How Methadone Maintenance Treatment Helps Women in Rehab
In the past, there was trivial emphasis on the biopsychosocial problems of treatment that women experienced. Largely, this was because of the large number of drug addicted men. Estimates indicate men outnumbered women threefold. Though men still make up the larger portion of treatment admissions, the numbers of women seeking and attending rehab have steadily increased.
There are converging usage rates when one focuses on specific drugs, but men still outnumber women when it comes to opioid addiction and dependence. Because of this many treatment programs fail to act in a female patient’s best interest as research predominately uses male subjects and treatment centers deal with more men than women. This is one reason that rehab for women has proven an effective choice for women. It specializes in their care when so few other options do.
One well-known treatment for opioid dependence and addiction is medication-assisted therapy using methadone, which has successfully treated women in every phase of life, including pregnancy. The following discussion will reveal data that demonstrates both the study of women taking methadone and the results.
For women to get the most out of methadone, they are advised to seek rehab for women. To learn more about treating opioid dependence and addiction with methadone or to learn about women’s addiction treatment, call 888-821-1257 Who Answers?. Get the answers you want immediately.
What Are Women’s Potential Treatment Issues and Needs?
Female addicts often experience social isolation.
Women face a number of gendered issues that complicate their efforts to attend rehab. Many of these have their roots in the social status of women. These topics are important to designing and dispensing effective treatment. Women are far more likely than men to have issues with:
- Being socially isolated
- Having poor self-esteem
- Experiencing clinical anxiety and depression disorders
- Experiencing sexual and physical abuse
In addition, studies indicate women’s treatment needs to provide:
- Care for their children
- Transportation to and from treatment
- Therapy and counseling that is non-confrontational
- Education and vocational job skills training that are designed specifically for a female audience
A rehab for women can dispense methadone maintenance treatment that respects the issues women face and provides the services that they need.
Does Methadone Effectively Treat Opioid Addiction?
Yes, it does. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, studies with both male and female participants consistently demonstrate people with opioid use disorders:
- Reduce their use of illicit drugs
- Reduce their criminal activity
- Reduce the amount of needle sharing that they do
- Reduce their HIV infection rates and transmissions
- Reduce the amount of commercial sex work they perform
- Reduce the number of reports of multiple sexual partners
- Reduce their chances of suicide
- Reduces their chances of fatal overdose
- Improve their productivity and social health
- Improve their general health conditions
And it does so cost-effectively, which is often a concern of women, who traditionally have made less money than men.
What Factors Affect the Effectiveness of Methadone?
Medication-assisted treatment with methadone has more components than simply the medication. Participants also engage in counseling. Research links the amount of psychosocial counseling with reductions in illicit drug use. A formal, structured women’s rehab will be well acquainted with the counseling needs of women and will provide the appropriate amount of care for each patient.
In addition, dosage is quite important. A 40-week double-blind, randomized trial compared the outcomes of a moderate methadone dose to a high dose. Those patients who received 80 to 100 mg. of methadone had much better results than those who received 50 mg. A women’s addiction treatment facility is deeply familiar with the biology of women and they are best able to provide a dosage appropriate to each patient.
Treatment duration also plays a role. The longer a patient is retained in their program, the better their improvements are. Patients typically choose the length of their stay and women would be wise to consider one lasting more than a month. When looking into women’s rehabs, it is important to ask about the lengths of treatment and what each entails.
To find out more about the role women’s rehab and methadone can play in recovery from opioid dependence or addiction, contact 888-821-1257 Who Answers?. Our experts will answer all your questions and leave you feeling more knowledgeable and in control of your treatment.
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