Your main options are:
- Opiate replacement therapy – Methadone or Suboxone, ideally combined with ongoing addiction treatment
- Opiate detox followed by participation in a residential or outpatient addiction treatment program
Not recommended: Most people feel like if only they could break free from these pills for a few days and get past the physical withdrawal symptoms, they’d be able to stay drug free for good. Unfortunately, without addiction treatment, this is rarely the case. Medical detox only (or ultra rapid detox only protocols) may get you drug free in a few days, but without further and continuing participation in an addiction treatment program, you are very likely to succumb to drug cravings and relapse back to use. Medical detox programs or ultra rapid detox are not truly forms of addiction but rather programs that get you ready to participate in addiction treatment – alone, they teach you nothing about avoiding relapse.
Opiate Replacement Programs: Methadone or Suboxone
Research shows that people who combine effective medications with ongoing addiction treatment generally have the best chances for long term recovery* and that people who stick with an opiate replacement program for at least a year are far more likely than those who try an un-medicated recovery to maintain abstinence from opiates.
Methadone and Suboxone are medications that work as substitutes for Vicodin in your brain. When you take methadone or Suboxone instead of taking Vicodin each day, you will:
- Not feel withdrawal symptoms
- Not feel drug cravings
- Not get high
- Be able to function normally once again
Taking a pill once or twice a day or taking a daily dose of methadone get you free from the cravings and withdrawal symptoms that derail so many unmedicated opiate recovery attempts. On methadone or Suboxone, you can function normally once again and can get your life back on track before you make an ultimate attempt to taper down off either of these medications.
Research shows that people who do best in opiate replacement programs take their medication for at least a year and also participate in addiction treatment programs, like group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy or relapse prevention programs.
There are a lot of myths and untruths that circulate about methadone and Suboxone treatment, but since these medications may represent your very best shot at a lasting recovery you get educated about the pros and cons of opiate replacement therapy before making any treatment decision.
Vicodin Detox Followed by Residential or Outpatient Addiction Treatment
If Suboxone and methadone don’t feel right to you, you can also break-free from Vicodin addiction by participating in a supervised detox program followed by a participation in a residential or outpatient addiction treatment program.
A Vicodin detox will last up to a week and can be a pretty unpleasant experience. Entering into a supervised detox program for this first week of abstinence is a good way to reduce the discomfort of the period as you also increase your odds of sticking the week out.
Although opiate withdrawal symptoms aren’t generally dangerous, nursing care and symptoms relieving medications can improve your comfort during this initial stage..
Detox alone is not considered addiction treatment and those that leave the process after detox only are likely destined to relapse back to Vicodin abuse and addiction. After a stay in detox you are ready, however, to begin the real work of recovery by participating in an outpatient or residential addiction treatment program.
Find out if you need residential or outpatient addiction treatment.
Addiction treatment teaches you how to avoid and overcome drug cravings and how to change your life to reduce the odds of relapse.
Your addiction treatment program should last at least 3 months in total duration and you should stay involved with some form of continuing care program for at least the first year of recovery.
You Can Beat Vicodin Addiction
Recovery from opiate addiction is tough – but people do it everyday and so can you.
Grant yourself the time and energy that’s needed for the best odds at long term success. There are no quick fixes, but with effort and perseverance and by using the best medications and/or addiction treatment methods, you give yourself a strong foundation for a better life in the future!
page last update Dec 08, 2010
