5 Arguments for Using Meds to Fight Prescription Drug Addiction
April 20, 2011
Medications are not always necessary during prescription drug addiction detox, but in many cases, they can be extremely helpful in assisting you in decreasing the length of time you spend in detox, diminishing the withdrawal symptoms you experience and helping you to move forward more quickly in your recovery. Here are five arguments for pharmacological assistance during prescription drug detox and addiction treatment:
- Addiction is a medical disease. How do you treat other chronic medical issues? With medication. There is absolutely a place in medical detox programs for medications that speak to the specific withdrawal symptoms that patients experience when they stop taking their drug of choice. No one medication will work for everyone, but they most certainly can be helpful in the treatment of medical ailments like prescription drug addiction.
- Talk therapy is not enough. When you stop taking addictive prescription drugs, your body has a physical reaction, not just a psychological one. Though talk therapy is arguably the most important part of drug addiction treatment, it is far more effective once the physiological issues related to detox are dealt with. With medications, this can happen more quickly, allowing patients to get a jump on their recovery.
- Medication plus talk therapy is far more effective than either alone. Medication is not meant to be a treatment by itself -no substance abuse professional would ever say otherwise. Pharmacological assistance for prescription drug addiction should be followed by intensive addiction treatment and long-term follow-up care. With the right treatment, a medication regime can add new dimensions to prescription drug addiction recovery.
- Research knowledge on how substance abuse works has made great strides. Tons of money has been invested in the research of how drugs and alcohol work in the brain and in the body. The effects of addiction are very well understood by the medical community, and the medications that have been developed as a result are extremely effective. Medical professionals know what they are doing. You could benefit from that during your prescription drug addiction detox and treatment.
- New breakthroughs in medical research happen all the time. There are always new medications that increase the efficacy of current medications or create whole new models of treatment. The research on drug addiction treatment is extensive, especially in the area of pharmacological help. There’s always something new coming along, new treatment protocols. It can mean amazing things for your recovery.
What are your arguments for a medicated detox? What are your arguments against?
