Opiate Addiction Treatment
Opiate addiction is a very serious problem and there are many symptoms both physically and psychological that can be seen in people addicted to opiates. However, while opiates are a hard drug to kick there are many types of treatment available for those that are looking to get help.
Opiates and Opiate Addiction
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Opiates are a group of drugs that can be derived naturally as well as synthetically. They are a type of narcotic sedative that can numb the nervous system, which can reduce pain. One of the main reasons that opiates are very dangerous is that, many times, they are a prescribed drug to relieve pain a person taking them can become dependent very quickly. The more a person uses opiates the more they will become tolerant of it and they will need to take more it more often in order to feel the effect. Opiate addiction can bring about many dangerous side effects and people that use too much can overdose and even die. Some of the more common types of opiates that are prescribed are morphine, Vicodin, Fentanyl, Codeine, Oxycontin, and Methadone. The main type of non-prescribed opiate may be the most dangerous in heroin.
Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms
Opiate withdrawal symptoms can vary from minor ones such as a headache and anxiety to major ones that require a user to seek medical help. Opiate withdrawal symptoms and how extreme they are will depend on how much of the drug the person has taken and for how long they have taken it. Not only do people that suffer from opiate addiction become addicted to illicit drugs, such as heroin, but ones that can be prescribed as well. Often a person will not even know they are addicted to opiates and they may remedy their opiate withdrawal symptoms simply by taking more of the drug. At the time when a person cannot simply stop taking the drug they will feel the more serious side effects of taking the drug. This is the time when opiate addiction treatment should be sought out. Some of the more common side opiate symptoms are anxiety, agitation, stomach cramps, dilated pupils, insomnia, excessive sweating, and nausea and vomiting.
Treatment for Opiate Addiction
If a person suffers from opiate addiction the best course of action is to take part in some type of opiate addiction treatment. All treatment programs are not the same and the one that best fits the specific nature of the user will give them the best chance of success. There is not one type of treatment that works for every addict.
There are both inpatient and outpatient opiate addiction treatment programs. The more extreme the addiction the more a person will benefit from an inpatient treatment. There are a couple of reasons this. One is that a person will not be able to leave the facility to get more opiates. Secondly if a person goes though the detoxification process when they stop to take opiates an inpatient treatment center can give the person medication in order to make the process less painful as well as safer. Typically, an opiate addiction treatment center will have medical facilities available as well as behavioral therapy for the user after the detox process is complete.
An outpatient opiate treatment will deal more with behavioral therapy meaning counseling. This type of treatment also can use cognitive therapy as well as psychotherapy. An opiate addict that has an extreme addiction or does not have much willpower may want to opt for an inpatient treatment. The reason for this is because at an outpatient program the person can go home after the daily treatment is over and may be easy for them to get their hands on more opiates. Also, if they are in need of medical help they will be able to get it at an outpatient treatment program. However, there are outpatient treatment programs where a person can get medicinal help to curb their cravings such as the use of methadone.
Opiate Withdrawal Treatment
Opiate withdrawal treatment is needed when a person is going through the detoxification process ridding their body of the opiates. Inpatient opiate addiction treatment centers will have medication available in order to help with the opiate withdrawal symptoms. Other drugs such as Buprenorphine (Suptex) and methadone are used to not only help curb the person’s craving, but also to lessen the effects of the withdrawal symptoms. There are some opiate addiction treatment programs that will have rapid detox where a person is put under and they go through an intensive detoxification getting medicine when they are under anesthesia. The user will not feel the effects of the detox process as much, as they are not awake, but the process is more dangerous and very expensive.
Suboxone for Opiate Addiction Treatment
Giving a opiate user Suboxone, which is made up of the two compounds of Buprenorphine and Naloxone, can help them ovoid withdrawal symptoms when they go through the detox process. Suboxone can help curb the cravings for the opiate and aid in the recovery of the user. Suboxone grabs hold of the pain receptors in the body that even if a person uses opiates while they are on it they will not feel the high. Taking Suboxone as an opiate addiction treatment that can make the addiction to opiates easier to overcome and the effects of the drug can make the cravings manageable.
Methadone for Opiate Addiction Treatment
Methadone, which is also a type of opiate, is a type of depressant for the central nervous system that is not a cure for the addiction to opiates, but can help users fight the cravings as well as helps with the withdrawal symptoms. Using a Methadone opiate addiction treatment, along with behavioral therapy, can help the person wean off opiates and lead them to the road to recovery. Methadone doses are given to uses by a medical staff mostly at methadone clinics. Considering that methadone treatment programs are used on a voluntary basis the time that the person uses the program will depend on their specific situation. The longer a person uses the treatment the more chance they will have to be successful kicking their opiate addiction.
