Methadone maintenance is a form of treatment for people in Ney who are addicted to heroin or prescription opioid medications. This form of treatment has been in existence for a very long time, and the general notion is that people are no longer involved in the drug seeking activities that was caused by their addiction due to the methadone that they are being administered satisfies cravings and prevents withdrawal. Like heroin, methadone is a full opioid agonist and stimulates the same neural receptors in the brain as heroin and other powerful pain killers. This is what makes methadone so effective as a replacement for heroin and prescription pain killers.
Clients enrolled in methadone maintenance therapy have to dose daily to avoid withdrawal symptoms from the methadone itself. This can be financially and logistically difficult, but some find it a better alternative to a heroin addiction. However, those starting on methadone maintenance ought to be aware of the fact that methadone detox is known to be far more challenging than even heroin detox and withdrawal. Once on a certain dosage of methadone, there are some detoxification facilities that will not accept methadone maintenance clients seeing that detoxification can be very difficult and relapse rates are considerably high.