Opiate Addiction Treatment and Withdrawal

What Are Opiates?

Opiates are a subset of opioids that are naturally occurring and come from the opium poppy plant. Most opiates are considered to be scheduled narcotics by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, typically in classes I, II or III. They have been scheduled as controlled narcotics by the DEA because of their highly addictive properties. They are prescribed as pain relievers, cough suppressants, or are used in anesthetic procedures. This class of drugs is typically divided into three subcategories.

Categories of opiate medications:

• Naturally Occurring - drugs made from opium such as morphine
• Synthetic - manufactured drugs, which include Demerol and methadone
• Semi-Synthetic - these opiates come from a synthesis of natural compounds (plant) and other starting materials. These include heroin made from morphine.

All forms of opioids work on the nervous system by slowing down the messages sent between the cells and the body’s organs. Opiates can be taken orally, by wearing a patch, by sucking a lollipop, by snorting or by injection. Long-term use can permanently alter the brain and body’s neurons, making the addict vulnerable to relapse back into addiction without proper opiate addiction treatment.

Symptoms of Opiate Addiction

If you have an addiction to opiates you know that it is exhausting at the end of the day. You are keeping opiate withdrawal symptoms at bay by feeding your addiction. With addiction comes desperation to make sure you maintain opiates in your system. This will cause you to act in ways that compromise your morals and values.

Symptoms of opiate addiction include:

You know you have a problem with opiates. You have tried to stop many times without success. Recovery Connection can help you find the right drug rehab program to treat your opiate addiction, handle your opiate withdrawal symptoms and set your life back on a productive path. Call 800-993-3869 now and get help today. Stop the madness of opiate addiction.

Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms

There are differences between long-acting opiates and short-acting opiates and their corresponding withdrawal symptoms. The speed of onset of withdrawal is directly related to the half-life of the particular opiate or opioid that you are using, the duration and intensity of use, and the level of dosage most recently taken.

Major opiate withdrawal symptoms from short to intermediate acting opiates, peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose. Without proper medical care, dehydration can lead to seizures or convulsion. The good news is that an addict can usually complete opiate detox within 5 to 7 days.

Most common opiate withdrawal symptoms include:

Opiate withdrawal symptoms are extremely painful both physically and mentally. You don’t have to struggle with opiate detox alone. Medical support is out there for you. Medical drug detox programs will, under doctor supervision, administer medications for opiate addiction to relieve withdrawal symptoms. Call Recovery Connection now at 800-993-3869 to speak with an addition specialist about entering a medically supervised opiate addiction treatment center to detox comfortably.

Rapid Drug Detox Programs for Opiates

Rapid drug detox, otherwise known as Ultra Rapid Opiate Detoxification under anesthesia (UROD), is a procedure in which general anesthesia is used to rapidly detoxify the body from opiates such as fentanyl, hydrocodone, methadone, morphine, heroin, and OxyContin. The long-term success rates for UROD are poor.

Frequently, the patient will wake up from the anesthesia with severe discomfort and cravings, as well as physiological instability. Rapid drug detox programs alone are not conducive to long-term recovery. Detoxification does not treat drug dependence, but is just a preliminary and necessary step before treatment can begin. The American Society of Addiction Medicine does not consider traditional detoxification or UROD as a sole method for the treatment of drug dependence.

Opiate Addiction Treatment

Drug detox programs can help ease the discomfort of withdrawal, but also allow you to begin to recovery medically, mentally and spiritually. This stability is necessary if you want to achieve long-term recovery. Although the medications and therapies used to detoxify you from various drugs have considerable differences, the goal is the same:  To rid the body of the toxic substance and to begin to restore normal physiological processes in the body and brain. 

Opiate dependence and detox can be physically and emotionally distressing. Detox is recommended to handle opiate withdrawal symptoms, followed by opiate addiction treatment. As stated above, detox alone does not address the issues underlying addictive behavior. Opiate addiction treatment is necessary to help combat relapse. Drug rehab is the process that follows detoxification. Call us today at 800-993-3869 and eliminate opiate abuse from your life! Recovery Connection addiction specialists are available to answer your phone call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your convenience.

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Page Links

• OxyContin Addiction and Withdrawal
  OxyContin is a time-release form of oxycodone. It is designed for severe chronic pain, especially in cancer patients.

  Hydrocodone Addiction and Withdrawal
  Hydrocodone works on the pain and cough receptors in the brain as well as the lungs. Learn more about this Schedule II opiate.

  Heroin Addiction and Withdrawal
  Heroin is a Schedule I opiate that converts to morphine in the body. People believe if they take it in pill form, snort it or smoke it they will not develop an addiction. They are wrong.

  Codeine Addiction and Withdrawal
  

  Morphine Addiction and Withdrawal