Medication-Assisted Treatment services offered in Port Hadlock and Port Angeles, WA
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) has been shown to provide positive outcomes for opioid and alcohol use disorders. This includes decreasing mortality, increasing retention in treatment, reducing treament costs and overdoses, increasing abstinence from opioids and alcohol, and lowering risk of contracting HIV and Hepatitis C. Olympic Peninsula Health Services in Port Hadlock and Port Angeles, Washington, has a team of addiction medicine experts specializing in MAT. They use medications like Suboxone® and naltrexone to assist you in your recovery.
Call your nearest Olympic Peninsula Health Services office or schedule a consultation online today to learn more about using MAT to overcome opioid or alcohol use disorders.
What is medication-assisted treatment (MAT)?
MAT combines medications with behavioral therapies and counseling to provide a holistic approach to caring for patients with substance use disorders. At OPHS due to being a low barrier practice, counseling is not required to receive a prescription but is highly encouraged and referrals are facilitated.
The FDA has approved several medications to treat opioid and alcohol use disorders. These medications reduce psychological cravings and withdrawal symptoms that cause chemical imbalances in your body.
Olympic Peninsula Health Services specializes in using MAT.
Why would I need MAT?
You would benefit from MAT if you depend on opioids or alcohol and can’t stop using these substances.
Substance use disorder or addiction can develop when you regularly drink alcohol or take drugs, including prescription opioids for pain. At first, you experience such pleasant feelings when taking these substances that you want to keep using them. But as your body gets used to them, you often need higher doses more frequently to achieve the same effects.
Addiction can ruin your life, affecting your health, family, job, friends, and even your home. MAT is a proven treatment that makes it easier for you to quit drugs and alcohol for good.
What medications are used in MAT?
MAT medications the Olympic Peninsula Health Services team uses include:
Suboxone®: Suboxone® is available as sublingual tablets or films containing buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine diminishes the effects of physical dependency to opioids including withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Naloxone prevents Suboxone® from being misused.
Sublocade®: Sublocade® is a monthly buprenorphine injection.
Subutex®: Subutex® is available in sublingual tablets and contains buprenorphine only. This is used for pregnancy or patients that have a known allergy to naloxone.
Naltrexone: Naltrexone is available in tablet form and recommend for alcohol use disorder. It blocks the effects and feelings of alcohol, reducing cravings.
Vivitrol®: Vivitrol® is a monthly naltrexone injection which blocks the euphoric and sedative effect of opoids and blocks the effects and feelings of alcohol. This is indicated for both opioid and alcohol use disorder.
MAT medications are safe to take long-term — you can even stay on them for life if necessary.
What part does therapy play in MAT?
MAT is far more effective in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies that offer a whole-person approach.
An experienced drug counselor can help you identify and address feelings and experiences that led to your substance use disorder. These could be traumas from your past, environmental factors, or current stresses.
Behavioral therapy shows you how to challenge flawed thinking and adapt your reactions to problems so you don’t feel the need to use drugs or alcohol.
The Olympic Peninsula Health Services team works closely with chemical dependency agencies and a local in-patient rehab facility to ensure patients benefit from counseling.
Call your nearest office or book an appointment online today to discover how MAT can help you recover from substance use disorder.