There are two main medicines that are used in the heroin treatment program in Iowa. These are methadone and buprenorphine. Both medications have their relative merits and demerits and what kind of treatment program you choose should depend on what form of medication they will use. The following is a brief idea on how these medications are used and how they can be compared.

Methadone has been used in heroin treatment in Iowa since the past thirty years. For that reason, it is considered to be a reliable form of medication. However, a methadone treatment program can be quite risky because methadone treatment is a very aggressive method of treating heroin addiction. Methadone itself is an opioid and the basic premise of using it in heroin treatment is to change over a heroin addiction to a methadone habit. This helps the person to overcome the urge for heroin and then the methadone dosage is slowly reduced.

Buprenorphine is also an opioid medication, but it is much safer than methadone. It is so safe that it is also used in the outpatient treatment program in Iowa. It does not react with other medications the person may be on and it does not create very drastic effects if a dose is missed or if a double dose is taken accidentally.

Both methadone and buprenorphine are habit forming, and they are allowed to be taken only with prescription and only under medical supervision. But methadone, being much more sensitive, is always provided as an inpatient medication. All centers for heroin rehab in Iowa use one of these two forms of medication.