Methadone Detox Center – How did it come to this?
31 October 2011
Is addiction a vicious cycle? It certainly seems to sink its claws in people and then find creative ways to hold onto them forever. Is addiction a destructive love affair? It certainly lures people into its arms and then demands the addict’s complete devotion… to the peril of all other relationships in the addict’s life. Is addiction a cruel joke? It certainly pushes people into ironic and unbelievable situations… but it isn’t funny.
Here is one of the cruelest jokes of all in the world of addiction: the existence of a methadone detox center. ”Why is this a cruel joke?” you may ask. ”Isn’t it a good thing that there are places available to help people stop taking addictive substances?” My answer is yes… it is a good thing that there is medical assistance for people whose usage of Methadone has spiraled out of control. But it is still a cruel joke!
Consider the purpose of methadone. Consider why it has been manufactured. Consider why it has been prescribed to people. Methadone is supposed to help opiate-dependent people stop abusing drugs, get clean, get sober, and get back to healthy happy lives. And I’ll be fair… lots of people have befriended methadone for a time and have had positive success, using it to get their recovery going.
But for many others, the methadone is what becomes the problem. Then the irony of all ironies: the drug that was supposed to get them clean and free from drugs is now the drug that has landed them back in a drug rehab clinic. Their use of methadone has spiraled out of control. It’s just like any other drug they used to abuse, but with methadone, the potential to take a lethal dose… and die… is increased. How does this story end? Well, if a person is fortunate, that same person who found methadone when detoxing from vicodin now finds himself in a methadone detox program.
Here’s my take on this cruel joke… Don’t tell this story in your life. It’s a story full of drama and conflict, but it isn’t funny.
Before you start using methadone to treat your addiction problem, ask yourself if it is really best for you. Explore other medication options like suboxone or vivitrol or naltrexone…
Or better yet, take the long hard straight and true route to sobriety– work the 12 step program like your life depends on it, because it does.
Listen, I don’t mean to be judgmental or to make stereotypes of all people employing methadone to try and reach their recovery goals. But I will say this… when a person’s life is destroyed by a drug like Oxycodone, when that person finds himself in an Oxy detox program, when that person finds himself with a prescription for methadone to treat his addiction, when that person’s use of methadone spirals out of control, and then, when that person finds himself in a methadone detox program…
That’s a cruel joke.