Some Information on the Heroin Treatment Program in Kansas

Being a very strong form of addiction, heroin addiction is considered to be quite difficult to treat. The heroin treatment program in Kansas is elaborately designed in order to meet various requirements of the addiction, including the very strong withdrawal that its abstinence can bring on. The following is some information on how this type of treatment works.

First, it is important to know why heroin is such an addictive drug. Heroin belongs to a highly addictive class of drugs known as opioids. Opioids can produce a very high sense of euphoria as soon as they are consumed. When heroin is consumed, it stimulates the person’s brain to secrete dopamine, which is a substance that can cause the feeling of pleasure. It is this excessive secretion of dopamine that brings on the euphoric feeling that is typical of a heroin abuse. However, in time, the person’s brain becomes desensitized to the presence of heroin and it does not secrete as much dopamine as it did on previous occasions when the drug was introduced into the body. At this stage, the person becomes quite frustrated, and in order to experience the same effect again, the patient begins increasing the dosage of heroin. This again stimulates the brain for secretion of dopamine, but it will get immunized to this added amount of heroin too.

Hence, a vicious cycle is set up. The heroin treatment program in Kansas is quite aware of this cycle and one of its basic intentions is to break it so that the person could be taken out of the habit. If let be, the person may keep increasing the amount of heroin that is introduced into the body to perilous levels and that can even cause heroin addiction overdose which is fatal in most cases.

The heroin treatment program in Kansas uses two main forms of medication. These are methadone and buprenorphine, both of which have their relative pros and cons. Methadone is certainly the more popular medicine because it has been used for addiction treatment since over three decades, while buprenorphine is a very new substance. This has been approved by the FDA for heroin addiction treatment in the nation only a few years back, and Kansas has adopted the treatment routine.

There are different ways in which these two medication therapies work for heroin treatment in Kansas. Methadone is a severe medication. It is an opioid itself, and when it is consumed, it can help reduce the person’s craving for heroin. Due to this reason, the person can come out of a heroin habit. As time goes by, the dosage of methadone needs to be gradually reduced and removed from usage. But if methadone is reduced abruptly, it can cause a withdrawal and that could be as bad as the withdrawal from heroin abstinence. That is the reason it must be provided in an inpatient treatment center under constant medical supervision.

The method of usage of buprenorphine is much safer. Though buprenorphine is an opioid also, it is not as addictive as methadone is. For that reason, there are not much problems in reducing its dosage. Also, since buprenorphine does not react with other prescription drugs like methadone does, it is becoming quite popular in Kansas today for heroin treatment. Buprenorphine is so safe that doctors are prescribing it for outpatient treatment without any qualms.

When you are looking for a heroin treatment program in Kansas, make sure that the treatment center is specifically licensed for heroin treatment. This is because heroin works quite differently in comparison to other drugs and even the withdrawal it produces is quite different. Also, the treatment methods used, of methadone and buprenorphine, are quite sensitive and are best handled by someone who knows how heroin treatment works quite well. Hence, make sure to check the licensing of the treatment center and also the qualifications of the treatment center. You should be looking for a qualification from American Society of Addiction Medicine or an equivalent center, and you must even check out what kind of experience they have had before in treating heroin addiction. It is a definite bonus if the treatment center you are enrolling in is accredited with some other national or state body, which can help in adding to its credibility.

If you have any doubts regarding heroin treatment program in Kansas, you can find out more information from a counselor for substance abuse in the state, and particularly try to find out about what kind of treatment the patient would be most suitable with.