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    Why Can’t My Child Just Stop Using Heroin?

    Medications to Treat Opioid Use Disorder

    Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) help treat opioid use disorder by reducing withdrawal symptoms and cravings and helping to prevent relapse. As part of a comprehensive treatment plan, it is considered the gold standard of care.
    What Happens When Someone Goes Through Opioid Withdrawal?

    One of the reasons that opioids like Vicodin are so addictive are the painful withdrawal symptoms that come from stopping use. Here's what's going on.

    “Why can’t my child just stop using drugs?”

    Many parents ask themselves this question. But as more and more scientific studies are confirming, the drugs that your son or daughter is using are actually creating changes in his or her brain. So, in a way, your child is not the same person he or she was before using opioids.

    Watch now

    Effects Of Opioids On The Brain – “Why Can’t He Just Stop Using Drugs?”

    Experts Adam Bisaga, MD, a Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, and Alicia Murray, DO, a Board Certified Addiction Psychiatrist, describe the changes in the brain that make it very difficult to stop using that drug.

    Medication-Assisted Treatment eBook

    Download the Medication-Assisted Treatment eBook

    This eBook will help you learn more about medication-assisted treatment – what it is, how it’s used, where to find it and how you can best support your child through treatment.

    Download the PDF

    The Partnership

    Last Updated

    December 2023