Addiction is a disease. While it involves both the mind and the body, it should be treated as a disease but is often instead treated with shame and secrecy. If you're struggling with addiction, however, you do have options; whether or not you're able to count on the support of family and friends. Perhaps one of the most common types of treatment for addiction is rehabilitation.
While different rehab clinics have different approaches, two of the most common approaches at present involve methadone or suboxone. But before visiting a suboxone or methadone clinic, you need to research their differences and understanding what each option has to offer.
Methadone is actually an opioid, and it has been approved for the treatment of both chronic pain and opioid addictions. While it may seem to be a bit confusing at first that an opioid is used to treat opioid addiction, as you become more familiar with methadone clinics this will make more sense. Through the use of methadone, addicts are able to be weaned off of their addictions in a measured and gradual way, which is often less harsh for them than stricter treatments based on total denial. It's good to keep in mind that methadone is a federally designated schedule II drug and is still addictive if used in larger quantities.
Like methadone, suboxone is an opioid. Unlike methadone, it is only approved for one use, which is the treatment of opioid dependence. The reality is that addiction and dependence are two separate things. Addiction involves a craving for a drug, while dependence involves being so tolerant of the drug that more is required to allow it to have an effect. While there is some crossover between the two, suboxone clinics serve different needs than those that are treated addressed at a methadone clinic.
In fact, technically speaking, you don't have to visit a clinic to receive Suboxone treatment. Rather, suboxone can be prescribed by doctors and fulfilled at pharmacies. With that being said, your treatment will need to be closely monitored if you take the drug at home. This is why a lot of people choose to visit suboxone clinics from the start.
But with that being said, a methadone clinic can offer treatments for more severe addictions. As such, treatments involving methadone also typically will be monitored closely as well. It's important for you to discuss both treatments with your doctor; try not to make the decision alone.