Are you or a family member suffering from an opiate addiction? Are you looking for the guidance for the treatment? This blog post provide you the comprehensive guidance on the opiate addiction treatment.
Lets get started.
What Are Opiates?
The semi-synthetic derivatives of the plant opium are known as opioids. Sometimes they are also extracted naturally from the drugs. For instance, morphine, codeine, heroin, and oxycodone are opioids that are similar in structure and function.
Opioids majorly act on the CNS and promote the production of endorphins. These chemicals are natural pain relievers. However, the large intake of opioids enhances the release of endorphins and creates a feeling of euphoria.
The long-term use of opioids inhibits the production of endorphins. So, the abusers increase the amount to recreate the initial euphoria. This results in addiction.
Physicians prescribe opioids for the mitigation of severe pain. Due to the addictive nature of the drug, the use is prohibited in teens. Parents should keep their opioids out of their teen’s kids’ reach because out of curiosity, they might take their parent’s opioids.
Those who get addicted to mild opioids switch to heroin to get the higher effects. The heroine is inexpensive and easily available as compared to other illegal prescription-grade opioids. So those who make the switch can’t get over their addiction without proper treatment.
What Is Opioid Addiction?
A chronic medical condition that imparts prominent changes to your brain is known as opioid addiction. Fortunately, early treatment interventions can help you to prevent the health disorders linked with opioid addiction.
It demands a strong commitment and willpower to avoid drug abuse. Also, a strong cycle of detox can help you to avoid relapse. The treatment for opioid addiction may seem to be long-term, but few medications and counseling can impart a major improvement in the health condition. Most people are addicted to heroin, and its treatment is similar to prescription drug addiction.
The Opiate Epidemic
For the past few years, the US has been found amid opiate addiction. You might have got the chance to watch the stories of the drug crisis. It has been estimated that in 2017 almost 68 % of individuals in the USA are involved in opioid overdose, and the number is increasing with every passing year.
Short Term Effects Of Opioids
Opioids hinder the pain receptors and effectively reduce the pain. They also develop the feeling of drowsiness, relaxation, and euphoria.
The opioids abusers physically have small pupils, which are difficult to hide. The physical or psychological effects of the opioids last for a specific period of time-based upon the type of opiate used. For instance, the effect of heroin lasts for 15-30 minutes. Morphine produces an intense effect for 4-6 hours. While some of the drugs remain in the body for a much longer time.
Why Is It So Difficult To Beat Opiate Addiction?
Knowing that it’s difficult to beat the drug addiction makes a person hopeless and stressed. Some factors are associated with the reward system of the brain. The triggering factors like stress, anger, and loneliness compel a person to use opioids. When a person continues to use opiates, the brain calms down. The individual gets relief from the triggers.
Most of the opioids are prescribed by physicians for medical purposes, but the patient overlooks their use and becomes addicted. If your friends or relatives are dealing with opioid addiction, initially, you may not feel any change. But once the person stops its use, the withdrawal symptoms become prominent. This is the reason that many people consider it a challenge to stop using opiates.
How Do You Know If You Are Suffering From Opiate Addiction?
There isn’t any specific lab test or blood test that helps you determine the addiction; instead, distinctive behavioral changes are the prominent indicators. If you spend most of your time getting the opioids from anywhere, using them, and then recovering from their effects, you are probably addicted to it.
Additionally, behaving in the way you are in danger, neglecting your social values, and experiencing tough times in your relationships are all because of opioid addiction.
Symptoms Associated With Opiate Addiction
Here are some of the most common signs and symptoms of opioid addiction
- Desire to increase the amount of drug to achieve the similar effect
- Putting a lot of effort to get, use and recover from opioids
- Trying unsuccessfully to quit opioid use.
- Ignoring the negative consequences of the opioids intake
- Visiting more than one physician for a prescription
- Running out of prescription medicines before time.
- Using opioids via crushing, snorting, and injecting
- Experiencing withdrawal effects when their use is stopped immediately
- Neglecting family, office work, and other responsibilities
- Purchasing opioids on the street
Opiate withdrawal
When people stop the intake of opioids, eventually, they experience some of the withdrawal symptoms. Some of the common symptoms are
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Sweating
- Joint or muscle pain
- Anxiety
Some symptoms may last for 7 to 10 days, while others stay for several months. Unluckily, the effects may become more severe if people immediately continue to take the drug of abuse for relief. Medical detox is the most effective and easy method to start opioid addiction treatment.
Opiate Addiction Treatment
Addiction treatment therapy is core to get relief from opioid abuse. People must have to learn to adapt to their lives without opioids and know the cause of addiction. They should also get support from rehab to avoid relapse. The support from family, friends, and therapists helps them to stay sober.
Rehabs are the safest option to deal with opioid addiction. The experienced clinical staff and professional counselors help you to combat your opioid addiction. They also make specific efforts to meet your specific needs.
1. Drug detox
Drug detox is the process of staying away from the drug until it is completely removed from the bloodstream. Alternatively, it involves abstinence from alcohol use so that a person feels completely normal. During the drug detox, a person may go through withdrawal symptoms.
The detoxification process may take some days to several weeks. The length of the time differs from person to person. But usually, the process of detox lasts for 7 to 14 days. Withdrawal or detox side effects may also occur, such as hallucinations, difficulty sleeping, increased heart rate, or tremors. Moreover, if the patient abruptly tries to quit the drug use, many physical and psychological symptoms also appear.
Although the detox process helps to overcome the drug addiction, it is not a permanent treatment. There are high chances that a person returns to the old habits of drug abuse. So you must seek help from the additional therapies.
2. Counseling for opioid addiction treatment
The central focus of opioid addiction treatment is counseling. Through the assistance of professionals and family members, the abuser can select to partake in various types of counseling, such as
- Group counseling
- One-on-one counseling
- Family counseling
Counseling is highly beneficial for getting long-lasting treatment goals. It helps the patients to know about the type of addiction, its effects on their bodily functions, and their behaviors. Through counseling, people determine why they were dragged to addiction? What triggered them to this damaging path? In this way, they can make long-term plans which help them to live a healthy life.
The counseling also helps patients understand better ways to cope with the stress and deal with the losses in life. The individuals can also make the ways towards their progress and reap great benefits. The combination of a healthy diet with a workout delivers the results for weight loss. However, coupling counseling with medication-assisted treatment is paramount to success.
3. Medication-assisted treatment
This is another approach that allows the patient to deal with opioid addiction. The combination of behavioral counseling with medication is highly effective. This is not only related to the medication intake, but the individualized custom patient care under the supervision of medical professionals is also included in it. They address the withdrawal symptoms of opioid addict individuals.
Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is a highly researched treatment program specified to treat opioid addiction withdrawal symptoms. The research of 50 years suggests that MMT is a highly recognized treatment program. Individuals from different backgrounds and environments follow it.
4. Inpatient treatment program
Such treatment programs allow the opiate addict individuals to receive treatment in the area free from distractions and temptations. It is an individualized treatment plan that helps an individual to deal with the physical and psychological effects of opiates. The treatment plan usually includes behavioral therapy and a medication-assisted treatment program.
Inpatient treatment may include residential therapy where individuals live in an area where they can get long-term care for opiate addiction. The treatment may last for 6 months or more.
5. Outpatient treatment program
If you are an opiate addict, but you can maintain your stable condition, outpatient treatment is the best option for you. This treatment program offers a wide range of treatments like partial hospitalization programs and intensive outpatient services. The medical care and the psychiatric services provide the medical care at the proper time.
The treatment options may be rigid or flexible, but the outpatient treatment program is geared up with flexibility. It allows you to subsequently handle the drug use disorder by continuing the routine activities. You must evaluate the mental or medical health and choose the type of care that fits you.
Our different treatment programs helps you to get rid of the physical symptoms arising from opiate addiction. Our addiction treatment services relating to addiction therapy and addiction treatment programs in Prescott AZ include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Holistic Therapy Program
Intensive Outpatient Rehab Program
Medication-Assisted Treatment Program
Mental Health Treatment
Outpatient Treatment Programs
Partial Hospitalization Program
Vocational Development Program
How Outpatient Treatment Works?
This type of treatment includes the scheduled visits to the doctor. You live in the home and continue your office work. You would have huge independence to deal with the stressors of life.
The treatment at outpatient treatment may last from some days to several years. Intensive outpatient treatments are subjected for almost one month. However, if the treatment program requires multiple sessions, typically, it takes 3 to 9 months.
How to determine if you are a good candidate for outpatient treatment
- You are emotionally or physically stable.
- Don’t require intensive care for addiction treatment.
- You like to live in a sober house environment.
- You are committed to yourself for the recovery process.
- Being in the home doesn’t trigger your cravings.
6. After-care
There are 80 percent chances of relapse from the drug and alcohol addiction treatment. An after-care treatment plan at the time of discharge from the hospital is important for treating any kind of chronic disorder like heart failure, asthma, or drug addiction. The after-care planning includes
- Proper understanding of the medical condition
- Determination of potential barriers for effective treatment
- A realistic approach to a self-care plan
There are different kinds of after-care programs that help maintain accountability and ensure proper acute care to the patient. For instance
Sober Living Homes
One of the most vulnerable periods for an individual in recovery is the rehab center’s transference to the community. Sober living homes provide us a stable living environment where the patients can practice their skills. Mandatory house meetings and regular drug screening usually take place at such homes.
Alumni Programs:
Many rehab centers offer the facility of alumni organizations for their patients. These organizations help them stay in contact with their treatment team and develop a strong bond. The lifelong connection with alumni organizations can motivate them to continue their recovery journey.
Ongoing therapy:
For The patients undergoing drug rehab, ongoing therapy is of utmost importance. It focuses on the healing of the body by avoiding the stresses of everyday life. After the inpatient program, the medical experts recommend you move towards the more flexible ongoing therapy at the outpatient treatment center.
7. Online counseling:
With the advancement in technology, teletherapy services online counseling has become a more common treatment method. Previously, addiction treatment was only limited to in-person meetings, but now, with the availability of a reliable internet connection, you can get treated anywhere, anytime.
Telehealth addresses different mental and physical health issues, especially substance use disorder. The most emerging form of telehealth treatment options are
- Motivation text messages,
- Text appointment reminders
- Video-based therapy
- Mobile recovery apps for the treatment
- Recovery support chats
Telehealth offers you the convenience of the treatment without any hassle. You can attend the treatment without leaving your home. Moreover, the flexibility in time and the reasonable cost are also the huge benefits of online counseling or telehealth.
8. Opiate rehabilitation
The opiate rehab process involves three steps.
- Admission assessment: once you plan to enroll yourself in any program, the evaluation team will carry out psychiatric or medical tests to know the extend of addiction. They will also access the co-occurring medical health condition.
- Medical detoxification: this step effectively eliminates the toxins from the body and cleanses out the opiates from your system. As opiate detoxification is highly uncomfortable, so the patients should choose to carry out their detox under medical supervision.
- Rehabilitation: each rehabilitation center offers a unique treatment plan according to the needs of the drug addict. These include inpatient or outpatient care, group therapies, individual counseling, or other recreational therapies.
Advantages Of Seeking Treatment From An Opiate Drug Rehab Treatment Center
The support from the opiate addiction clinics helps you to achieve your certain recovery goals. The treatment programs allow you to
- Enjoy a stable life with your friends and family.
- Reconnect with your work and school
- Understand the healthy coping skills that help you to avoid opioids misuse.
Opiate Addiction Treatment Avoid The Risks.
Seeking opiate addiction treatment helps you to get relief from the negative impacts of the substance of abuse on the body and mind. Usually, opiates can cause the following symptoms.
- Confusion or Lack of concentration
- Dry mouth
- Tiredness and weakness
- Muscle stiffness
- Drowsiness
With the treatment at the opiate addiction treatment center, the patient can reduce the risk of a drug overdose.
The Length Of Time Required For Treatment Of An Opioid Addiction
The length of the time in rehab for the treatment of opioid addiction varies from individual to individual. The doctors, family members, and insurers design the most suitable plan for you. Similar to blood pressure and diabetes, drug addiction is also referred to as a chronic disease. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and learning effective ways to manage the symptoms is important to regain your sobriety.
It’s especially important that you actively engage yourself for at least 18 months initially. During this period, you can minimize the risk of relapse and ensure complete recovery.
In Conclusion
Do you have the desire to live a life free from opioid addiction? Consider different treatment options for opiate addiction. Choose the one which fits your needs. The recovery from the addiction isn’t easy; in fact, you need the right amount to help professionals.
Don’t hesitate and start taking part in treatment programs for opioid addiction. These will help you to get the escape from the harmful cycle.