Help for Addicts Living Opioid dependent HOME PAGE
Time 2021-11-18 07:12:53Web Name: Help for Addicts Living Opioid dependent HOME PAGE
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Informational Recovery Resource :
For Both Those Who Are Suffering From Opioid Addiction
For The Loved Ones Of Those Who Are
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.opiate /opiate / (opee-it)
1. a drug that contains opium orderivatives of opium.
i.e.Opium, Codeine, Morphine
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opioid /opioid/
(o'pee-oid) noun.
1. Opioids are a class of drugs that include both natural and synthetic substances.
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*The natural opioids (referred to as opiates) include opium and morphine.
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heroin, is the most abused opioid, is synthesized from opium.
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Other synthetics:
commonly prescribed for pain,and alsoas cough suppressants, or as anti-diarrhea agents, some include:
hydrocodone (Lortab,Vicodin)
oxycodone (OxyContin)
meperidine
(Demerol)
fentanyl
(Sublimaze)
hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
Methadone (Dolophine)
*Many others as well not listed
What Its Like To Be:
addicted.
For many years, we as a society have assumed that those who become addicted to drugs or alcohol do so out of character weakness and / or moral depravity. While choices and judgment make up a part of why some people become addicted, it does not account for all people. Many people who initially are treated with prescription painkillers for legitimate pain , soon only to discover they have exchanged a pain problem for a full-blown and life threateningaddiction.
Once addiction sets in certain behaviors quickly develop to sustain the need for more and more drugs to get the same effect, and ultimately just to stop the agony of withdrawal symptoms. The rest of the world sees these behaviors of survival as cunning, devious, ugly, covert, and very dangerous and destructive.
Opiate addiction is a brain disease characterized by increased tolerance leading to more and more substance needed to achieve the same effect. Also, there is a continued use of the substance despite negative consequences, which is baffling to the non-drug user.
The opioid-addicted individual experiences unpredictable mood swings, exhibits manipulative behaviors, lying, inability to keep appointments, neglecting important relationships and responsibilities. Often bills go unpaid in favor of buying drugs, which leads to utilities being turned off, families being angry and frustrated and even bankruptcy.
Addiction to opioids is a cycle of highs and lows. The highs begin with feelings of extreme euphoria and comfort unlike any feeling that can be obtained naturally. In the beginning the lows are just a return to normal. This iswhy heroin and other opioids are often called a "trap" -- it appears to have no down side, when someone takes the opioids, they feel only euphoric and content and they do not suffer any negative side effects (...yet).
However, this does not last for long. Soon they notice the level of euphoria is not as great as it was the first few times and they start to feel less than normal without the drug. This condition escalates and eventually life becomes so unbearable without the opioid; they take it whenever possible. Then quickly, due to tolerance, all thosewonderful feelings euphoria diminish over time. Now the opioid only causes feelings of"normalcy" and no longer euphoria.
The process has completely reversed itself, before they felt normal without the drug now they only feel normal with it. But it doesnt end there. As time goes on they need more and more to feel normal and to prevent withdrawal. Eventually a depression starts to take over even while taking the drugs, no matter how much they take, signs of depression are still there. They are just medicating themselves to lower the depression. To stop using would mean being overwhelmed with depression and feelings of despair not to mention the extreme physical effects of withdrawal.
This is why it is so hard to quit. They are trying to do the hardest thing they have ever done in their lives, while feeling worse then they ever had. The pain is BOTH mental and physical. Its very difficult to discuss feelings and review painful circumstances that led to addiction while fighting depression, the intense physical withdrawal symptoms, and cravings.
Only 5% report remaining drug free after quitting "cold turkey". The other 95% need some kind of treatment. Bupenorphine and Methadone are both treatments thatcan eliminate these symptoms of withdrawal and allow an addicted person to address the root problem without the distraction of withdrawal.
The root problem (the reason for drug use in the first place) must be addressed if they are to remain abstinent.
How then does addiction to opiates happen in the first place?. It may occur as a result of treatment for chronic pain, peer pressure, self medication for an undiagnosed psychiatric disorder or post traumatic stress disorder such as rape, incest, abortion, poor judgment, the loss of some-1 very important such as a child, parent, or spouse. There may be a unknown genetic predisposition to addiction.
One thing for certain is that opiate addiction is unintentional.
The important thing to note is that it can happen to anyone.
The emotional attraction can begin almost instantly upon using opioids. Many young people think they are safe because they arent using heroin or putting a needle in their arm. They use prescription painkillers, which they believe, are safe because they are pharmaceutical. "If they are FDA approved, they must be safe." This just is not the case. Misusing these pharmaceuticals can be just as deadly as heroin. Furthermore, buying Oxycontin, Vicodin, Percocet, etc., on the street is very expensive. Soon it becomes cheaper to maintain an expensive addiction by switching to heroin, which is about 5-10 times cheaper on the street.
Why is it so difficult to stop?
Once addicted, the patient continually seeks to prevent the withdrawal symptoms, others seek the euphoria they felt in the beginning before they developed a tolerance but they are never able to achieve it again. Some overdose and die trying. Others are self medicating by constantly taking the opioid only to prevent the withdrawal symptoms.
Some will do almost anything to prevent withdrawal. The symptoms of withdrawal are described by thousands of patients as "The fluX's 100." Somesymptoms include: prolonged nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, sweats, painful goose bumps, extreme panic feelings anxiety, uncontrolled leg movement, dilated pupils, irritability, depression, insomnia for several days on end, anger, stomach pain, cramps, muscle and joint pain, tremors, nasal congestion, tearing eyes, and feeling like they are going to die. Some patients have reported that they keep toughing it out, but even after two weeks or more they just cant fight the depression any longer, and just need an escape from quitting. They know that just a pill or a little white powder will take away the agony, and they feel compelled to do it.
Denial is such an imposing part of the illness that it is difficult, even impossible to getthru to the addicted person with what the rest of us know to be simple common sense. The addicted person is aware they have a problem; they deny that they have lost control of it. The only time they think about the gravity of their problem is when they are nearing withdrawal. At that time their focus narrows to just getting the substance to prevent the withdrawal. Once they take the substance, they feel they have no problem, or it just doesnt seem that bad anymore. This cycle doesnt leave much time for a rational review of ones life.
Often it is said someone must hit rock bottom before they ready to stop and seek help. A devastating shock is often what it takes before someone ascends from the cloud of denial. Research has shown hitting "rock bottom" is not entirely necessary. Patients can benefit from treatment at any time. Patients incarcerated and forced into treatment unwillingly have still benefited.
What is consistent is that the SOONER treatment begins,
the BETTER are the chances OUTCOME of surviving this addiction.
source: www.suboxone.com
** Important Videos for Loved Ones Family
to Help Understand Opiate Addiction **
Heroin and other opioids are ravaging communities across America.
Deaths from heroin increased 248% between 2010 and 2014.
More Americans die from drug overdoses than in car crashes, and this increasing trend is driven by Rx painkillers.
The time to take action against this epidemic is NOW .
ABC News 2O/2O Presents:
The New Face of Heroin Addiction
Opioid addiction isn't a moral or mental weakness. It's a chronic medical condition that results from changes in the brain in susceptible people. Once narcotic addiction has developed, escaping the cycle of detox and relapse is typically a long-term process.
Breaking free of prescription drug abuse takes much more than willpower. Fortunately, medications and counseling can improve the chances of success. Newer drugs like buprenorphine (sometimes combined with naloxone, a combination called Suboxone), naltrexone (given by mouth as the drug Revia or by a monthly injection called Vivitrol), and traditional therapies like methadone along with12-step programs are helping thousands of people stay on the road to recovery.
Physical Dependence and DetoxificationNarcotic addiction leads to real changes in certain areas of the brain. Prescription drug addiction alters the circuits responsible for mood and "reward" behaviors.
Research regarding factors that influence opiate abuse click on pdf document below
factors_opiate_abuse.pdfFile Size: 145 kbFile Type: pdfDownload File
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Opioid dependence is a chronic brain disease caused by complex, long-term, changes in the structure and functioning of the brain.
The significant changes to brain "circuitry" common to opioid dependence have led physicians to classify it as a disease that interferes with normal brain functioning.
Most brain diseases are linked to a distinct behavioral symptomfor example, Alzheimer's disease is linked to memory loss, schizophrenia is linked to mood changes, and opioid dependence is linked to compulsive opioid use.
While a portion of opioid-dependent patients may have elected to misuse opioids at some point, this does not mean their condition is not the result of disease. Consider the following:
#1. Many chronic diseases either begin or are made worse by (or both) patients' choicesfor example, decisions about diet and exercise directly contribute to such common illnesses as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.
#2. Regardless of whether patients' opioid use may have begun willingly, once opioid dependence takes hold, drug use is no longer voluntary.
#3. Although opioid dependence is preceded by repeated use of higher and higher doses of opioids, opioid use is actually only one of several factors that causes this diseaseopioid use will not "become" opioid dependence all by itself.
Compulsive drug use
Opioid cravings and opioid withdrawal
are both very powerful drivers of drug seeking and use. However, only opioid cravings are tied to compulsive
drug seeking and use. Furthermore, the intensity of cravings can drive compulsive opioid use even though a person is not physically dependenton opioids and is not experiencing any withdrawal symptoms.
Cravings also seem to be one of the last symptoms of opioid dependence to go away completely. This persistence is most likely a reflection of the time needed for the brain to heal itself and restore some degree of pre-disease normalcy. Opioid cravings can occur months and even years after a patient's last opioid use. Their suddenness and intensity can put patients' at risk for relapse.
Why Opioid Dependence Affects Behavior
In addition to the reward circuit,
the brain has other ways to help ensure its survival.For instance, in response to a threat, survival is always the brain's No.1 priority. In a crisis, certain sections of the brain "take over." This is the origin of the "fight versus flight" response as well as the drives for sex and food, among other things.
The behavioral changes seen with opioid dependence may be explained by the result of a combination of different influences.
One of these factors may be the brain's "belief" that opioids are related to survival. Another point to take into account is that, by the time a person develops opioid dependence, his or her brain can no longer function normally without opioids.
Under these circumstances, the motivation to obtain opioids comes from 3 places: *Physical pain and discomfort caused by withdrawal symptoms. *Increasing anxiety due to powerful, unsatisfied opioid cravings. *Stress resulting from the brain's fear that the current lack of opioids presents a threat to its survival.
Regarding this last point, even though, logically, a person may know that opioids are not essential for life, as long as those parts of the brain in charge of survival behavior still believe opioids are necessary, they may override "higher reasoning."
Furthermore, to an opioid-dependent brain, not having enough opioids to satisfy cravings or suppress withdrawal is comparable to not having enough food to satisfy hunger.
The need to obtain opioids can become more important than that person's safety because opioid-dependence can impair the mechanism by which information from certain areas of the brainnamely, those involved with judgment and cautionis received. The brain responds by taking
whatever steps are necessary to see
that its opioid "hunger" is met, which
usually meanspursuing opioids with all
the drive of a basic instinct.
Source: www.suboxone.com
ENDORPHINSOPIATES:
Effects On The Human Brain
In 1972, brain researchers from Johns Hopkins University made a puzzling discovery that would illuminate scientists' understandingof addiction.
They found that the human brain's neurons had specific receptor sites for opiate drugs: opium, heroin, codeine and morphine.
But then there was the obvious question:
Why would nature put in our brains a receptor for a plant?
After all, humans beings didn't evolve over millions of years eating opium or shooting heroin. The scientists reasoned there must be some other function for these receptors sites. They soon figured out that the active ingredient in all these opiates - morphine - had a chemical structure similar to endorphins, a class of chemicals present in the
brain . Endorphins are feel-good chemicals naturally-manufactured in the brain when the body experiences pain or stress. They are called the natural opiates of the body.
Endorphins flood the space between nerve cells and usually inhibit neurons from firing, thus creating an analgesic effect. On a lower level they can excite neurons as well. When endorphins do their work, the organism feels good, high, or euphoric, and feels relief from pain [analgesia]. Logically, endorphin levels go up when a person exercises, goes into labor, or is stressed out. Although they seem to be triggered by stress, endorphins can do more than relieve pain, they actually make us feel good.
Like an evil twin, the morphine molecule locks onto the endorphin-receptor sites on nerve endings in the brain and begins the succession of events that leads to euphoria or analgesia.
This imposter is more powerful than the body's own endorphins because the organism can actually control how much of the feel-good chemical hits the brain. Since we are all pleasure-seeking organisms, the motivation to self-administer such a drug is easy to understand.
The drawback, of course, is addiction.
source: pbs.com
.
Obama administration
Prescription drug abuse is the Nations fastest-growing drug problem. While there has been a marked decrease in the use of some illegal drugs like cocaine, data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) show that nearly one-third of people aged 12 and over who used drugs for the first time in 2009 began by using a prescription drug non-medically. The same survey found that over 70 percent of people who abused prescription pain relievers got them from friends or relatives, while approximately 5 percent got them from a drug dealer or from the Internet.
Additionally, the latest Monitoring the Future studythe Nations largest survey of drug use among young peopleshowed that prescription drugs are the second most abused category of drugs after marijuana. In our military, illicit drug use increased from 5 percent to 12 percent among active duty service members over a three-year period from 2005 to 2008, primarily attributed to prescription drug abuse.
Although a number of classes of prescription drugs are currently being abused, this action plan primarily focuses on the growing and often deadly problem of prescription opioid abuse. The number of prescriptions filled for opioid pain relieverssome of the most powerful medications availablehas increased dramatically in recent years.
From 1997 to 2007, the milligram per person use of prescription opioids in the U.S. increased from 74 milligrams to 369 milligrams, an increase of 402 percent. In 2000, retail pharmacies dispensed 174 million prescriptions for opioids; by 2009, 257 million prescriptions were dispensed, an increase of 48 percent.
Further, opiate overdoses, once almost always due to heroin use, are now increasingly due to abuse of prescription painkillers.
These data offer a compelling description of the extent to which the prescription drug abuse problem in America has grown over the last decade, and should serve to highlight the critical role parents, patients, healthcare providers, and manufacturers play in preventing prescription drug abuse.
These realities demand action, but any policy response must be approached thoughtfully, while acknowledging budgetary constraints at the state and Federal levels. The potent medications science has developed have great potential for relieving suffering, as well as great potential for abuse. There are many examples: acute medical pain treatment and humane hospice care for cancer patients would be impossible without prescription opioids; benzodiazepines are the bridge for many people with serious anxiety disorders to begin the process of overcom- ing their fears; and stimulants have a range of valuable uses across medical fields.
Accordingly, any policy in this area must strike a balance between our desireto minimize abuse of prescription drugs and the need to ensure access for their legitimate use. Further, expanding effective drug abuse treatment is critical to reducing prescription drug abuse, as only a small fraction of drug users are currently undergoing treatment.
This RXDrug Abuse Prevention Plan 'expands upon the Administrations National Drug Control Strategy and includes action in four major areas to reduce prescription drug abuse: education, monitoring, proper disposal, and enforcement.
1.) Education is critical for the public and for healthcare providers to increase awareness about the dangers of prescription drug abuse, and about ways to appropriately dispense, store, and dispose of controlled substance medications.
2.) Enhancement and increased utilization of prescription drug monitoring programs will help to identify doctor shoppers and detect therapeutic duplication and drug-drug interactions.
3.) The development of consumer-friendly and environmentally responsible prescription drug disposal programs may help to limit the diversion of drugs, as most non-medical users appear to be getting the drugs from family and friends.
4.) It is important to provide law enforcement agencies with support and the tools they need to expand their efforts to shut down pill mills and to stop doctor shoppers who contribute to prescription drug trafficking.
* To Read The Official II-Page Document
CLICK ON LINK BELOW (PDF FORMAT)
Epidemic: Americas RX Abuse Crisis 2011.pdfFile Size: 313 kbFile Type: pdfDownload File
addiction
ARE YOU ADDICTED TO RX PAINKILLERS AND/OR HEROIN?
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HAS IT BEEN YEARS AND YOU ARE
T I R E D OF THIS NIGHTMARE?
DO YOU WORK AND INPATIENT ISOUT OF THE QUESTION?
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DO YOU DREAM OF BEING
'NORMAL' AGAIN?
*
~HELP IS AVAILABLE~
YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
IF YOU NEED HELP FINDING A
SUBOXONE OR METHADONE
CLINIC IN YOUR AREA OR
IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY
IN A PROGRAM NOW AND WANT TO KNOW YOUR RIGHTS / LAWS THAT OTP PROGRAMS
MUST COMPLY WITH EMAIL ME AT:
KDSLATTERY.1@GMAIL.COM
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