4 Benefits of Medication Management

During rehab and through the initial phases of recovery, medication is a vital component of care for many people working to overcome addiction. Depending on individual needs, it may take the form of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for a substance use disorder (SUD), pharmaceutical therapy for a co-occurring mental health condition, or both. 

As skilled addiction specialists, our team at Wasatch Recovery Treatment Center knows that medication requires careful, continuous management for it to be an effective and valuable part of any SUD treatment and recovery plan. 

Explore the substantial benefits of medication management, and learn how each one enhances addiction treatment and bolsters your chances of success during recovery. 

Medication and addiction recovery

Addiction is a chronic and consuming disease that involves complex interplay between brain circuits, environments, life experiences, and genetics. As such, it demands a comprehensive, multi-modal treatment approach that addresses the “whole person” through each step of the recovery process. 

Medication can play an invaluable role in addiction treatment and recovery. As with other chronic illnesses, the main goal of medication is to ease or alleviate problematic symptoms so that proactive treatment strategies, such as therapy can be more effective. 

MAT uses FDA-approved medications to help people with opioid dependency or an alcohol use disorder detox safely. Post-detox, MAT can also be used to help sustain recovery by relieving cravings, reducing relapse, and preventing accidental overdose. 

Many people in recovery also require specific medication to help them control the symptoms of a co-occurring and interrelated mental health condition like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or psychosis.

Medication management basics

Medication management — commonly called “med” management — refers to the careful accounting and control of every medication you’re taking at a specific time, from prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicine to vitamin supplements, herbal remedies, and medicated ointments, drops, or injections.   

The practice has three interrelated goals: To ensure pharmaceutical therapy is safe, effective, and appropriate for its duration, including as patients’ needs evolve. Efficacy, dosage, side effects, potential drug interactions, ease of self-administration, and adherence are several key factors that med management considers on a regular basis.   

Benefits of medication management

As part of an addiction treatment plan, medication has one overriding purpose: To alleviate your problematic symptoms, so you’re in a better position to sustain the equanimity you need to stick with recovery. Meticulous medication management can help you:

Fine-tune your regimen 

Medication management begins with an exhaustive review of current and prescribed medications to ensure they’re safe and effective for you. Everyone is different, and medication that works for one person may not work (or work as well) for another. Similarly, underlying health conditions can shape which medications are safe for you to take. 

From day one, medication management aims to ensure that each medication you take plays a direct and low-risk role in keeping you healthy, meeting your treatment goals, and helping you sustain your recovery. Any medication that isn’t beneficial is replaced or eliminated.    

Prevent unwanted side effects 

Many people stop taking medication for a chronic health condition if it causes unwanted side effects. Medication management aims to prevent this problem by asking you to keep track of bothersome side effects as they emerge so you can “correct course” quickly. Depending on your treatment goals and health needs, this may mean adjusting your dosage or switching to another medication altogether.

Stay engaged in your recovery

With medication management, you work closely with our team to determine whether a specific medication or multi-medication regimen is working well for you. This collaborative practice of continuous monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment requires just as much input from you as it does from your doctor. 

In other words, medication management is a proactive strategy that aims to get you involved in your own care and keep you engaged in your treatment. Through ongoing education and support, it helps you become informed, empowered, and adaptable as you navigate your recovery with the aid of drug therapy.

Move closer to your goals

By eliminating unnecessary and unsafe medications, preventing dangerous drug interactions, keeping dosages to an effective minimum, switching medications when necessary, and resolving unwanted side effects, medication management provides a solid foundation for the rest of your addiction treatment and recovery plan, whatever it happens to entail. 

To learn more about the med management programs at Wasatch Recovery Treatment Center, give us a call today. We have an intensive outpatient and sober living facility in East Sandy, Utah, and a residential treatment center in Cottonwood Heights, Utah.