Methadone clinic helps addict stay off drugs
Published on: Friday, December 14, 2018
Selangor: Several men can be seen outside of Poliklinik Khafidz as early as 8.30am, waiting for the clinic to open.This scenario takes place every single day – even during the weekends - since 15 years ago.Physically, the men looked well. Some were dressed smartly, as if on their way to work, while others were dressed more casually.
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The men may look fine but they are actually patients coping with a chronic disease: their drug addiction.They rely on their daily methadone dosage to stave off symptoms of their addiction to opioids like heroin. The clinic in Taman Perindustrian Ria, here, is owned by Dr Mohd Khafidz Mohd Ishak, a doctor that has been treating drug addiction since 20 years ago. He has been called a "second-rate doctor" by some because he deals exclusively with drug addicts. However, unkind remarks as such do not affect his determination to give drug addicts a second chance at life.
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"I have been accused of being a drug addict myself merely for helping these addicts overcome their addiction, but I remind myself that if I don't help them, no one else will," he told Bernama in an interview recently.When his clinic first opened in 2001, drug addiction was a major problem in the neighbourhood, as well as in the rest of Kajang and Semenyih.
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He was one of the first researchers involved in the 2001 study with Universiti Malaya's Centre for Addiction Sciences (UMCAS) on using methadone to treat drug addiction, before introducing the treatment in his clinic in 2003.Two years later, the Ministry of Health (MoH) introduced methadone as a drug replacement therapy for opioid addicts at all government clinics and facilities, including its prisons and the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK).He said that Australia had been using the treatment 30 years earlier and was subsequently able to reduce the number of HIV patients and drug addicts in the country."This was one of the initial reasons why this treatment was introduced in our country – to reduce the number of new HIV cases resulting from needle-sharing among addicts."Today, there is a decline in HIV cases among drug addicts but Hepatitis C is rife among them, as 85 percent of needle users have the disease," he said, adding that a cure has yet to be a cure found for the fatal liver disease.Methadone is used to correct the brain damage caused by drug abuse. However, it can be extremely dangerous if used by a non-opioid-addict.Taking just 2ml of methadone can cause a person to black-out. A higher dose can result in death in just half an hour, he said.However, an opioid addict would need a daily dosage of methadone to prevent them from going into withdrawal for 36 hours."If withdrawal symptoms do not take place within that time, patients will be able to live a normal life and work, take care of their families and even save up money – all of which addicts cannot do," he said.Drug addicts are categorised as patients with chronic and relapsing brain disorder and need to be on long-term medication. The brain damaged is categorised as permanent.That is why they need to continually take methadone for at least five years until they are ready to stop with the medication.Dr Mohd Khafidz said that quitting a drug addiction required a high degree psychosocial and spiritual strength."The methadone treatment has been made available in Malaysia for 15 years now and thousands of patients have benefited from it. We may not be able to cure 100 percent (of drug addicts, but being able to rehabilitate 60 percent of them is still pretty good," he said.Many addicts want to quit their addiction but find it difficult to integrate with society once again, especially if they have been infected with HIV.With the methadone drug replacement therapy, addicts are not treated like criminals but as outpatients seeking treatment at clinics instead."We have managed to identify some 300,000 addicts while the actual number may be three times more. There are perhaps 900,000 addicts in Malaysia now."We do not have the capacity to lock them all behind bars, so the best treatment is to help them become functional members of society again," he said.The clinic is open seven days a week from 8.30am to 9pm. An average of 40 patients comes to the clinic every day for their methadone dosage.Many go to the clinic before going to work. Those who cannot make it then would come during their lunch break or after work."This clinic is only closed for three days a year, which is during Hari Raya Aidilfitri. On other days we operate as usual because we don't want our patients to be cut off from their methadone supply," he said.The patients, who come to the clinic on a voluntary basis, only need to pay between RM10 and RM15 per visit, depending on their dosage.The Health Ministry also refers 66 patients to the clinic, all of whom receive their dosage free of charge through a government supply of around 400 bottles of methadone a month.The patients need only pay the operation and administration costs of between RM5 and RM7 for every time they take their dose.Patients on methadone are required to go for a urine test at least once a month to ensure that they do not relapse into their addiction.Dr Mohd Khafidz said around 30 to 40 percent of his patients would test positive for drugs during tests.One of the reasons that they fall back into old habits was the methadone dosage was not strong enough to combat their withdrawal symptoms.Those who are just starting treatment will be given a minimal dosage of 7ml for the first three to five days before the dosage is upped in 1ml increments per week, according to the patient's condition.In addition to that, patients who are working are only allowed to take home three days' worth of supply, according to the dosage needed.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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