Medication Assisted Detox

For most people beginning the addiction recovery process, detox is a key step toward sobriety. During detox, your care provider may talk with you about how medication can help you navigate your withdrawal symptoms as your mind and body prepare for inpatient and/or outpatient treatment. 

Following detox, though, your care provider may advise you to continue incorporating medications into your recovery program. When addiction recovery medications are prescribed after you’ve completed detox, the protocol is referred to as medication assisted treatment.

Medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, can help reduce your cravings and ease the physiological and psychological symptoms that can be associated with post-detox recovery. 

Sometimes, the same medicines used in detox are also used in MAT, but in different dosages and in different combinations with other meds.

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Methadone and buprenorphine, for instance, may be used both during and after detox, but they’re not considered MAT until they are integrated into a post-detox treatment plan. Other MAT medications, such as naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram, may be introduced only after detox is complete.

While medical detox typically lasts for just a few days and rarely longer than two weeks, MAT extends across a far longer time period, ranging from weeks to months and even years. MAT is also typically used in conjunction with counseling and recovery skills training in inpatient and outpatient settings and aftercare programs.

Here, we’ll explore everything you need to know about medically assisted detox. We’ll go over how medically assisted treatment works and who can benefit from MAT.

Common addiction-related conditions that can be treated with medication-assisted treatment, what you can expect as you move through the medical detox and subsequent MAT process and the benefits of medication-assisted treatment will also be covered.

What Is Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)?

Medication-assisted treatment refers to the use of FDA-approved medications, in tandem with counseling and behavioral therapies, to treat substance use disorders.

Research shows that people who partake in MAT have higher sobriety success rates, especially through the early stages of recovery. MAT is a scientifically backed, evidence-based approach that can significantly increase the likelihood of long-term recovery.

How Does Medication-Assisted Treatment Work?

Medication-assisted treatment uses a structured, personalized approach to ensure that your unique needs are met throughout the recovery process.

Your healthcare provider will monitor your needs to ensure you’re on the right track toward recovery. Your care provider will use each of the following steps to support you as you receive medication-assisted treatment.

The first step of medication-assisted treatment is assessment, during which your healthcare provider will complete a thorough evaluation of your needs and your history (including any preexisting physical and mental health conditions).

After assessment, you’ll move into the induction phase, where medications will be administered in a controlled way to help with symptom management. Depending on your needs, this part of treatment may take place in an inpatient or clinic setting, allowing your healthcare provider to monitor your symptoms and response to medication closely.

Next, your care provider will move you into the stabilization phase. During this part of your treatment, you’ll continue to be monitored closely to ensure that you’re getting helpful results with minimal side effects.

During this phase, you’ll likely also begin behavioral therapy to address the psychological and behavioral aspects of addiction.

After you’ve stabilized on your MAT protocol, you’ll enter the maintenance phase. This long-term period supports sustained recovery, reduces relapse risk and helps to restore daily functioning.

Eventually, your healthcare provider may support you in the tapering phase, in which medications are gradually reduced in accordance with your needs.

How Is a Medically Induced Drug Detox Treatment Administered?

As previously noted, sometimes the same medications used in MAT are also used in medical detox. However, during a medical detox, those meds may be administered at higher dosages and in combination with other medications that are not a part of MAT in order to manage the acute withdrawal symptoms. 

During a medical detox, your healthcare provider will carefully adjust medication dosages while providing frequent monitoring and continuous adjustment. Your detox meds may be administered orally or through an IV line set up by your care provider.

Who Can Benefit From Medical Detox or MAT?

If you’re searching for “medication-assisted treatment near me” or “medically assisted detox,” it’s likely that you may benefit from medical detox followed by medication-assisted treatment. MAT is suitable for a wide range of addiction-related conditions, including opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and other substance use disorders.

Common Conditions Treated With Medical Detox and MAT

Medications are used to ease symptoms in people who are in recovery. Detox medications ease withdrawal symptoms and help patients prepare for inpatient or outpatient treatment. 

MAT, on the other hand, supports your continued sobriety post-detox by easing physiological and psychological symptoms of recovery. This includes managing cravings to reduce your risk of relapse.

Conditions commonly treated using medication-assisted treatment include:

• Opioid use disorder: People living with addiction to heroin and/or prescription opioids (like oxycodone and hydrocodone) may benefit from medications during the detox process.
• Alcohol use disorder: If you have chronic alcohol issues or a binge drinking problem, your healthcare provider may offer medication-assisted treatment to manage withdrawal symptoms.

Conditions commonly requiring medical detox include:

• Benzodiazepine dependence: If you’re living with addiction to Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, or other benzodiazepines, detox meds may help you through the withdrawal process as you prepare for treatment.
• Stimulant dependence: While there are limited medication-assisted treatment options for stimulant dependence, some medications may help you manage withdrawal symptoms.

Curious about detox with MAT? Call now to get answers.

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Most Common Medications Used in Medical Detox or MAT

Your care team will work to create a personalized treatment plan based on your recovery needs.

Medications that are commonly used to help people through medical detox or MAT include:

• Methadone: Methadone is a full opioid agonist used primarily for treating opioid use disorder. It helps to reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings without creating the same intense high associated with opioids like heroin and fentanyl.
• Buprenorphine (Suboxone/Subutex): This drug is a partial opioid agonist. It causes the activation of opioid receptors in the brain to a lesser extent than full agonists. As a result, the medication helps to manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
• Naltrexone (Vivitrol): This opioid and alcohol antagonist blocks the effects of opioids and alcohol in the brain, making it less likely that you’ll experience the effects of drugs and alcohol. Naltrexone can help prevent relapse after detox is complete.
• Disulfiram (Antabuse): Used to treat alcohol use disorder, disulfiram creates an adverse reaction to alcohol. When people who take Antabuse drink alcohol, they experience many unpleasant side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, headaches, and flushing. Using disulfiram regularly can help prevent relapse after detox.
• Acamprosate (Campral): Acamprosate can help restore balance to the brains of people who have been affected by long-term alcohol use. This drug is also used to treat post-acute withdrawal symptoms, including insomnia, restlessness, and anxiety, and can be helpful for long-term recovery.
• Clonidine: Clonidine is used to ease withdrawal symptoms during opioid and/or alcohol detox. It’s especially helpful for easing agitation, high blood pressure, sweating, and anxiety. While it doesn’t reduce cravings, it can help to control the physical symptoms of withdrawal.
• Modafinil and Bupropion: Some researchers are exploring modafinil and bupropion for the treatment of stimulant dependence. Modafinil works to promote wakefulness and may help people who are stopping the use of stimulants to feel awake. Bupropion has shown promise in craving reduction for people who are recovering from stimulant use.

MAT Timeline: What to Expect

You’ll move through several phases as you progress through your post-detox MAT protocol.

Your care team will work with you to ensure that your medications are supporting your recovery and may make changes to your detox meds to ensure that they’re conducive to long-term sobriety.

Here’s what you can expect in the days following your initial commitment to the detox process.

Is MAT the Same as Replacing One Drug With Another?

Medication-assisted addiction treatment is not about swapping one addiction for another. Instead, it stabilizes brain chemistry, blocks the highs that come from drugs and alcohol, and can help to manage withdrawal symptoms, allowing you to stay focused on long-term behavioral change.

Much like insulin for diabetes, medication-assisted treatment works to correct imbalances in the body as you create healthy changes conducive to your long-term health.

Benefits of Medication-Assisted Treatment

Over time, drug and alcohol use can change the way the brain functions, making it harder to begin the recovery process. Medication-assisted rehab treatment can help address these changes, allowing you to engage in behaviors that support your sobriety.

Some of the advantages of medication-assisted alcohol and drug treatment include:

• Reduced risk of overdose and death
• Minimized withdrawal symptoms
• Improved treatment retention and outcomes
• Reduced criminal activity
• Support for long-term recovery and functionality

Want to get started with MAT? Call now to find help.

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Finding Medication-Assisted Treatment Near You

If you’re ready to begin medical detox or are interested in integrating MAT into your post-detox recovery plan, reach out today.

Searching for medication-assisted treatment near you can be the first step toward your long-term sobriety. Use the Detox.com search tool to find licensed medically assisted detox facilities near you that can help you begin the path to recovery, one healthy choice at a time.

Call a location today to learn more about beginning the detox process.

FAQs About Medication-Assisted Treatment

It’s OK to ask for help. Call now to find MAT detox near you!

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