There are two main medicinal treatment methods used in Tennessee for people who are suffering from heroin addiction problems. These methods are methadone treatment and buprenorphine treatment. The methadone treatment for heroin addiction in Tennessee has prevailed for over three decades now, while the buprenorphine method is a recently introduced method, after approval form the FDA.

Methadone is an opioid itself. When it is introduced for the treatment of heroin addiction, what it actually tries to do is to switch over the person’s heroin habit into a methadone habit. So now the person does not feel the urge of heroin as long as methadone is being administered. But since methadone itself is a habit forming drug, it is very important that the person is provided this medication under strict medical care. It is necessary that the dosage of the drug be administered very particularly and that the patient does not overstep this dosage for any reason. Combining methadone with some other drugs can also be fatal to the body. For this reason, heroin addiction treatment in Tennessee using methadone is always done on an inpatient basis.

Buprenorphine, on the other hand, is a safer option. This medicine is also habit forming, but it has no fatal consequences even if taken in excess. It is easier to remove a buprenorphine habit than a methadone habit. Two forms of buprenorphine are used in heroin treatment in Tennessee. These are Subutex and Suboxone, both of them FDA approved. The best part of using buprenorphine is that the treatment can be given on an outpatient basis.