Methadone is a prescription medication used in the reduction of harm associated with opiate addiction. A person who wants to stop taking heroin or prescription pain killers can get enrolled into a methadone clinic in or near Hull where they ingest it daily to stop withdrawal symptoms, avoid cravings and in essence replace their addiction with a legal medication. Many individuals who start methadone treatment stay on the drug for many years, considering withdrawing off it causes withdrawal symptoms far worse than even heroin withdrawal. Methadone is a full opioid agonist, similar to heroin. However, it remains in the body longer which is why detoxing from it can be so uncomfortable and last so long. Additionally, since methadone can stay in the body for such a long time, users may not even start experiencing withdrawal for a day or two when they quit taking it. Methadone withdrawal resembles that of other opiates, and feels similar to a really bad flu which may include fever, chills, nausea and vomiting, profuse sweating muscle and bone aches and pain, stomach cramping, extreme insomnia, etc.
Methadone withdrawal can be made much more comfortable in a professional detoxification facility that allow methadone clients. Some centers offer a medication assisted detox while others help the person detox from the drug cold turkey without any medications.