How Does Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) in Rhode Island Protect You Better Than Cold Turkey Detox?
When you abruptly stop using a substance, it’s like fighting a brain chemistry that has been hijacked. Eventually, your body goes into a state of panic, and if you slip up (even once), the results are grave because now your tolerance levels are much lower.
That’s why our people must know that they cannot out-willpower a toxic drug supply; therefore, options like medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in Rhode Island are their safest bet. Quitting with the help of medicines doesn’t mean you trade one drug for another. Instead, these are FDA-approved meds that make rehab much safer and easier.
This article explains all about how MAT can help you reclaim your life. Keep reading to know more and make a well-informed decision.
What is Medication-Assisted Treatment in Rhode Island?
Addiction rewires your brain’s reward system, and if you try to stop, your system crashes. Therefore, substance abuse experts use long-acting, FDA-approved medications that bind to the same receptors as the drugs you were using.
But since these meds are administered in a controlled way, they don’t give you that ‘high’ feeling. Instead, they stabilize your brain chemistry and help make withdrawal bearable.
Reasons Medication-Assisted Treatment in Rhode Island is Safer Than Cold-Turkey Quitting
Medication-assisted treatment in Rhode Island manages your physical cravings and stabilizes your nervous system. As a result, you aren’t in constant pain, and that fire in your brain is under control. With that agony out of the way, you have the mental space to engage in counseling and show resilience to stay clean.
Here is what makes medication-assisted treatment in Rhode Island a safe way out:
Maintains Tolerance Levels
Stopping a drug changes your body’s chemistry almost immediately, and during that transition, there is a risk of death. That’s because within just a few days of quitting without any help, your physical tolerance for the drug reduces. In this situation, if you have an intense craving and return to what used to be your “normal” dose, your system will be completely overwhelmed, resulting in a fatal overdose.
Therefore, medication-assisted treatment in Rhode Island ends that tolerance gap. During this treatment, you take a steady, medical dose of a long-acting medication to maintain a safe and controlled level of tolerance.
While you don’t get high, you keep your brain’s receptors occupied, and even if you relapse, your body is not a blank slate. The meds used by rehab centers help prevent your central nervous system from shutting down and keep you alive during the most volatile stages of early recovery.
Prevents Heart and System Stress
Cold-turkey quitting is a massive shock to your central nervous system, which also sends your brain’s “alarm system” into overdrive. Eventually, there is a surge in adrenaline that can cause your heart rate to increase and your blood pressure to reach dangerous levels.
Such a sudden physical stress can often cause complications like heart palpitations, extreme chest pain, or even a stroke. That’s why medication-assisted treatment in Rhode Island offers a safer solution by acting as a shock absorber for your heart and nervous system.
This drug abuse medication allows for a gradual transition and keeps your vital signs stable. Calming the overactive nerves that trigger heart stress helps ensure that your recovery doesn’t put your life at risk.
Reduces Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS)
The initial “physical” withdrawal lasts a week, but PAWS is the second wave of symptoms that can last for months. It happens because your brain has stopped producing its own feel-good chemicals like dopamine, and you may remain in a constant state of sleep deprivation or depression.
Since PAWS can sometimes make it impossible to function normally, it forces people to relapse. Luckily, medication-assisted treatment in Rhode Island can solve this long-term brain fog. This medication fills the empty receptors in your brain while your natural chemistry slowly heals.
And when you’re mentally more stable, the severity of PAWS symptoms is much lower. You aren’t left struggling with mood swings or the inability to feel pleasure for months on end.
High Retention Rates
From retention, we mean staying in the program long enough to get better. Most people who try to quit cold turkey drop out within the first few weeks because the physical and mental toll of quitting without help is too much to handle alone.
That constant pain or restlessness can make you think that going back to the drug is the only way to survive.
Luckily, MAT makes the process physically tolerable, and you don’t spend every waking second fighting withdrawal symptoms. Such stability allows you to attend your therapy sessions and stay in treatment longer because you feel well enough to be there. It turns a “sprint” that most people fail into a manageable walk.
Eliminates the “Seek and Use” Cycle
The seek and use cycle can break your spirit because it’s an exhausting loop where your brain is focused on the next dose to stop the physical pain. Because your cravings are intense during this stage, the withdrawal feels punishing, and your mind stays locked in survival mode.
Medication-assisted treatment in Rhode Island once again wins here because it breaks this cycle by giving you a steady medical baseline. These meds make sure you don’t face the extreme highs and lows of active addiction. Instead, your receptors are occupied, and your mind is calm, which silences the constant mental noise.
Move Past the Stigma and Get Better
Rehab is no longer a punishment or something that will cut you off from the real world. Instead, practical models like MAT help you get clean in a safe environment. If you also want to win against drugs, Rhode Island Addiction Treatment Center is there for you. Call us today at 888-541-4028, and we’ll take you to the brighter end of this tunnel!