Some Frequently Asked Questions About the Heroin Treatment Program in Minnesota

Here are answers to some common questions that people have about the heroin treatment program in Minnesota.

Q1. What is the scope of the heroin treatment program in Minnesota?

Before planning out a heroin treatment program in Minnesota, it is necessary for you to know what the scope of the program is. This is so that you can know how the program will help you or the person you are choosing the treatment program for. The treatment program here is for complete recovery. In Minnesota, heroin treatment is said to be done when the patient completely stops using the substance. In several other parts of the world, heroin treatment simply means bringing down the dependency to a lowered level that can be considered as “safe”.

Now, though it could be very difficult to bring a person completely out of a heroin addiction, the heroin rehab centers in Minnesota diligently adopt some ways and methods so that they can achieve this task.

Q2. Can the patient be enrolled into any random heroin treatment program in Minnesota?

Though all these treatment programs are for heroin treatment, you must know that not all of them could be good for the patient’s condition. There are several problems that might occur on the way. Each treatment program follows a different routine. They have different beliefs and different modes of implementation. Hence, what might work for one patient might not work for another. In a similar manner, the facilities that you get at one treatment center might not be present at another treatment center. This is why you must take absolute care when you are enrolling a patient into a heroin treatment center in Minnesota.

Q3. What about licensing and other requirements?

It is absolutely important that the treatment center you are considering must have a license for providing drug addiction treatment in Minnesota. But, that is not enough. Because heroin follows a very different pattern of action on the human body and because the treatment itself follows a different routine, it is very important that the program has a special license for providing heroin addiction treatment in Minnesota. At the same time, you must see that the treatment providers at the center also have their licenses. They must be qualified through American Society of Addiction Medicine or a similar body.

It is also extremely important that the treatment center and the treatment providers are both well experienced in providing heroin addiction treatment. This is because of the different nature of heroin’s action on the body that can immunize the person’s central nervous system into accepting the drug and then asking it repeatedly. There are several subtle points that will come up on the way to heroin addiction treatment. If the center or the treatment provider is not quite well-versed with these nuances, it might not bode well for the patient.

Another point that you must look into is that the center is well accredited. Accreditation helps you to be ensured that the treatment program is well received outside its own sphere of activity too, and makes you confident about it. You can also check up on how many affiliates the treatment center has.

Q4. Is methadone treatment better for heroin addiction than buprenorphine treatment?

Both forms of treatments have their own pros and cons. Both these substances are opiates like heroin and their primary intention is to make the person come out of the craving for heroin. As long as the person is provided a medication of these substances, he or she will not feel any craving for heroin. This is why these modes of treatment are known as maintenance treatment. They are both widely employed in the detox treatment of heroin.

The basic difference between them is their intensity at the treatment. Methadone acts quite strongly, while buprenorphine takes a slower approach. However, you must know that methadone is a highly addictive drug in itself. If the treatment program goes wrong in some way, or if the patient starts taking additional doses, then it is possible that the patient will develop a methadone dependency, giving rise to a very significant supplementary problem. If you are looking at methadone treatment, you should be sure that it is an inpatient mode of treatment and the treatment provider is capable of providing the particular form of treatment.

Buprenorphine is a less habit-forming substance. At least, it will not cause a withdrawal like methadone does. That is the reason it is the preferable drug provided in the outpatient treatment program for heroin. Buprenorphine is also a relatively new drug, so treatment centers are still warming up to this mode of heroin treatment program in Minnesota.