Do Replacement Drugs such as Methadone Work?
Addiction currently is often treated as a disease, rather than an addict themselves being rehabilitated. The drugs used for this “treatment” against heroin and painkillers, are usually methadone and buprenorphine.
Methadone and buprenorphine are both synthetic drugs similar to heroin and morphine, in that they are opioid-based, but they are engineered to provide less of a euphoric high when consumed.
The purpose of these drugs is two-fold:
- When a person comes off the heroin or painkiller they were abusing and starts taking one of these drugs prescribed by a doctor, they do not go into withdrawal sickness.
- They can stop committing crimes to get money for drugs, and they can begin to normalise their lives again, as these drugs are given on a prescription.
Those are both positive factors, but the downsides are:
- The goal of the medical practitioner prescribing, may not necessarily be to get the person totally drug free, and they may prescribe these drugs indefinitely.
- And, most important, they are still drugs. You cannot totally get your life back on track while taking opioids every day—they do have side effects.
These are some commonly experienced side effects:
- Drowsiness
- Bowel problems
- Lethargy
- Memory loss
- Low blood pressure
- Headache and dizziness
- Sexual impairment
- Stomach pain and nausea
- Difficulty breathing
- Feeling anxious or nervous
- Potential for overdose death
- Heart problems
- Liver damage
Real Stories
With a quick scan through online forums of those sharing experiences from these addiction treatments, we find stories like these:
Buprenorphine for four years:
- “Two weeks of withdrawal symptoms, coupled with minimal sleep had brought me to my knees, and I realised I would never get off this ‘medication’.”
- “I’ve experienced constipation, difficulty urinating, lethargy (usually as dose wears off), difficulty waking up in the morning, depression, yellowing/orange teeth, muscle spasms, memory has been affected…”
Methadone for 3-6 years:
- “I was a walking zombie in every aspect of life.”
- “Fatigued and lethargic… I CANNOT deal with being on methadone anymore. It makes me feel so trapped and depressed that my quality of life is zilch.”
