Opiate addiction is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society. Not only are people becoming addicted to popular street drugs such as heroin, but prescription opiates such as oxycontin or Percocet are also known to quickly cause addiction. Opiates release endorphins to activate the body’s pain receptor, relieving pain throughout the body. When endorphins are released throughout the body, opiates will give users a euphoric feeling or a sense of well being. It will nurse people’s anxiety and make it feel as if there problems go away. Well the problems do not go away. They only get worse. Prolonged use of opiates leads to the nerve cells in the brain, responsible for releasing endorphins, to stop functioning correctly. The body becomes physically dependent on opiates, and the only way to fix this problem is to stop the use of opiates. An addict has multiple choices when deciding to go through an opiate detox. One uses prescription opiates to slowly get the person of opiates. The other involves allowing a person to naturally detox from opiates.
When used properly under the care of a physician, opiates can be an effective way to relive severe pain. In many cases opiate, use can cause an immediate dependency as a result of the euphoric feeling. After a prolonged use of opiates, a physical and mental dependency will likely occur. When an addict decides to detox from an opiate, they will experience several withdrawal symptoms, varying in the severity of each case. The withdrawal symptoms include: anxiety, frustration, body tremors, body and muscle aches, restless leg syndrome, hot and cold flashes, nausea, insomnia, and diarrhea.
Individuals going through an opiate detox have the option of using medication to help ease the withdrawal symptoms. This method can be effective when properly monitored by a physician, but can leave a person dependent on a new medication. Drugs like suboxone and methadone have been used during a medical detox. These drugs are a type of synthetic opiate which also cause withdrawal symptoms. By using medication during withdrawal, a individual is only elongating the time it takes to withdraw from drugs. If an individual goes through a drug free detox, then they will not be dependent on any other medications and the rest of the drug rehabilitation can begin. In some severe cases medical withdrawal may be necessary, but in most cases, an individual can naturally detox and be completely free from the dependency of drugs in their life.
Opiate detox is the first step to drug rehabilitation. After prolonged usage of opiates, the chemicals in the brain are imbalanced, and may take some time to return to normal. Finding a rehabilitation program that handles the full extent of the addiction is very important. Support from family and friends will be helpful for the recovering addict to readjust to a life without drug use. Addiction does not have to control one’s life. Freedom from opiate use is one phone call away. |