If you've developed an addiction to pain killers, you'll be in for a battle when you try to break the addiction. Pain killers containing opioids are highly addictive, which makes it very difficult for a person to stop taking them; however, it is not impossible. If you want to try to break your addiction, your doctor might be able to help you by prescribing methadone to you.

What Is Methadone?

Methadone is a prescription medication used to treat pain, but it is also a highly effective medication for treating drug addiction. When a person is addicted to opioids, taking methadone will help relieve the withdrawal symptoms, which can include the following:

• irritability
• cravings
• nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
• aches in the body

How Does This Medication Work for Breaking a Drug Addiction?

The whole purpose of using methadone to break a drug addiction is to have the opportunity to wean yourself off of the medication you are addicted to. The only problem with this method is that you are replacing one medication with another; however, using methadone is also a great method for breaking addictions to heroin and other types of hard drugs.

Methadone works by blocking the highs a person normally gets from taking drugs. As this happens, it helps even out the way a person feels and the way his or her brain works. It will reduce, or even eliminate, the cravings an addict would normally feel without the medication.

Is It Safe?

The good news about methadone is that it is safe to use for pain-killer addiction. The goal is to take the methadone daily (or as needed), and to slowly use less of the medication. As your body adjusts to this medication and life without the pain killers you were addicted to, you can slowly transition into a life of being clean. You may need to take methadone for weeks or even months, but it will be easier to wean yourself off of this than other types of pain killers. Other pain killers will not relieve the cravings you feel unless you take large doses of them.

Using methadone is one way to break a pain-killer addiction, but there are other methods, too. You could look into an addiction center to find out what types of detox programs they offer, and you could seek help from a counseling firm and support group. To learn more about your options, contact a drug addiction treatment facility today, like Evergreen Recovery Centers.