MAT is primarily used to treat opioid addiction. With South Florida medication-assisted therapy, people can get legitimate ongoing help, the kind of help that is difficult to come by after graduating from a rehab program. One of the biggest problems with opioid addiction, for example, is that cravings can last for months after detox. For six months to one year, a recovery addict might struggle with cravings and need help remaining independent and sober.
This is where MAT is so effective. The medications included help normalize your brain chemistry, bringing your brain and body function back to their previous levels. Restoring these previous levels means being able to function as you did before using.
Using opioids eventually stops the brain from producing dopamine on its own. Dopamine is what relieves pain and increases pleasure, so continued use of opioids means your brain pants relieve pain or increase pleasure, so you might feel depressed, poorly motivated, unable to concentrate, and unable to feel pleasure. But with medication-assisted therapy in Florida, you can slowly help your brain produce dopamine on its own and get rid of these symptoms.
The medications included help block the euphoric effects of opioids or alcohol. Blocking these effects makes it easier for you to avoid a relapse.
Alcohol impacts just about every part of your brain, including your production of GABA and glutamate. This keeps you relaxed but also awake and energetic and lowers inhibition. With certain medications in your South Florida MAT program, you can change it so that alcohol doesn’t have these effects on your body or your brain, and therefore a relapse isn’t appealing to you and has no reward.
The medications can relieve the cravings you feel. This makes it much easier to avoid relapse because cravings are not the only thing you can focus on.
If you want more information on MAT in South Florida, contact Prevail Recovery.