The National Center for Biotechnology Information primarily focuses on advancing science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. Genomics is the scientific study to define the genetic makeup of an organism. Through their processes, the NCBI is able to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of treatment modalities for substance abuse. Of course one of those is methadone and the effects of detox methadone withdrawal. 
In a study, where data was supplied from the Services Research Outcomes Study (SROS), 99 drug treatment facilities in the United States were surveyed. Comprehensive interviews of 1,799 individuals, five years after their discharge, was done. Success was defined by either abstinence or any reduction in substance abuse. Of these individuals, there were four modalities compared: inpatient, residential, outpatient detox/methadone, and outpatient drug-free.
There were only minor differences between the modalities of treatment with regard to effectiveness, but the cost-effectiveness modalities varied greatly. The most cost effective treatment, which to me is sort of obvious, is the out-patient drug free program.
Although I like stats, I think only looking at numbers misses the human relational aspect of treatment. It doesn’t take the individual into account. Treating addicts as individuals and learning what motivates them to get sober will influence these outcomes.
Including behavioral therapies, there are a medications used for the treatment of heroin addiction. If therapy and medication are linked in a treatment protocol the patient has a better chance at returning to a stable, productive life. One of the medications used is methadone, and like other drugs, if not used correctly the patient could find himself in detox methadone withdrawal. 
Methadone: Used for more than 30 years to treat patients with opiate addictions. It is a synthetic opiate medication that binds to the same receptors as heroin. Taken orally, its effects are gradual and sustained, which can be misleading for a person wishing to abuse it. Not understand the delay of the medication, an addict, wishing to get high quicker, will take more and then suddenly they have overdosed.
Following a physicians directions on taking methadone is important, as is attending behavioral therapy like Narcotics Anonymous meetings.
Methadone is a synthetic opiate, a narcotic pain reliever for medium to severe pain. It is also used in addiction treatment for heroin, Vicodin, Percocet, Morphine, and other opiate drugs. If not managed properly an addiction could occur and the user, if they decided to stop using, could find themselves with a detox methadone withdrawal.
Withdrawal from methadone is much slower than from heroin, and as a result this could create a long-term addiction, without the harsh side effects. A lot of methadone maintenance therapy patients require continuous treatments that could last for a period of several years.
Two benefits of using methadone on patients over a period of time is that it cost approximately $13 a day compared to the cost of incarceration (Office of National Drug Control Policy, 1998a), and the second is that it has a significant effect on the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Heroin users are known to share needles and participate in at-risk sexual activity, which are both factors in the spread of disease.
Just a bit over 10 years ago, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing that methadone can be safely used as a clinical tool in the treatment of heroin addiction. However, with any controlled substance, the question exists if someone would develop an addiction and then need to be treated with a detox methadone withdrawal program.
There is a risk of abuse because it is a controlled substance. If used properly a long-term methadone maintenance treatments are medically safe, with no adverse effects to the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, or other vital body organs. In this proper use the only real side effects are; possible constipation, water retention, drowsiness, sweating, and changes in libido, but they can be resolved my adjusting the medication.
Street methadone is a powerful medication and when used without a prescription it can be dangerous. It works slowly and can take hours for the user to get the full effect, but it can last for 24 hours. Because of its slow reaction time and lack of rush, some take more, then a bit more, and then not realizing they are overdosing they fall asleep and stop breathing.
So why would anyone take this drug illegally? Well, mainly because they might not know the effects and are curious, or they may want a strong painkiller, and they also might use it because they cannot get their other opioid drugs and are coming down.
The topic of addiction has been around for many years. Many people have varying views regarding what the best method of treatment should be for the addict. One of the methods is through the use of methadone.
Methadone is a long-acting opioid medication that is used as a pain reliever and also used to treat individual addicted to heroin and certain prescription drugs. Because methadone is an opioid medication some become worried that they are just substituting one addictive drug for another and eventually the recovering addict will need to find a detox methadone withdrawal facility. Sort of bringing them full circle.
This is where it’s important to focus on the difference and how it can be extremely helpful. Using a drug replacement maintenance therapy like methadone can have physiological dependent problems for the patient, but on the other hand the pharmacologic actions of methadone are not the same as an addictive opioid, therefore methadone is not just a substitution.
The use of Methadone while detoxing from drugs is highly recommended. Methadone can be used at home on a prescription basis or it can be used inpatient at a detox and rehab facility. One of the huge benefits of attending an inpatient facility is that you can be weaned from the methadone. Otherwise you’ll have detox methadone withdrawal symptoms that can feel as bad as other drug withdrawal.
Methadone continues to be used in experiments.
If the results of a recent study with rats, which was funded partially by NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse), can be replicated and applied to people, methadone may just prove an effective treatment for cocaine too. When rats were given doses matching the blood levels equivalent to those therapeutically effective for opioid addiction their cocaine seeking dropped. When the methadone was doubled the cocaine seeking disappeared completely.
This is promising because a large percentage of people addicted to heroin are also addicted to cocaine. Therefore, it does seem that large doses of methadone will effectively treat addiction to both. Clinical studies are now being performed and the results look promising.
A detox methadone withdrawal will make you feel like you’re dying. There it is, in black and white. I don’t mind saying that withdrawal can feel that way because it is the truth. Your body and mind are rebelling against the lack of methadone in your body. Just like a crying infant with its toy taken away it can seem like the end all!
It can hurt like hell to go through the withdrawal process alone, so find a reputable drug detox and rehab to medically-manage your detox methadone withdrawal. Although quitting ‘cold-turkey’ is an alternative but why should someone suffer so much when there are easier and more gentle ways to pull you through the process. If you are attempting to go the ‘cold-turkey’ route at least do this detox inpatient. Having a physician, nurse, and medical staff to help if you need it. All in all, the physical withdrawal can normally be accomplished in about 3-5 weeks.
An additional note: the most important issue in treatment for withdrawal is not so much treating the disease state but treating the individual.
Although methadone is a commonly used treatment for addiction to opiates, like heroin, it can leave some with impaired balance, coordination, and the ability to think during the 24-36 hours it is used. Its function is to reduce cravings by blocking the ‘high’ and preventing euphoric rushes of opiates. It allows people to avoid the physical and psychological highs and lows caused by changing levels of opiates in the blood.
The hope is that this will reduce the chances of relapse.
Symptoms of a detox methadone withdrawal are considered less severe than with morphine or heroin but they last longer. Some of these include, but are not limited to the following; dizziness, vomiting, delusions, paranoia, high blood pressure, diarrhea, fever and chills, tremors, depression, agitation and anxiety. If these symptoms are not handled professionally, a detox methadone withdrawal can be brutally painful.
Withdrawal should be tapered and only done with the help of a medical professional or addition specialist.
Methadone is classified as a Schedule II in the Controlled Substance Act (CSA), which is the federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use and distribution of certain substances is regulated. When first implemented, it was limited to detoxification treatment by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for narcotic addiction programs.
Due to its potency as a pain reliever, the DEA allows physicians to prescribe it for controlling pain, but in most states this needs to be documented. In many cases, methadone is used as a therapy for cancer pain and other chronic pain states, but only when other opioids create side effects that would limit dosage. It also offers a cost savings over standard morphine when used to treat pain, and there are considerations to regulate methadone providers to make treatment more widely available.
Using methadone during a drug addiction detox is certainly helpful in decreasing withdrawal symptoms, however there are side effects like; nausea, constipation, confusion, and respiratory depression. The toxicity of methadone is not clearly apparent in the first number of days during drug withdrawal, and when the drug is removed during a detox methadone withdrawal can be as painful as what the person initially would have experienced otherwise by doing a methadone free detox.