Getting Suboxone treatment in Georgia to battle your opiate addiction makes more sense the more you learn about it. Suboxone is approved by the FDA for use in treating addiction to prescription pain pills, heroin, and other opiates. It’s also possible to live life with a little more breathing space, because once you’ve been successfully inducted into Suboxone treatment you will find that you no longer need daily or weekly visits to the doctor who writes your prescriptions at the medication-assisted treatment program.
Suboxone treatment in Georgia is regulated by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and that department basically accepts the guidelines from the federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
If you’re taking pain pills or heroin, you know that all too often throughout the day you begin to feel sick if you don’t use again. That means having a sufficient supply on hand each and every day to satisfy what your body wants, no matter how you have to get them. People who become addicted report that over time, they stop experiencing any pleasurable sensation with the drug. They no longer feel the high or even the pain relief that enforced their need to keep taking it in the first place. After a while, getting their fix of pain pills or heroin creates an ongoing struggle with no reward. They use because they have to, not because they want to.
At that point, many are more likely to consider Suboxone treatment. In Georgia, like the rest of the United States, the doctors who are qualified to prescribe it can only treat a maximum of 100 people at a time. The medication-assisted treatment programs that offer Suboxone treatment in Georgia often have a waiting list that means a delay from the day you ask for help until the day when you actually begin treatment.
Substance abuse treatment professionals understand the frustration that their prospective clients feel when they come to a treatment facility and encountered by a wait. The epidemic of opiate-addicted persons is so great that there simply may not be room on a physician’s permitted roster of 100 people. For that reason, many opioid treatment programs will allow you to participate in outpatient counseling while you wait for your Suboxone treatment to begin. If you’ve chosen a place that offers only individual and not group counseling, then you could start attending 12-step recovery meetings. Suboxone treatment in Georgia does not require counseling before your induction into treatment, but it does help.
What is Induction?
Induction refers to the introduction of medication-assisted treatment, whether it’s methadone or Suboxone. Your Suboxone treatment in Georgia should begin when you are not actively using drugs but you are just starting to feel symptoms of withdrawal. Physicians typically base your dose on your drug of choice and the amount of that drug that you use in a given timeframe. The doctor will gauge your reaction to the initial dose and then adjust up or down accordingly. It’s not true that if 8 mg is okay then 16 or 24 mg would be better. In fact, research has shown that people who take higher doses have reduced success in aftercare. Be honest and work with your doctor to determine the dose that is right for you.
How Counseling Helps With Suboxone Treatment in Georgia…
Substance abuse treatment professionals agree that withdrawal from opiate drugs is more difficult than any other type of drug addiction therapy. The specific interactions between your brain and the opiates you take mean that you could go for years without using and still experience cravings. Opiate addiction can even cause changes in the chemical structure within your brain. Your emotional development can become stunted, and you may find yourself with very little enthusiasm for the things that take place around you. That’s why it’s so important to participate in the recommended counseling and attend the 12-step meetings.
- With cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), you will learn how to avoid using in situations that trigger your desire to use. Some counselors utilize exercises like “Use, Consequences, Secrets” to help you recognize the things that you’ve hidden in the past and how those secrets have affected you.
- Motivational interviewing helps you look inward and figure out exactly how you would like to change your life. After all, no one knows better than you what your goals are for recovery. Creating a lifeline is one way to take an honest look at where you’ve been and where you want to be.
- Family therapy is important for healing old wounds and developing better communication skills, but you won’t start that until after you’ve begun to work on your own issues. Family therapy can also include multidimensional family therapy that takes a look at the drug abuse patterns within your family that might be influencing your decision to use.
People who show up for their counseling sessions do better with their Suboxone treatment in Georgia. You can also add other therapies to your treatment regimen, such as joining a gym, meditating or acupuncture.
Call your local opiate treatment facility to ask about Suboxone treatment in Georgia. Even if there’s a waiting list to begin Suboxone therapy, ask if you can complete an assessment and get started on outpatient counseling. The more you learn about addiction, the stronger you will be in your commitment to recovery.
