Methadone is one of the many options that are available for heroin addiction treatment, but many people take issue with it. There are a number of advantages and drawbacks to using this medication, so it must be carefully considered before it is chosen as the course of action for overcoming a heroin addiction.

There are also other medications that are useful in helping patients withdraw from opiate drugs, which some professionals prefer over methadone.One of the biggest drawbacks in using methadone treatment is that the medication itself has the potential to lead to an addiction, and it always creates a dependency in patients. If it is not used exactly as prescribed, the individual may end up with a new drug addiction that they have to get rehab treatment for after they have beaten the heroin abuse problem. When it is used correctly, people usually have to withdraw from it over a period of months before they can stop using it. Not doing withdrawing slowly causes very uncomfortable symptoms like those of heroin detox. For a patient who is on a dosage of 100 mg of methadone every day, stopping use of it completely can take up to six months.

Another drawback of picking methadone in the heroin detox process is that it has to be taken every single day. This is not a problem in a residential treatment center, of course, but some people only go to outpatient treatment or must continue using methadone after they finish their rehab program. Because dosages are almost always dispensed individually, this means that the patient has to visit a methadone clinic every single day. Exceptions occur in being able to get methadone to last through the weekend on a Friday, or getting up to three dosages when you are going out of town.