Opiate Addiction Is A Very Serious, But Treatable Illness

Opiate addiction is a very serious illness, which can lead to depression, hopelessness, and sometimes death. Opiate addiction is a brain disease characterized by increased tolerance leading to more and more substance needed to achieve the same effect. Addiction To Opiates is both physical and psychological, requiring an intense inpatient program in order to best detox off the drug and transition into living without drugs. One thing that you need to understand about opiate addiction is that it is a lot different from other cases of substance dependency. Currently, the only FDA approved option for treating opiate addiction is through the use of methadone and buprenorphine, both of which are synthetic opiates with their own addictive tendencies.


Getting off heroin and other opiates isn't easy, but detox is the first step. Detox in and of itself is simply the removal of a drug from a person's body. Detox may eliminate opiates from the body, but it doesn’t restore the body’s natural, healthy chemistry. Detox from opiates like heroin, OxyContin, Lortab and Vicodin requires close supervision. But, if a person is successful in detox and dedicated to kicking the habit, the chances are greatly increased.


Withdrawal symptoms from opiates start within a few hours of your last missed dose and include nausea and vomiting, sweating, irritability, body and muscle aches, insomnia and an increase in intensity over the next few days, lasting for weeks. Rapid opiate detox is a procedure which allows patients to undergo the severe opiate withdrawal symptoms associated with detoxification while under anesthesia. In clinical studies, Buprenorphine has proven effective in minimizing the extremely painful side effects of opiate withdrawal without patients feeling either euphoria or sedation.


After prolonged opiate use, the nerve cells in the brain, which would otherwise produce endogenous opiates (natural painkillers, or endorphins), cease to function normally. When these nerve cells degenerate, a need for the drug or high physical tolerance is present, requiring that more and more of the drug be ingested in order to avoid the onset of painful withdrawal symptoms. During professional opium treatment, detox pains can be managed through continual medical observation and care, and through the use of non narcotic pain relievers, anxiolitics and anti depressant medications.


Buprenorphine treatment can eliminate or reduce many withdraw symptoms and allow an addicted person to address the root problem without the pain and discomfort of withdrawal. Buprenorphine works by acting on the brain's own opiate receptors , targets for heroin, morphine and prescription opioids , to relieve drug cravings without prompting the same intense high or dangerous side effects.

Opiate Addiction Is The Most Powerful Form Of Addiction

Opiate addiction is much different than that of other substances that are abused and can cause addiction. Opiate addiction is a serious problem in our country and will become an even bigger problem in the years ahead. The persistent use of opiates and is thought to be a disorder of the central nervous system. Though opiate painkillers are prescribed by physicians, opiate addiction is an insidious medical disease. But since opiate addiction is far more than a “behavior problem,” treatment requires more than just therapy.

Addiction today is no longer confided to the alley’s, but instead is in our neighborhoods and our homes. Addiction professionals more frequently recommend opium treatment that involves a short and intense period of detox, but after which the physical dependency to opium is over, and the recovering addict can better participate in therapies of relapse avoidance, and hopefully within a relatively short period learn the life strategies needed to stay opium free for life. Some of the signs and symptoms of opiate addiction may include but are not limited to:Restlessness, Hyperactive behavior, Poor physical coordination, Inability to concentrate, Poor judgment, Slurred speech, Bouts of euphoria followed by bouts of extreme depression, Accelerated heartbeat which can ultimately result in coma or death. The road to opiate addiction treatment begins by understanding that this is a brain disorder and not a will power or moral issue, and that treatment options are available to those that suffer with this disease.


Treatment for opiate addiction entails a grueling detoxification and withdrawal suffering that can be followed by intense physical and psychological cravings, lasting months. Due to variability in brain recovery, many addicts may require prolonged treatment or supportive medications in order to discontinue their addictive lifestyles. Since the body becomes physically addicted to the drug, the body too must be cleaned of its effects before treatment can progress. Any detox can be extremely painful with severe physical symptoms that may be traumatic if attempted without medical treatment.


Withdrawal from opiates can be very trying on the body and generally requires medical assistance to ease the patient through the process as much as possible. Disruption of endorphin production is thought to be associated with a need to increase opiate use in order to avoid the onset of painful withdrawal symptoms. Suboxone (an alternative to Methadone) was created for the user to be able to avoid withdrawal symptoms while in the mean time during treatment rebuilding the receptors in the brain that have been destroyed while using narcotics. Methadone is a rigorously well-tested medication that is safe and effective for the treatment of narcotic withdrawal and dependence.