Methadone maintenance is a method of treatment for people in Lyle who are dependent and addicted to heroin or prescription opioid medications. This type of treatment has been around for decades now, and the general idea is that people are no longer engaged in the drug seeking behavior that was driven by their addiction due to the methadone that they are being administered satisfies cravings and prevents withdrawal. Similar to heroin, methadone is a full opioid agonist which stimulates the same neural receptors in the brain as heroin and other powerful pain killers. This is what makes methadone so powerful as a replacement for heroin and prescription pain killers.
Individuals enrolled in methadone maintenance have to take it every day to avoid withdrawal symptoms from the methadone itself. This can be logistically and financially burdensome, but some find it a better option than a heroin addiction. However, someone starting on methadone maintenance therapy ought to realize that methadone detox is known to be way more difficult than even heroin detox and withdrawal. Once on a high dosage of methadone, there are some detox facilities that won't even take methadone maintenance clients since detox can be very difficult and rates of relapse are considerably high.