Opioid and Heroin Addiction Treatment
- Withdrawal is rarely dangerous and reliably miserable. Medication changes how the first week goes
- 24/7 nursing and daily physician visits through detox
- Medication-assisted treatment, with methadone at Las Vegas (Corbett) and Astoria
- Detox is step one of five. The plan matters more than the week
Medically reviewed by
Dr. Keith Garcia, MD, PhD, Medical Director
Last reviewed August 2026
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Free & confidential • No obligation • Usually answered within minutes
Before anything else
This happens to people who did everything right.
Opioid addiction does not have a type. It reaches people who bought heroin and people who filled a prescription after surgery, and by the time either of them notices, the difference between the two has stopped mattering to their body.
Getting off opioids safely starts with medical detox, not willpower, and not a plan to taper yourself down over a weekend. Recovery from opioid addiction is genuinely achievable, and the people who reach it almost all began with someone else managing the withdrawal.
Tell admissions. It shapes the plan; it does not end the conversation.
Please do not stop or change your medication before you speak to someone. Doing that alone can be dangerous. Say what you take and how long you have been on it, and the medical team will coordinate from there.
The story we hear most
Opioid addiction can start with a prescription.
A back surgery. A car accident. A shoulder that never healed properly. Somebody hands you thirty tablets of oxycodone with instructions to take them as needed, and you do exactly that, and some months later the reason you are taking them has quietly changed.
This is one of the most common paths into opioid dependence, and it happens because opioids are genuinely addictive, including when taken as directed, by people who never once exceeded the dose on the label. It is a medical problem, not a moral failing.
A lot of people on this path are older, working, and quietly certain that treatment is for somebody else. It is not. And nothing about how this started will be held against you here.
- Heroin
- Oxycodone, OxyContin and Percocet
- Hydrocodone and Vicodin
- Morphine and codeine
- Prescription painkillers generally
- More than one opioid, or opioids alongside other substances
Fentanyl behaves differently enough, in withdrawal, in overdose risk and in how detox is managed, that it has its own page. If fentanyl is what you are using, or what you suspect is in what you are using, start there.
Being honest about it
What opioid withdrawal is actually like.
Rarely life-threatening on its own, and genuinely awful. Flu-like at best, aching, sweating, cramping, unable to sleep, unable to sit still, and it typically runs around seven to ten days depending on the opioid, the dose and how long you have been using.
The real danger is not the withdrawal. It is what happens when it becomes unbearable at home and you use again to make it stop, because tolerance drops fast, and the amount that was normal last week can be fatal this week. That is the risk medical detox removes.
With medication and monitoring, withdrawal becomes something you get through rather than something you survive. Nurses on site around the clock, medication to blunt the worst of it, and nobody expecting you to tough it out.
- Nursing staff on site 24 hours a day
- Comfort and withdrawal medications, as clinically appropriate
- Medically monitored withdrawal management
- Around seven to ten days, depending on your situation
- A move straight into treatment rather than a discharge to nowhere
Detox clears the drug. It does not touch the reasons, the habits or the people, and with opioids a relapse after detox carries a much higher overdose risk than the using did before it. Continuing into treatment is not an upsell here, it is the part that keeps you alive.
Medication and MAT
Medication is part of the treatment, not a substitute for it.
Virtue provides medically supervised detox that uses medication to ease opioid withdrawal, and medication-assisted treatment, including methadone, at certain locations. What we are not is a standalone Suboxone or methadone maintenance clinic.
That distinction is worth knowing before you call rather than after. If ongoing maintenance prescribing without treatment is what you are looking for, say so and the team will tell you plainly and point you somewhere that does it.
Available at our Las Vegas (Corbett) and Astoria locations, including for people already established on it who are entering treatment.
Part of medically supervised detox at every location, prescribed as clinically appropriate rather than as a fixed protocol.
If your goal is to be free of it, medically supervised tapering in a monitored setting is something we do, and it is far safer than doing it at home.
What comes with it
Opioids rarely arrive on their own.
Opioids are rarely the only thing in the picture, methamphetamine most often, then alcohol and benzodiazepines. And underneath a great many of them is chronic pain, depression, anxiety or trauma that the opioids were doing a job on.
All of it gets treated together, by one team, in one plan. That includes the pain. Finding ways to manage it that do not depend on the thing you came here to stop is part of the work, not an afterthought.
Levels of care
Detox is step one of five, not one of one.
Where you start depends on the assessment. What matters with opioids is that you do not stop after the first step.
And alongside all four
Common questions
Questions people ask about opioid treatment
Anything not answered here, ask on the call. Nothing you say will be a surprise.
(866) 461-3339- I got addicted to painkillers after a prescription. Is that common?
- Yes, and you are far from alone, many people develop an opioid dependence after being prescribed painkillers for surgery, an injury, or chronic pain. It is a medical issue, not a moral failing, and it happens because opioids are genuinely addictive, even when taken as directed. There is no shame in it, and effective, judgment-free treatment is available.
- Do you offer Suboxone or methadone for opioid addiction?
- We provide medically supervised detox with medications to ease opioid withdrawal, and medication-assisted treatment, including methadone, is available at certain locations. We are not a standalone Suboxone or methadone maintenance clinic, so it is best to tell our admissions team what you need, and if you are already on Suboxone or methadone, let them know so we can coordinate your care safely. Our admissions team can talk through your options with you.
- How long does opioid detox take?
- Opioid detox typically lasts around 7 to 10 days, depending on the specific opioid, how much and how long you have used, and your overall health. Withdrawal is intensely uncomfortable, often flu-like, but with medical supervision and medication it is much safer and more manageable than quitting alone. Our team monitors you around the clock to keep you as comfortable as possible.
- Is opioid or heroin withdrawal dangerous?
- Opioid withdrawal is rarely life-threatening on its own, but it is very uncomfortable, and the greater danger is relapse, since returning to use after detox carries a high overdose risk. That is why medically supervised detox followed by treatment matters so much: it gets you safely through withdrawal and gives you the support to stay off opioids. You do not have to face it alone.
- Can I just detox and be done?
- Detox is the essential first step, but on its own it is not enough for lasting recovery, and because opioid relapse carries such a high overdose risk, continuing into treatment is important for your safety. At Virtue, clients move from detox into residential or outpatient care with the same team, building the tools and support that protect against relapse.
- Can you treat opioid addiction along with chronic pain or other conditions?
- Yes. We understand that many people with opioid addiction are also managing chronic pain, depression, anxiety, or other substance use, and we provide integrated care that addresses the whole picture. Our team helps you find healthier ways to manage pain and any co-occurring conditions as part of your recovery plan.
- Can I start today?
- When someone is ready to get off opioids, timing matters and waiting is the enemy. Call and admissions will verify your insurance, arrange the clinical assessment and walk you through the next steps in the same conversation We can walk you through the next steps right away.
- Does insurance cover opioid addiction treatment?
- Most commercial and PPO plans cover medically necessary opioid detox and treatment. Coverage depends on your plan, so the simplest next step is a free, confidential insurance verification.
You are allowed to ask
If you are calling for someone else
Most people who call us are calling about someone they love. You can ask about the options and check their insurance on their behalf, and it stays a conversation until you decide otherwise.
Related reading
Fentanyl treatment
Increasingly what people are actually using, whether or not they know it.
Read the guide →Medication-assisted treatment
How buprenorphine and methadone are used here, and at which facilities.
Read the guide →Medical detox
What supervised withdrawal involves and who is in the building overnight.
Read the guide →How long opioids stay in your system
A common first question, answered properly.
Read the guide →Insurance
We accept most major insurance plans.
And most PPO plans. Coverage varies by plan and by facility, so if your carrier is not shown, ask rather than assume.
- Free, and there is no obligation at the end of it
- Usually answered within minutes during the day
- You can check on behalf of someone else
- Admissions answers the phone 24 hours a day
- No insurance? Ask about private pay options. Nobody is turned away without knowing their next step.
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Still have questions? Call us.
However this started, the way out is the same. Admissions will verify your insurance and arrange a clinical assessment, and a real person answers at any hour.
Confidential. No obligation. Someone answers, 24 hours a day.
