Addiction to any opiate, especially one as strong as heroin, is dangerous. The regular consumption of these types of substances can be life threatening. Withdrawal from heroin is usually quick, but extremely difficult. Medical professionals usually rely on medications to help patients cope with the ordeal that is heroin withdrawal. The three most commonly used drugs used to treat heroin addicts going through withdrawal are methadone, levo-alpha acetyl methadol, or LAAM, and buprenorphine.
Methadone
Methadone is a cheap, widely used drug that can be used as a pain reliever, but is mostly associated with opiate withdrawal. Methadone does not cause the euphoric rushes that are characteristic to heroin. Rather, the substance has a gradual and mild onset of actions, which makes it less likely for the people to get addicted to it, explains the University of Maryland Center for Substance Abuse Research. Substituting an addict from heroin to methadone is only partially effective, because methadone works in very much the same way as heroin does. The goal of methadone maintenance treatment, or MMT, is not to eliminate addiction immediately, but rather, through a gradual process. MMT works to eliminate some of the erratic behavior exhibited by addicts. Once an addict no longer suffers from some of the symptoms caused by heroin, he can gradually start to diminish his intake of methadone.
Levo-Alpha Acetyl Methadol (LAAM)
One of the problems associated with the use of methadone is that it requires daily doses with effects often lasting less than 24 hours for some users. A drug that may solve this problem is levo-alpha acetyl methadol, or LAAM. A single dose of LAAM can last anywhere from two to three days. This lowers the amount of times addicts need to be treated and may help persuade addicts to undergo treatment more readily. According to a study published in the Cochrane Library in 2008, LAAM is more effective in treating heroin addiction than methadone. The reason, however, that methadone is still more widely used is that the drug is generally considered safe, whereas, there exist several concerns with life-threatening side effects caused by LAAM. The drug is also not as widely available as methadone internationally. Most doctors may not want to prescribe LAAM, fearing negative effects on their patients, especially when they have a well-established alternative treatment.
Buprenorphine
Much like methadone, buprenorphine can treat both pain and opiate withdrawal. The drug itself is extremely potent, about 20 to 30 times more than regular morphine, and its effects vary. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, a single dose of buprenorphine can last up to three days and can produce effects associated with both agonists and partial agonists depending on usage. The drug has a lower chance of causing respiratory sedation and depression than other medications for heroin withdrawal and seems a safer alternative to methadone. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, buprenorphine is also less likely to cause overdoses and does not seem to cause any cognitive or psychomotor problems in users.
References
- University of Maryland Center for Substance Abuse Research: Methadone
- The Cochrane Collaboration: LAAM maintenance vs methadone maintenance for heroin dependence (Review)
- U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency: Buprenorphine
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: About Buprenorphine Therapy
