Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Specialist in Peachtree Corners GA and Asheville NC

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is a medical treatment for individuals dealing with opioid addiction and has also had some success in treating alcohol use disorders as well. The medication used with MAT serves as a maintenance to the particular opioid that the patient is addicted to, such as heroin, morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone, and others. The substitute medication is administered in conjunction with counseling and behavioral therapies. In this way, medication-assisted treatment aims to provide a whole-person treatment approach to individuals dealing with opioid addiction.

Medication-assisted treatment helps individuals overcome addiction by blocking the euphoric effects of opioids, minimizing craving and withdrawal symptoms, and teaching patients healthy coping strategies and behavioral changes.

For example, a common substitute medication used in MAT is buprenorphine or Suboxone. Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist-antagonist approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in treating individuals with opioid use disorders. As such, it works in similar ways to other opioids and occupies the same opioid receptors in your brain. However, as it occupies those opioid receptors, it also blocks the effects of other opioids, reduces withdrawal symptoms, and does not produce a euphoric effect, making it significantly less addictive.

Since buprenorphine is an opioid, however, it is not intended for long-term use. As such, behavioral therapies and counseling put the “assisted” in medication-assisted treatment to give patients the tools they need to succeed in recovery long after the medication part of medication-assisted treatment is over.

The goal of medication-assisted treatment is to help individuals dealing with a substance disorder fully recover from their addiction by meeting an established set of conditions early on in their recovery. Once those conditions are met, the substitute medication should be tapered off and replaced with healthy coping strategies. In this way, MAT is not intended as an indefinite or long-term treatment for addiction treatment.

In theory, medication-assisted treatment has plenty of promise for treating individuals with addiction. What is more, that promise has been converted into success for many individuals dealing with opioid or alcohol use disorders! Studies have consistently proven MAT to be effective at the following:

• Decreasing opioid overdose and misuse
• Improving patient survival and overall quality of life
• Increasing treatment retention
• Significantly lessening the risk of relapse

Ascension Solutions Treatment is proud to provide medication-assisted treatment to individuals from Asheville, North Carolina, and the surrounding area who are dealing with opioid use disorders. If you would like an appointment or more information about medication-assisted treatment at Ascension Solutions Treatment clinic, we welcome you to give us a call or schedule an appointment with us through our website! We serve patients from Peachtree Corners, GA, Asheville NC, Roswell GA, Swannanoa NC, Norcross GA, Woodfin NC, Dunwoody GA, Biltmore Forest NC, Johns Creek GA Fairview NC, Azalea NC, Western North Carolina and the surrounding areas.