Methadone maintenance is the gold standard for the treatment of opiate addiction. It has been used for almost 50 years and its safety and effectiveness are documented by countless research studies around the world. Untreated opiate addiction is a major cause of health problems and mortality. Simply put: methadone saves lives and improves health and the evidence is very clear about this.

Methadone can be used as an effective form of withdrawal (detox) by reducing withdrawal sickness better than any other treatment. However, short term detoxes are usually not effective, no matter what form they take, including residential care. The changes in brain chemistry that occur during opiate addiction do not go away in a short period of time. Therefore, short treatments leave the patient with a still disordered brain endorphin system. However, patients new to treatment should start with the short term treatment first, either a 21 day or 180 day treatment. This introduces the patient to the medication and tests whether they are one of the few who can actually go onto to a long term recovery process.

Bi-Valley staff will help explain the options and understand your desires and needs, so you can decide on the right place to start your recovery.

For the majority of patients with opiate addiction, longer term methadone maintenance offers the very best chance of recovery and the fastest way to normalize the body’s endorphin system and restore normal functioning. How long one needs to be on methadone depends on many things, especially on the length of addiction (longer addiction requires longer treatment) and on one’s physical and mental health (the more problems in these areas the longer methadone is needed for stability). We work with all our patients on the proper time and the best way to taper of methadone.