Treatment for Lortab Addiction

Fundamentally, Lortab addiction is a type of opioid use disorder (OUD), as the addictive element of Lortab is hydrocodone, an opioid. The treatment for opioid addiction is typically a combination of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy, potentially combined with other types of talk therapy. 

What Treatment Options Are Available for Lortab Addiction?

Lortab is a brand name for the opioid hydrocodone, and opioid addiction is generally treated in the same manner regardless of the specific opioid that is abused. OUD is one of the most heavily researched types of addiction, and a number of treatment options have been shown to be beneficial by a large body of medical research. While there is no cure for Lortab addiction, it can be successfully managed for life with the right treatment and support. 

Medication-Assisted Treatment

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is a type of addiction treatment in which medications are used to reduce a person’s drug cravings and eliminate withdrawal symptoms. This is generally best done in combination with other addiction treatments, specifically talk therapy. 

The drugs used for MAT for Lortab addiction are typically either methadone or a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, such as with the medication Suboxone. Naloxone is an abuse-deterrent component in Suboxone, and this makes the medication a popular choice.

Counseling or Therapy

Addiction counseling and therapy are generally used to help a person identify what draws them to use drugs like Lortab, including why they started abusing drugs in the first place before they became addicted. This is often a critical step of long-term addiction recovery, as a person needs to learn what triggers their impulses to abuse Lortab and how to avoid those triggers when possible. If some triggers can’t be avoided, they can learn how to better respond to them so they don’t return to substance abuse.

A primary form of therapy that is used in addiction treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Broadly, CBT is about understanding how your own mind works and what draws you to have certain thoughts and feelings. You learn strategies to restructure the way you think to adopt healthier thought patterns, as well as what to do if you do have negative and potentially dangerous thoughts and feelings, such as a desire to abuse Lortab.

The Importance of Talk Therapy

Many people understandably want a quick, easy fix for addiction. Emotionally, therapy and counseling can be more difficult than regularly taking medication. However, medication alone often cannot provide a path to long-term recovery, even if it can help. 

Medication can help with some of the symptoms of opioid use disorder, but it cannot completely restructure your mind to help break the patterns that lead to continued Lortab abuse. This type of work is done in therapy. 

This is why the term is medication-assisted treatment. Medication helps to keep people in treatment and improve the results of that treatment, but it still needs to be combined with therapy with an addiction treatment professional to produce the best results. 

Life After Treatment for Lortab Addiction

Addiction is a chronic condition. One can recover from addiction, regaining control over their Lortab use and maintaining abstinence from abuse over time, but you will generally experience at least some pull to abuse Lortab or other opioids for the rest of your life, although the severity of that pull will wax and wane. 

Meaningful rehabilitation is generally defined as having built the skills, potentially combined with taking medication, so you can avoid Lortab abuse even if you sometimes feel drawn to use the drug. You may relapse to Lortab abuse at some points during your recovery, but the goal is to minimize those instances and shorten their duration as much as possible. 

Reaching this point is the goal of most addiction treatment programs and, while often challenging, it is an achievable, realistic goal. At the same time, it’s important to maintain at least some level of addiction care after you reach this point, even if you decide you don’t need help that is as thorough or regular as you needed when you first started.

For most people, it is a good idea to continue seeing a therapist regularly after regaining control over drug use. This will help you maintain good mental health and catch yourself if you relapse or start feeling especially strong drug cravings. With the right support, you can maintain your progress, even if you have a slip and engage in some degree of Lortab misuse. 

You also shouldn’t stop or reduce how much medication you are taking for addiction treatment without first talking to a medical professional. If you truly believe you don’t need to take your medication any more or it is causing unwanted side effects, that’s a valid discussion to have. But suddenly changing the way you take medication can have unintended side effects, including triggering withdrawal and especially intense drug cravings.

Support Groups People Recovering From Lortab Addiction

Support is a critical part of every stage of recovery, and peer support groups can be a great way to build a support system. Support group meetings are often part of a person’s aftercare program after exiting formal treatment. In this setting, you can get and give support to others who have similarly struggled with opioid abuse. 

There are a few ways to find addiction support groups and other helpful resources in your area. SAMHSA’s National Helpline and the National Alliance on Mental Illness search tool are two such resources to find these types of groups.

It can take time to find the best support group for your needs, as they can have a variety of different tones and may focus on certain techniques that are more effective for some people compared to others. For example, many groups have a religious element to their methodology and, if you are non-religious, you may prefer groups that don’t have this type of focus.

Your addiction treatment program is a good resource for helping you to connect with local support groups that suit your personal preferences. Many groups, such as Narcotics Anonymous and SMART Recovery, also host online meetings, so you can access their offerings from anywhere in the world.