Opioid Addiction Treatment
In California
From codeine to fentanyl, opioids are used for a variety of reasons. When taken correctly, they can be effective pain relievers. However, you need to be cautious when using them, since they could send you into a downward spiral.
What Are Opioids?
Opioids are a class of drugs (both legal and illegal) that are used for pain relief. These substances come from the opium poppy. While some come directly from the plant, others are made by scientists in labs with the same chemical structure.
Most opioids are used to treat moderate to chronic pain. However, a couple of them can treat milder symptoms like diarrhea and coughing.
How Do Opioids Affect the Body?
Opioids attach themselves to opioid receptors that are on nerve cells in your brain and body. If you’re feeling any pain, you’ll feel a sense of calm and euphoria after you take opioids.
With opioids’ positive side effects come its negative ones as well. In addition to making you feel relaxed, opioids slow your heart rate and your breathing. They can also make you feel constipated, confused, nauseous, and drowsy.
As mentioned earlier, opioids can work well when you take them as prescribed. Unfortunately, even regular use can lead to dependence. This can ultimately lead to addiction, overdose, and death.
There are two categories of opioids: agonists and antagonists. Agonists attach to and activate receptors in the brain that produce feelings of happiness. Most opioids fall into the “agonist” category (i.e. heroin, oxycodone, fentanyl). On the other hand, antagonists attach to these same receptors, but they don’t activate them. Opioid antagonists like naloxone and naltrexone are used for blocking opioids and stopping overdoses.
TYPES OF OPIOIDS
There are three different types of opioids: natural opiates, semi-synthetic opioids, and fully synthetic opioids.
Natural opioids: These are alkaloids, or chemical compounds, that lie directly in opium poppy resin. They include codeine, morphine, and thebaine.
Semi-synthetic opioids: Semi-synthetic opioids are made from natural opiates and created in labs. These include heroin, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone.
Fully synthetic opioids: Fully synthetic are 100% manufactured and do not contain natural opiates. Examples of these are fentanyl, methadone, and pethidine.
Popular Opioids
Below are some of the most commonly used and prescription opioids. If you find that you have a dependence on one of these, you might need opioid addiction treatment.
Codeine
Codeine is one of the more mild opioids. It’s usually found in cough syrup. When abused, codeine is usually used to create a drug cocktail called “purple drank” or “lean.” This contains codeine cough syrup and hard candy or a soft drink.
Morphine
This opioid is used for mild to chronic pain, usually during labor or when you’re having a heart attack. Morphine is also highly prone to addiction.
Methadone
Many clinics provide methadone to people trying to recover from opioid addiction. Unfortunately, people can also get addicted to methadone.
Oxycodone
Also known as OxyContin, oxycodone is taken by mouth and comes in both controlled- and extended-release forms. Used to treat moderate to severe pain, its effects can last up to six hours. It’s one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S.
Hydrocodone
This is usually combined with acetaminophen to make Vicodin, which treats moderate to severe pain. This opioid is also highly abused.
Heroin
Of all opioids, it’s fair to say that this is the most well-known. Heroin is an illegal drug made from morphine, and it can be a white or brown powder or black tar. It’s normally injected, but it can also be snorted or smoked. In the last few years, dealers have been mixing fentanyl in with heroin, making for an incredibly potent drug.
Fentanyl
This is one of the most potent opioids, being 100 times stronger than morphine. It’s normally used to treat severe pain and patients who have cancer. It comes in several different forms, including a patch, injection, and lozenge. In 2016, fentanyl was the most common cause of overdose deaths in the U.S.
Buprenorphine
Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, meaning that it activates opioid receptors like a normal agonist, but not as much. This is used to treat mild and chronic pain, as well as opioid use disorder.
Suboxone
Suboxone is a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, and it is a form of opioid addiction treatment. It’s applied in the cheek or under the tongue.
What’s the Difference Between Opioids and Opiates?
People commonly confuse opiates and opioids. Although they come from the same plant, they are slightly different from each other.
“Opiates” was a more old-fashioned term for opioids, but in reality, opiates are the original name for drugs that come from opium. Nowadays, doctors use the term “opioid” to refer to all of these substances, whether they’re natural or synthetic. Natural opiates, like morphine and codeine, are different from synthetic opioids like heroin and fentanyl.
Signs and Symptoms of Opioid Addiction
Knowing the signs and symptoms of this disease can help you get opioid addiction treatment before it gets worse. Many of these are obvious, but some of them require close observation.
Signs of opioid addiction include:
- Poor hygiene
- Isolation from friends and family
- Taking more opioids than prescribed
- Secretive habits (i.e. stealing or lying about drug use)
- Uncontrollable cravings
- Building a tolerance to opioids
- Continuously taking opioids despite negative consequences
- “Doctor shopping” (visiting multiple doctors for opioid prescriptions)
Symptoms of opioid addiction include:
- Fatigue
- Weight loss
- Mood swings
- Nausea and vomiting
- Dizziness
- Hallucinations
THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC
Opioid addiction has become a huge problem in the U.S. over the last 30 years. Pharmaceutical companies in the late 1990s told the public that opioids were not addictive. As a result, doctors overprescribed these drugs to people who needed pain relief. Over time, these people misused opioids and made cheaper versions of them. Eventually, dealers sold opioids on the street. It eventually became clear that opioids are indeed addictive.
In 2017, more than 1.7 million people had some sort of opioid use disorder, and 652,000 people suffered from heroin addiction. We also know that about 21 to 29% of people misuse opioids that have been prescribed to them, and 8 to 12% of people develop an opioid use disorder.
The opioid epidemic has had a negative impact on our economic and social welfare, as well as our public health. Opioid abuse costs the U.S. more than $78 million a year, resulting from factors like addiction treatment and lost productivity.
HOW DO YOU TREAT AN OPIOID OVERDOSE?
Doctors, police officers, and firefighters can treat an opioid overdose with naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan. Although naloxone is an opioid, it has a positive effect on people suffering from an overdose. Caregivers may also have access to naloxone. There are programs in many U.S. cities that educate the public on how to prevent an opioid overdose.
Each day, 128 people in the U.S. die from an opioid overdose. The more we promote opioid addiction treatment and make others aware of the signs, the more we can help those who need it most.
Opioid Addiction Treatment at CNV Detox
Once you acknowledge that you’re suffering from opioid addiction, you need to get help. Look no further than CNV Detox in sunny Los Angeles, CA. We offer different levels of care that will help you transition to a life of sobriety and fulfillment.
Detox
You must detox from opioids so that your body no longer needs them to function. When you undergo medical detox, harmful toxins are removed from your body under the supervision of licensed clinicians. Sometimes you’ll go through painful withdrawal symptoms, but certain medications can make these easier.
Residential Treatment
After you finish detox, the next step might be residential or inpatient treatment. This will all depend on how severe your addiction is as well as your medical history. While you’re in inpatient opioid addiction treatment, you’ll receive care from professionals 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This mode of treatment is best for people who have a severe addiction to opioids.
Intensive Outpatient
This is the least strict form of opioid addiction treatment. You attend a facility for a few days a week for a few hours each day. You’ll be able to return home in the evening if you have a strong support network there.
Many of these above treatments also include therapy. This is an integral part of any treatment program. No matter what kind of opioid addiction treatment you need, we’ll be here to point you in the right direction.
Get Help Today
It’s not too late for you to enroll in opioid addiction treatment. CNV Detox can help rid you of your dependence on these substances. We are equipped with the skills to give you another lease on life. Contact us today for more information.
Take the Next Step
The path to recovery is only one step away. Begin your treatment at CNV Detox in Los Angeles, California as soon as the same day. For your convenience, we work 24/7. Our team is ready to help as soon as you reach out.