Are Narcotics/opiods Such as Methadone Work for Long Term?
Question by IWantAnswerz: Are narcotics/opiods such as methadone work for long term?
Best answer:
Answer by Jared
For pain management? Opiate addiction?
The sad fact is our brains will adapt to all opiates over time. So you will need to continually raise the dose over the months and years to achieve effect. Methadone is used primarily for opiate addiction/dependence , however it is a great pain killer as well and as such is used for chronic pain as well. Methadone has an incredibly long half life which is a good thing when using it for pain relief .. as you don’t have to continually re-dose. This makes it potent and suitable for many reasons, and not suitable for short term pain relief or ‘detox’.
In general for a long term pain condition, everything should be tried that is NOT “narcotic” or more specifically an opiate. This is due to the undeniable dependency that will occur with long term use of the opiate and the complications and unfortunate stigma that is attached to these medications.
However, there is no better medication for general diffuse or even local pain. The natural poppy plant still beats all of mans best attempts at pain control/relief — so with this in mind it is very often the only humane way to treat chronic pain that cannot be relieved through exhaustive conservative approaches.
IE: – Physical therapy, exercise, diet, de-compression, chiropractic manipulation and so on. I do not know what you need this for, but I am assuming.
So yes it works long term, but not without side effects and consequences all its own — but even though it ‘works’ it should be saved for ‘last’.
Long term opiate therapy should be the last treatment, for chronic pain, before surgery. (Mainly when dealing with spinal pain, generally as a result of nerve compression.)
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
What Questions Should I Ask my Doctor About Prescription Drugs? – http://www.ihealthtube.com Dr. Gary Kohls tells us what we should ask our doctors when they give us a prescription for medication. Want to receive the best f…