Medication Options Used in Codeine Addiction Treatment

When people find themselves unable to control their codeine use, it signals a problem. The natural solution is to seek out and attend addiction treatment. Because codeine isn’t a common illicit drug, like heroin or methamphetamine, there is a tendency for people to normalize its use and to deny that they need treatment. Often, this denial is fueled by a lack of information about treatment options. Learning more about how a codeine use disorder is treated may make attending rehab feel more natural and comfortable.

Most people begin using codeine by prescription to treat mild to moderate pain; in conjunction with other medications, it reduces coughing. Codeine is an opioid and can be extracted from opium, but it is generally synthesized from morphine. This means that treatment for codeine abuse, as for all opiates, includes the option of medication-assisted treatment, as there are multiple medications specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat opioid dependency and addiction.

To learn more about the treatment options you can take advantage of in rehab, call 800-291-1732 (Who Answers?) . Our specialists are happy to give you the answers that you need in language that you understand. You don’t have to comb Google for information. Instead, go right to an expert.

What Is Medication Assisted Treatment?

The first thing to keep in mind is that using a medication to assist you in managing your codeine addiction is not substituting one addiction for another one. People will say that it is, but they are generally ill-informed.

Drug addiction is a chronic disease and like any other such condition—including heart disease, asthma, diabetes—treatment can require medication management. You wouldn’t berate yourself for taking those medications, would you? No, you wouldn’t because those are medically sound forms of care.  Taking medication under the close supervision of a doctor and according to their directions isn’t inviting a new addiction.

Medication assisted treatment reduces your risk of relapse.

Research consistently associates successful treatment outcomes for opioid addiction with the use of medication in treatment. This form of treatment is linked to:

• The alleviation or elimination of cravings
• The alleviation or elimination of withdrawal symptoms
• A decreased chance of relapse
• A decreased chance of overdose

Often, codeine use is marked by fluctuating highs and lows, like the transition between being actively high and facing withdrawal symptoms. Medication-assisted treatment breaks this cycle and improves overall stability. Once a person becomes stable, they can dedicate all of their energy and attention to other aspects of treatment, like education sessions and behavioral therapy. This creates a surge in patient retention and engagement, which increases the likelihood of a successful recovery.

Methadone

As the first medication approved to treat opioid dependence and addiction, methadone is a treatment standard at this point. The medication prevents users from getting high and eases or eradicates withdrawal symptoms. It can also change the way a user’s nervous system and brain react to pain. Users must go to a clinic to have methadone dispensed.

Per the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), methadone is available in:

• Tablet form
• Liquid form
• Wafer form

Naltrexone

Naltrexone is used as part of both alcohol and opioid treatment. It performs a number of roles. It reduces cravings and attaches to opioid receptors in the user’s brain, preventing codeine or other opioids from attaching and creating a high. Even if users attempt to return to codeine use, naltrexone reduces the high effects and the sleepy effects of the drug.

Per the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), naltrexone is available in:

• Extended-release injectable form
• Tablet form

Buprenorphine

Used to limit the risk faced during overdose, buprenorphine is also prescribed to diminish cravings by satisfying the brain and body’s need for codeine. As the most recent advancement in medication assisted treatment, buprenorphine is dispensed in a physician’s office.

Per SAMHSA buprenorphine is available in:

• Buccal film form
• Film form
• Sublingual pill form
• Transmucosal form

Naloxone

Used primarily to prevent overdose, naloxone also attaches to receptors in the user’s brain and prevents those receptors from receiving an opioid signal. In many cases, doctors prescribe naloxone and buprenorphine, dispensed under the name Suboxone. Typically, patients given this medication have demonstrated an overdose risk. It is dispensed in a physician’s office, making it more convenient than methadone.

Per the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, naloxone is available in the following forms:

• Intramuscular injectable (into the muscle)
• Intravenous injectable (into the vein)
• Subcutaneous injectable (under the skin)
• Intranasal spray

Call 800-291-1732 (Who Answers?) to learn more about the role medication could play in treating your codeine addiction. Don’t wait to feel better; call now.

Medications Used in Codeine Detox