’s detoxification from the medication. Common symptoms include:

• aching muscles
• stomach pain
• anxiety or agitation
• increased heart rate
• fever and chills
• nausea and vomiting
• diarrhea
• tremors
• depression

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326223#symptoms

Can Pregnant women use Methadone?

Yes they can.

Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding can, indeed, use methadone:Safely.

Trying to withdraw, without medical intervention, while pregnant, is never a good idea, especially in the first or last trimester.

When a woman withdraws from heroin, without treatment, the uterus can contract and this can bring on a premature birth of even a miscarriage.

Therefore Methadone can prevent withdrawal symptoms and prevent risks to the mother and unborn child.

Using Methadone, while pregnant, won’t cause birth defects, but some babies may go through withdrawal after birth.

However, this does not mean that the baby is addicted.

A woman who is thinking of stopping methadone treatment due to breastfeeding or pregnancy concerns should speak with her doctor first. https://psychiatry.uams.edu/clinical-care/cast/what-is-methadone/

Why Methadone for detox?

Withdrawing from Opioids can be very unpredictable, significantly uncomfortable and can even be very dangerous. The central nervous system can be affected and medical intervention can be necessary to regulate bodily functions.

Using methadone, at a therapeutic level can eliminate withdrawal and allow the patient to be feel well enough to take on the psychological work necessary to get into long term recovery.

Ignore the legends, the myths and the misinformation and get into treatment. It will not rot your teeth or get into your bones. Indeed, it might give you your life back.

How can Find Me a Rehab help?

We are addictions clinicians.

Each of us has over three decades experience in assessing, diagnosing, prescribing for and treating people caught up in addiction.

As we are not tied to any particular service, our advicve is wholly impartial as well as being free and confidential.

We only signpost to legally registered services.

Get help today

Call, email, live chat or whattsap one of our addictions clinicians for free, confidential and impartial advice on any aspect of methadone, heroin, opioids, detox, rehab, home treatment, therapy, relapse prevention and aftercare.

We can advise on treatment options, treatment plans, locations, costings, logistics and availability.

Methadone rots teeth and bones is a myth.

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