Are there more effective drugs than Methadone at breaking Heroin addiction?

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by CraigD

Though I’ve also witnessed at least short-term success with this approach (I’ve personally used a variation of it on 2 occasions, involving sham hiking/camping trips and “lost” drugs), I’ve also seen the approach go badly wrong, not only failing to interrupt the targeted chemical dependency, but ending in criminal complaints being made and lawsuits filed.

It’s important to understand that keeping a person somewhere against there will, even with good intentions, can technically be construed as a crime. The use of physical force to do this, or to defend against a physical attack by the patient during a“physical intervention”, can be construed as assault and battery. And, as with any action that may necessitate physical force to restrain someone, there is a risk of injury to everyone involved.

Except in cases involving injury or death, or ones where the intervention or deprogramming was done by a paid “professional”, I’m unaware of an intervention actually resulting in criminal prosecution. However, anyone considering such action should be careful to consider the possibility that the patient will not be grateful, and may even seek revenge. People with CD problems often have violent, unwise friends, so caution is called for.This matches some of my experience with people in Methadone treatment programs, and accounts from a friend who’s the director of a not-for-profit agency offering multiple treatment programs, includes a needle exchange programs.

Those are good cautions to keep in mind when undertaking the challenge of physical addiction.

To clarify, of the people who I know who went thru withdrawl, all chose to go with a friend accompanied withdrawl. There was one who didnt know the intent of the trip to the hotel was to break the physical addiction.

I would add that less than a month ago I advised against useing this approach with a friend who has great concerns that her adult daughter is deeply involved with meth. After hearing the mothers version of what is occuring, I had to advise against this kind of method of intervention for the very reasons you give, the potential for prosecution.

Meth is a different drug than heroin or cocaine.

[TruthfullyLying]

I would say face the fact you were bullied as a kid, and that you took a losers way out. Bullying is as common among adolescent mammals as eating, its how we develop hierarchys and social structure. Instead of manning up to the bullies and throwing out some pain back at them, making you "no fun" to them, you decided to correlate taking a loss with suicide. Maybe theres a missing link I dont see here, but really I would say quit pitying yourself and man up. Take up drinking with buddies if you have to, but dont bother if you still feel some form of guilt or pity on yourself, because then you'll just become an alcoholic. Realize that whoever those bullies were, theyre probably pretty damned sorry over how they acted as kids, and if theyre not, theyre probably living in a trailer.

[gribbon]

Instead of manning up to the bullies and throwing out some pain back at them, making you "no fun" to them, you decided to correlate taking a loss with suicide.

Great suggestion, but I tried that-and failed. I ended up with a massive criminal record, which I was eventually cleared of once the authorities started getting helpful.

[TruthfullyLying]

Hmm, sorry to hear that man. It does suck when you think your doing the right thing and it goes to ****, you end up feeling like the worlds against you. I really dont know what to tell you though, I wish you alot of luck in dealing with all of this, because if you do come out on top of this, your gonna come up a stronger person then most in this world.

[gribbon]

Well, thanks....I would like to know how to help other people who have had problems with drugs though...we have an estimated 400,000 Heroin addicts in this country, we really need to help them.

[gribbon]

Shame I can't show you that ultra grim photo of myself which quite graphically shows you what multiple drug addiction can do. It shows me sitting on a hospital bed with my feet flat on the mattress, my knees drawn up to my chest, my neck twisted at an uncomfortable and awkward angle, my face pressed against my knees, and used needles lying around. Furthermore, there was horrendous scarring on my stomach caused by improper shooting of Heroin, Cocaine and Speed, (which was later removed by skin grafts).

Heroin (in particular) screws you up...

[Michaelangelica]

Sounds like you have had quite an education very quickly.
Perhaps one day you will be able to help those poor bullies.

Apart from having my house robbed a few times and an addiction to alcohol I have little personal experience to offer.
However here is some info from some recent Australian papers on the subject.

the number of clients receiving methadone in Australia in 2001 was
estimated at 31,995, up from 16,906 in 1995

In 2001, alcohol was the drug most frequently reported by clients as being the main drug problem, with one in three (35%) substance users receiving treatment for an alcohol problem on census day

http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/...sdua02-c09.pdf

Methadone Maintenance Treatment

Methadone is a long acting (more than 24 hours) drug from the opioid class (which includes morphine, pethideine, and codeine, etc.). The pharmacological effects of methadone helps prevent withdrawal, reduces drug hunger and in adequate amounts, blocks the euphoric effects of heroin and other opioids. It is taken orally on a daily basis.

Breakthrough for heroin addiction treatment
Original View [0]
Monday, 22 January 2007


University of Adelaide researchers have made a breakthrough in the treatment of heroin addiction which could improve treatment success rates for millions of heroin users around the world.

Researchers in the Discipline of Pharmacology [1] have discovered a genetic variation that may help determine the most effective methadone dosage levels for individual heroin addicts.

The discovery reveals why some people's genetic makeup makes them either less efficient or more effective in distributing drugs throughout their body to the central nervous system.

(More on genetic variability to drugs in the Hypography "Darwin re-visited" thread)
Breakthrough for heroin addiction treatment

Buprenorphine
Buprenorphine is another opiate, used in Australia as a painkiller post-operatively in hospitals. Like methadone, is an opiate replacement drug, or opiate agonist. It lasts longer in the body than methadone, so can be taken every two days (under the tongue). And it's safer than methadone – a person taking buprenorphine is less likely to overdose than one taking methadone.
Naltrexone
Naltrexone is also a drug, but it isn't a heroin substitute like methadone and buprenorphine. It's an antagonist – it blocks the brain's opioid receptors so that if someone who is taking naltrexone then uses heroin, the heroin will have no effect. So they will cease using heroin – at least that's the idea.

Treatment - Heroin - Features - Health Matters

LAAM

Treatment for heroin dependence using levo-alpha-acetylmethadol (LAAM) is to be evaluated in primary care (general practice) and specialist settings. LAAM is suitable as a substitute for methadone in maintenance treatment for heroin dependency but is prescribed on a three times per week basis rather than methadone's daily dosage.
. . .
Slow-Release Oral Morphine

Slow-release oral morphine is a well-established treatment for pain but more research is required to evaluate it as a treatment for heroin dependence. This trial, which is expected to begin by the end of 1998, will evaluate the safety, efficacy and cost effectiveness of slow-release oral morphine.
. . .
Tincture of opium

South Australia is collaborating with clinicians in Thailand to compare the efficacy of tincture of opium with methadone maintenance in a randomised controlled trial. If judged to have value as a maintenance treatment, its use in Australia will be further examined.
. . .
Herorin
Trials of legal prescription heroin have been conducted in Switzerland during the past six years.
A comprehensive collection of articles and reports on the Swiss trials can be found in the Department of the Parliamentary Library's Public Issues Kit No. 1 1997-98: Alternative approaches to managing heroin use: the ACT heroin trial and the international experience.

Trials of legal prescription heroin have also received attention in other countries. For example, the Netherlands, Denmark and Luxembourg are all considering following the Swiss approach to managing heroin use.
Influenced by the results of the Swiss trials, the German Medical Council unanimously resolved earlier this year that heroin should be made available by doctors to a select group of heroin users.
The Council has approached the Minister for Justice to address the legal issues involved. The German Minister for Health disagrees with the Council, preferring methadone maintenance to treat heroin dependency.(14)

Alternative Treatments for Heroin Addiction Current Issues Brief 3 1998-99

[maikeru]

Gribbon, I'm sorry to hear about your childhood. I don't think I can comment much on drugs. I've never used any illegal drugs, although meth, marijuana, and drunkenness from alcohol are becoming increasingly problematic in my area. Meth, in particular, is the worst of these. In the past year, there've been a lot more robberies and break-ins in homes by meth addicts, and also broken families due to mothers getting hooked on meth. It's used by a lot of women here to lose weight after having had so many children. Meth seems to disfigure people as well, causing them to look anorexic, extremely old (I've seen before and after pictures, where young people look like they've aged 20-30 years, with wrinkles and poor skin tone), tired, and wasted.

In general, you may want to look at maintaining your health and mind by exercising, eating well, and trying to live your life to its fullest and engaged by what you love. It takes great courage to love and live life as we would, but the struggle yields infinitely precious rewards.

Many times in life we'll find ourselves confronted by difficult problems, sometimes ones which will never go away entirely. We must make do as well as we can. Have faith in yourself.

I have memories of being bullied when I was younger, although I never suffered as much as you did. That's terrible what happened to you. I sometimes got into fights with other kids when they picked on me for looking Asian. I didn't look like them, and they didn't know how to deal with it. I live in a mostly white area. I am half white. That didn't matter. Didn't stop people from calling me names or trying to knock my teeth out in gym classes. I didn't know how to deal with it then. Things move on, people move on. I don't blame them now.

Though I can't go into it here, I have problems with my mother's family. It's unfortunate that the worst people I know in life, my own worst enemies, are related to me by blood.