Prescription drugs, counseling, and individualized behavior modification strategies are all used in MAT to break the cycle of addiction. The drug balances the chemistry of the brain by blocking cravings and alleviating withdrawal symptoms. Counseling and therapy are typically considerably more effective when the harmful withdrawal symptoms and the cravings are absent.
Opioids, which include drugs like fentanyl, oxycodone, and heroin, flood the brain with the neurotransmitter dopamine, signaling pleasure. The pleasure may resemble euphoria for a person predisposed to addiction, a feeling that the brain develops a craving for. To reach a pleasurable condition, the medication must be used in increasing amounts. The user eventually has to take more and more of the drug merely to feel normal. Drug cravings turn into insatiable appetite, impairing function and causing erratic, destructive conduct. Going without the drug fuels anxiety, despair, and a variety of physically excruciating withdrawal symptoms, including exhaustion, cramping in the muscles, nausea, and night sweats.
