Frequently Asked Questions About Methadone Treatment

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is often used with behavioral services, like therapy, to help individuals detox from and find long-term sobriety from substance like opioids. Your prescribing doctor can answer questions about methadone specific to your treatment plan, but the answers to many questions are the same for most individuals who enter methadone MAT for opioid addiction.

What Is Methadone?

Methadone is an opioid pain reliever.1 It is used to treat severe, chronic all-day pain and opioid use disorder (OUD), which is the clinical term used to describe the behaviors and symptoms associated with opioid addiction.2

“Opioid” refers to all naturally, semisynthetic (i.e., partially natural and partially manmade), and synthetic opioids made in a laboratory.

It might seem surprising that an opioid can treat OUD. However, methadone blocks the positive effects of other, more addictive and more dangerous opioids, leading to fewer cravings for them. Methadone changes the way your body responds to pain to change the physical response to opioid withdrawal.3

How Effective Is Methadone Treatment?

When taken as prescribed, methadone is safe and effective in treating opioid addiction.3 Studies show that methadone reduces opioid use. They also show that patients on methadone treatment are more than 4 times as likely to remain in treatment.4

One study on the efficacy of methadone treatment studied patients over 10 years. The study found that methadone treatment over those 10 years: 5

  • Lowered heroin use
  • Improved social functioning
  • Reduced physical symptoms of opioid addiction
  • Improved quality of life

Opioids

Methadone is used to treat addiction to natural opioids (opiates) and synthetic opioids. Opiates include:1

  • Opium
  • Morphine
  • Codeine

Semisynthetic and synthetic opioids include:1

  • Heroin, which is made from morphine
  • Fentanyl
  • Oxycodone (OxyContin)
  • Hydrocodone
  • Hydromorphone
  • Oxymorphone
  • Tramadol

How Long Does Methadone Treatment Last?

  • Experts recommend that methadone treatment last for at least 12 months.3
  • Do not change how you take methadone or stop taking methadone without meeting with your doctor to ask questions about your methadone treatment plan. You might find that your opioid use disorder (OUD) symptoms improve. However, if you stop taking methadone, you risk relapse.6

Is Methadone Treatment Right for Me?

Methadone could be an appropriate treatment for you if you:4,7,8,9

  • Have experienced opioid withdrawal
  • Take opioids to avoid withdrawal symptoms
  • Have been taking higher doses of opioids to feel the same effects
  • Are motivated to get a comprehensive treatment that includes counseling and daily clinic visits
  • Have been abstinent from opioids but were physically dependent on them in the past
  • Do not have any of these risk factors for an overdose:
    • Have experienced a drug overdose before
    • Have a history of another substance use disorder
    • Use opioids in extremely high amounts
    • Are also taking benzodiazepines for any condition

As with any treatment, methadone treatment comes with both risks and benefits. By getting assessed at an opioid treatment program (OTP), providers can give you a recommendation for treatment and answer your questions about methadone.

Resources

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, January 26). Opioids.
  2. National Library of Medicine. (2022, January 11). Methadone. MedlinePlus.
  3. University of Arkansas for Medical Services. (2022). What is Methadone? Psychiatric Research Institute.
  4. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2021, December 3). Medications to Treat Opioid Use Disorder Research Report.
  5. Fei, J.T.B, Yee, A., Habil, M.H.B., & Danaee, M. (2016). Effectiveness of methadone maintenance therapy and improvement in quality of life following a decade of implementation. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 69, 50-56.
  6. Federal Drug Administration. (2014). Full Prescribing Information.
  7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Module 5: Assessing and Addressing Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). Assessing and Addressing Opioid Use Disorder.
  8. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2021, February 3). Benzodiazepines and Opioids.
  9. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Publishing.