Addiction to prescription opioids is particularly dangerous, the stats speak for themselves. Finding yourself or a loved one unable to break the hold of an opioid habit can lead to a spiraling down into the illicit world of heroin. What starts as pain relief morphing into an all-consuming and utterly brutal addiction.
Overprescribed, over marketed and underestimated. Prescription opioids have destroyed so many lives over the years and wreaked havoc across the nation. The pain they were meant to erase instead being spread to friends and family after addiction takes hold or an unintended overdose leads to an early death. Magnifying the anguish in that sense.
It’s gotten to the point that the words “opioid” and “epidemic” have been permanently linked. You can’t say one without the other. Why?
That last one arguably the most haunting because it means the tsunami of misery isn’t just relegated to the world of adults though.
It’s gotten so bad that in 2017 the Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency.
Prescription opioids require a prescription, that’s stating the obvious but for a reason. After a prescription has been filled and used, the prescribing doctor may no longer deem it necessary to write for more opioids, what happens then?
You’re already hooked but your supply is cut off.
Heroin, an illegal opioid, can be found on the street and will satisfy your cravings.
Per the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), for those who began abusing opioids in the 2000s, 75% said that their first opioid was a prescription drug and 80% of heroin users reported taking prescription opioids before heroin.
For all the grief they’ve wrought then, what is the point of prescribing opioids? We’ve lost it in the sea of distress caused by addiction but opioids, when used strictly as directed and for a short period of time, are remarkably effective at what they’re tasked with doing. Namely, that’s reducing moderate to severe pain.
You’ve no doubt heard of the most commonly prescribed ones, with brand names like OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet as well as morphine, codeine and the synthetic opioid, fentanyl. These drugs really do work wonders for a great many people.
NIDA summarizes well how they work and what makes them so addictive:
Opioids bind to and activate opioid receptors on cells located in many areas of the brain, spinal cord, and other organs in the body, especially those involved in feelings of pain and pleasure. When opioids attach to these receptors, they block pain signals sent from the brain to the body and release large amounts of dopamine throughout the body. This release can strongly reinforce the act of taking the drug, making the user want to repeat the experience.
To put it a bit differently, they are a central nervous system depressant that produce intense euphoria in addition to the relief of pain and that acts as a powerful reinforcement mechanism.
What is opioid addiction then?
At Thrive Treatment℠ we accept most private insurance plans and we are in network with Cigna, Optum, First Health, and Anthem Blue Cross. Additional payment options are available so don’t hesitate to give us a call so we can get you the help that you need.
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Addiction to prescription opioids is particularly dangerous, the stats speak for themselves.
Finding yourself or a loved one unable to break the hold of an opioid habit can lead to a spiraling down into the illicit world of heroin. What starts as pain relief morphing into an all-consuming and utterly brutal addiction.
Opioid use disorder, as it’s officially known, affects over 2.1 million people in the United States and the signs and symptoms of opioid addiction to keep an eye out for are as follows:
