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If you or a loved one are struggling with opioid addiction, it’s never too late to get help. Please contact the doctors and therapists at Mission Harbor Behavioral Health today to explore your options for addiction treatment. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ Recent increases in opioid abuse and addiction have occurred in groups historically not inclined to abuse these drugs. These groups include women, people with higher household incomes, and people with private insurance.
What are the characteristics of prescription drug abuse?
- Constipation.
- Nausea.
- Feeling high.
- Slowed breathing rate.
- Drowsiness.
- Confusion.
- Poor coordination.
- Increased dose needed for pain relief.
Opioid overdose treatment with naloxone can be used in an emergency situation when a person has taken an overdose of opioid drugs and has stopped breathing or is in danger of stopping breathing. Naloxone flushes the narcotic out of the brain’s receptors and can reverse the overdose, but it does not address the underlying opioid use disorder as addiction treatment would. Individuals experiencing an opioid overdose will not be able to treat themselves.
Effects & Symptoms of Withdrawal from Opioid
Illicit use of opioids usually begins in late adolescence or early adulthood. Experimentation with cigarettes, alcohol, and other drugs generally precedes experimentation with opioids. The period of time from initial use to dependency is extremely variable, ranging from a few weeks to several years. Mortality rates are substantially reduced when patients are treated with methadone or buprenorphine maintenance therapy. Withdrawal, as manifested by either the characteristic opioid withdrawal syndrome, or taking opioids to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms. However, a person who abuses drugs in large amounts or over extended periods of time is more likely to fall victim to an addiction.
What are potential warning signs that someone is misusing prescription drugs?
- Pills or medication bottles are missing from your home.
- Taking medication in excess of how it has been prescribed.
- Abrupt changes in their finances.
- Dramatic mood changes.
- Lower grades, changes in friends, or changes in sleep or appetite.
- Loss of concern about appearance.
Opioids are a class of prescription drugs used to treat moderate to severe acute and chronic pain. They relieve pain by attaching to receptors and inhibiting pain signals. As a side effect of their pain-relieving abilities, they relax your body and can make you feel “high.” This is what makes opioids so addictive and the reason they are commonly abused.
What are Opioids?
Systematic review of prevalence, correlates, and treatment outcomes for chronic non-cancer pain in patients with comorbid substance use disorder. This drug class produces an intense sense of euphoria and safety in addition to pain-relieving properties, which makes them highly addictive. Many people who present with pain disorders later become addicted to pharmaceutical opiates like hydrocodone and oxycodone. Opiates, which are typically referred to as narcotics, are most commonly used for pain relief and to induce sleep. These drugs are originally derived from the seeds of poppy plants or their byproducts. Most opiates are synthetic, but some naturally occurring forms include opium and morphine.
There is also a medicine called naloxone which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and prevent death, if it is given in time. Some examples include, cognitive behavioral therapy which helps modify the patient’s drug use expectations and behaviors, and also effectively manage triggers and stress. These signs of opioid addiction behavioral treatment approaches have proven effective, especially when used along with medicines. Read more about drug addiction treatment on theTreatment webpage. Other risks of using prescription opioids include dependence and addiction. Dependence means feeling withdrawal symptoms when not taking the drug.