Get Effective Detox Along With Inpatient Rehab and MAT Support
Finding the right treatment for your substance use disorder requires a closer look at your habits and the effects of alcohol or drugs on your body. The good news is you can find medication-assisted treatment in Georgia that gives you an advantage when it comes to sobriety.
What should you know about medication assisted treatment in Georgia (MAT) to help you avoid relapse of alcohol or drug use?
There are five common prescriptions available that could help you reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms. For alcohol use disorders, you could take disulfiram, acamprosate, or naltrexone. Opioid use disorder may use methadone, buprenorphine, or naltrexone injections. Each prescription has a mechanism that makes it less likely that you will turn back to substances.
Ingrained Recovery offers medication-assisted treatment as part of our medical detox and inpatient rehab program. If you’re searching for treatment in central Georgia, we can help you take the first steps. Keep reading to learn more about how MAT works and what a medical professional could prescribe for you or a loved one for assistive support during early recovery.
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Medication-Assisted Treatment for All Types of Substance Use
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) isn’t as simple as prescribing a single medication for all types of substance use disorders. Depending on your substance of choice, your medical detox team may give you a prescription for one of several medications.
MAT for Alcohol Use Disorders: Three Options
Alcohol use disorder has three medications that are indicated for use to help with sobriety: disulfiram, acamprosate, and naltrexone. Each has a different mechanism that can help you maintain sobriety. It’s important to note that they all tend to work best once you have committed to stop drinking.
Disulfiram
Disulfiram changes the way your body breaks down alcohol, leaving it to build up in your system. As a result, your body responds differently to alcohol and will make you feel extremely uncomfortable. You may experience symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and headache.
This is often a second-line treatment with acamprosate and naltrexone being prescribed more regularly for alcohol use disorder. It’s good for moderate to severe AUD.
Acamprosate
Acamprosate doesn’t have the same effects if you return to drinking and could even be taken while you are still consuming alcohol. It rebalances GABA and glutamate, two neurotransmitters that are often out of balance with heavy drinking. People taking it have a 9 percent lower chance of returning to alcohol and a 9 percent higher abstinence duration.
Naltrexone
Naltrexone works for both alcohol use disorder and opioid addiction, which makes it ideal for clients who dabble in both. It’s an antagonist of opioid receptors which makes returning to alcohol less likely. Because of its effects on the reward centers of the brain, alcohol no longer has the same effects.
Acamprosate tends to do better for abstinence while naltrexone has a different focus. Research shows that it is the preferred prescription for reducing both heavy drinking and cravings.
Naltrexone
Naltrexone works for both alcohol use disorder and opioid addiction, which makes it ideal for clients who dabble in both. It’s an antagonist of opioid receptors which makes returning to alcohol less likely. Because of its effects on the reward centers of the brain, alcohol no longer has the same effects.
Acamprosate tends to do better for abstinence while naltrexone has a different focus. Research shows that it is the preferred prescription for reducing both heavy drinking and cravings.
MAT for Opioid Addiction: Three More Options to Find the Perfect Balance
Like alcohol use disorder, the prescriptions used to treat opioid use disorder don’t necessarily offer a cookie-cutter approach. In addition to naltrexone, your treatment team may prescribe you methadone or buprenorphine.
Methadone
Methadone is one of the most well-known drugs that can help you taper off prescription opioids. This treatment is often lengthy and requires a significant time commitment as you may have to attend the methadone clinic daily at the beginning of treatment. This prescription is a full opioid agonist which makes it impossible for you to feel the effects of taking opioids, making it similar to naltrexone.
Keep in mind that methadone is still an opioid, meaning that it has addictive properties. However, it’s safer to take under the supervision of a medical professional, decreases illegal activities, and reduces the risk of HIV transmission from injections with needles.
This drug isn’t just used to combat the effects of opioid abuse. It can also be prescribed for those who struggle with a chronic disorder that results in significant pain. While it is the longest standing option for MAT clients, it is not typically used during residential treatment, nor at our programs at Ingrained Recovery.
Buprenorphine
Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, giving it a significant advantage over some other types of medications used to treat opioid use disorder. Its mechanism is two-fold: It reduces cravings and withdrawal symptoms while protecting you from the potential of an overdose should you relapse.
This is also a drug that is very difficult to overdose on, as it has a ceiling effect. Taking more won’t give you additional benefits and it won’t have negative consequences either.
Buprenorphine is still an opioid, but it has the benefit of being weaker than some street drugs like heroin. This is why it reduces cravings and keeps you from turning to illegal avenues of seeking out the euphoric and sedative effects of your opioid of choice.
Naltrexone
The extended-release naltrexone injection is another significant medication used to treat opioid use disorder. As it does with alcohol, it blocks the pleasurable effects of taking opioids. Unlike the other prescriptions included here, it’s not a controlled substance which appeals to many people.
It’s more convenient to take and administer, with injections being delivered at regular intervals as opposed to daily. Keep in mind that this could be taken orally for alcohol use disorder, but injection is the preferred method for opioid addiction.
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Why Ingrained Recovery’s Substance Use Disorder Treatment Program Works
Once you’ve determined that medication-assisted treatment is the right move for you, you need to find a facility that offers the services you’re looking for. Not only does our team have tons of experience with MAT, but we also offer inpatient rehab to help you stay sober.
Here are a few reasons why you should choose our Georgia recovery center for your MAT support.
Get Comprehensive Care for Drug and Alcohol Use Disorder
Everyone who struggles with substance use disorders wishes that there was a magic pill they could take that would eliminate the cravings and withdrawal symptoms they’ll face in the early days of the recovery process. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut for effective medical detox.
Medication-assisted treatment can only go so far in eliminating the effects of substance misuse. In reality, you’ll need the support of comprehensive addiction treatment programs.
Ingrained Recovery offers every level of care for alcohol use disorder, opioid addiction, and more. We implement medication regimens throughout your stay with us, allowing your medical team to see the real benefits of your prescribed medication.
But it’s only effective in the context of behavioral therapy and other approaches to healing. If you want help with a chronic disorder like substance use, it often takes detox and inpatient rehab with MAT to truly support your efforts.
May Be Covered by Insurance
Because there is so much data to support a MAT program, you may be able to tap into the benefits of your health insurance plan. Ingrained Recovery is in-network with many private insurance providers to minimize the initial cost of treatment.
However, we’ll also work with you if you don’t want to use insurance or want to use an out-of-network provider. Our rates are affordable for the luxury setting we provide, allowing you to get the help you require without thinking about the overall cost to your bank account.
Our admissions advocates can verify your insurance benefits and let you know what to expect in a quick phone call. All conversations are completely confidential and place you under no obligation to enroll in our treatment program.
Access to Around-the-Clock Care and Behavioral Therapy
Everyone responds to medication-assisted treatment differently. During detox, we can make you more comfortable by tailoring your medications to counteract withdrawal symptoms like nausea or insomnia. Instead of being left on your own, you’ll have access to a medical team that can support you and walk you through any potential side effects.
Plus, we offer support beyond medication. Behavioral therapy is an important component of sobriety, especially in the early days. While with us, you have access to clinicians who can talk you through the intense cravings of substance use disorders around the clock.
Up To 100% of Rehab Costs Covered By Insurance
Get Medication-Assisted Treatment Support with Ingrained
The proven benefits of medication-assisted treatment might be just what you need to feel confident in taking the first steps toward your goal of sober living. Whether you abuse prescription opioids or drink too much alcohol, there is a MAT program out there for you at Ingrained Recovery.
Our enrollment team is ready and waiting to welcome you into our comfortable, luxurious facility. We even offer same-day placement, enabling you to get the help you need as soon as you’re ready to take the first steps.
Call us confidentially today to verify your benefits, ask your questions, and enroll in MAT!
Resources
- Medications for the treatment of alcohol use disorder. Office of Addiction Services and Supports. (n.d.).
- Stokes M, Patel P, Abdijadid S. Disulfiram. [Updated 2024 Mar 21]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from:
- Witkiewitz, K., Saville, K., & Hamreus, K. (2012). Acamprosate for treatment of alcohol dependence: mechanisms, efficacy, and clinical utility. Therapeutics and clinical risk management, 8, 45–53.
- Maisel, N. C., Blodgett, J. C., Wilbourne, P. L., Humphreys, K., & Finney, J. W. (2013). Meta-analysis of naltrexone and acamprosate for treating alcohol use disorders: when are these medications most helpful?. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 108(2), 275–293.
- Clinical Guidelines for Withdrawal Management and Treatment of Drug Dependence in Closed Settings. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2009. 6, Methadone maintenance treatment.Available from:
- Durrani M, Bansal K. Methadone. [Updated 2024 Jan 11]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from:
- Kumar R, Viswanath O, Saadabadi A. Buprenorphine. [Updated 2024 Jun 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: