What do methadone wafers look like

Learn about other MAT medications. SAMHSA offers tools, training, and technical assistance to practitioners in the fields of mental health and substance use disorders. To sign up for updates or to access your subscriber preferences, please enter your contact information. Skip to main content. Mono Bar U. Main menu. Territories for mental and substance use disorders. Ellos escuchan. They Hear You. Solr Mobile Search. Share Buttons. Page title Methadone. What Is Methadone? How Does Methadone Work?

Methadone, taken daily, is available in liquid, powder and diskettes forms. How Can a Patient Receive Methadone? Methadone Safety Methadone is safe and effective, when taken as prescribed. The following tips can help achieve the best treatment results: Never use more than the amount prescribed, and always take at the times prescribed.

Be careful driving or operating machinery on methadone. It has similar effects to heroin but doesn't deliver the same degree of buzz or high as heroin. A patient who is addicted to heroin will often be prescribed methadone to take instead of heroin and the dose of methadone is gradually reduced over time. This means that the patient can give up heroin avoiding acute withdrawal symptoms. In treatment of addiction, methadone dose is usually aimed initially at preventing the withdrawal symptoms that would otherwise develop when street heroin is stopped.

The methadone dose can subsequently be reduced by agreement with the patient until the user is off the drug completely. This allows people time to tackle their psychological addiction and to stabilise their lifestyle. There may still be some problems with opiate withdrawal symptoms, depending on how fast methadone is withdrawn but this substitution treatment is much less severe than going 'cold turkey'.

How long a drug can be detected for depends on how much is taken and which testing kit is used. This is only a general guide. Taking methadone illegally does involve risks. You can't be as sure with methadone that's bought on the street how pure it is. Overdoses that can lead to coma and even death from respiratory failure i. With high doses, users feel sleepy. Even higher, and the user can fall into a coma or stop breathing completely.

Opiates may possibly increase the risk of miscarriage and still births and opiate users may give birth to smaller babies. Methadone pills often look different depending on the dosage and manufacturer. Each pharmaceutical company has a different brand name for the drug, and there are many generics available as well. Some common iterations include the following:. Methadone can also be formulated as a liquid, and in generic version, there may be different physical attributes that are not listed above.

Some common street names for methadone that may help in identifying methadone pills can include the following:. Methadone has a high potential for abuse and can lead to dependence and addiction. Seeking out immediate professional help for the misuse of methadone is essential to avoiding serious health risks including addiction.