What Medications Are Used To Treat Opiate Addiction

 

There is no doubt that drug abuse is a serious problem in society. The scourge has split families, let to millions of deaths and contributed to an increase in different types of crimes. What is ironical about drug abuse is that some of the abused drugs are meant to help relieve pain in patients, but people use it to get high instead, hence the harmful effects. Opioids, for instance, are a group of pain medication that can be highly addictive if abused. There are several opiate addiction treatment centers across the country, and they are all experiencing considerable success. During treatment, certain medications are used to counter the effects of withdrawal, act as substitutes for opiates, suppress cravings and help treat opiate addiction.

Medications Used for Opiate Addiction Treatment

i) Methadone

This is the most popular medication for treating opiate addiction. It is a full opioid agonist. While methadone may have never been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the drug has proven to be very effective with minimal side effects. It is normally given to patients in various forms, including; liquid concentrate, solution, powder or tablet form. Dosage normally depends on the level of addiction. Methadone is basically a synthetic opioid, which acts by suppressing opioid craving as well as withdrawal symptoms.

ii) LAAM

This is also a full opioid agonist that helps to suppress withdrawal symptoms as well as eliminate opioid craving. However, the use of LAAM to treat opiate addiction has reduced significantly over the years. This is because some patients who used LAAM experienced cardiac arrhythmia. Usage of the drug reduced further in the year 2001. Ironically, the FDA approved LAAM for use in opiate addiction treatment in the year 1993. Available as an oral solution, the dose of synthetic opioid needed to treat opiate addiction depends on the patient's level of tolerance for short-acting opioids.

It is important to note that the medication used for opiate addiction treatment are normally eliminated by the body's excretory system. Enzymes in the liver are largely responsible for metabolizing this synthetic opioid, but there are also enzymes in the intestines that help with metabolism and removal of the metabolites.

Opium Addiction Treatment

Opium is derived from the opium poppy. This plant contains both morphine and codeine which are highly addictive prescription only pain medications. One of the most insidious uses of Opium is to further refine it into heroin, one of the deadliest and most addictive drugs on the planet.

Other drugs derived from the opium plant include codeine, Demerol, hydrocodone, methadone, morphine, Lorcet, Oxycontin, Vicodin, and Vicoprofen. Collectively these drugs are refereed to as opiods or opiates.

Heroin aside, possibly the most dangerous thing about these drugs is how commonly they are prescribed for pain management purposes. This has led to an opiod addiction crisis across most of the world where otherwise law abiding citizens are being turned into addicts without ever realizing it. The danger of these drugs, oxycontin for example, is that a person who starts out using it for legitimate purposes will find themselves addicted to it without ever realizing it. Oftentimes the pain of an injury being treated with the drug is mistaken for pain caused by withdrawal after the underlying cause has been healed.

Opium, Opiates and Opioids

Treatment of opium, heroin and other opiates is rather difficult because it requires careful and methodical drug management. The danger of these drugs is that the body will have an extreme reaction to being taken off of them cold turkey. This reaction could lead to heart failure and death.

A typical treatment regimen will be too replace the opiod with something that is legal and less intense. For example a heroin user might be prescribed oxycontin. Then they will slowly be weened off the drug, or transitioned into even less addictive versions of it. This is a very slow treatment process, but one that is necessary. There are both in-patient and out-patient clinics available to help with the treatment of opium addiction.

Handling Opioid Addiction - Treatment Centers Near You

 

You have probably heard of people that get addicted to pain medications. These medications are not similar to Tylenol or ibuprofen as they are made of opioids. These drugs are derived from poppy seeds and are very effective at handling pain. The problem with using these drugs over time is that you can develop an addiction for them as well. Unlike more potent drugs such as heroin, crank, or LSD, this is simply a painkiller that gets overused. It can cause severe problems to your liver in the same way that Tylenol can, but its main problem is that once you are addicted, you needed to function. Here are some tips on finding treatment centers for opioids and morphine derivatives.

Codeine With Tylenol Is Addicting?

When you get a prescription for codeine, it actually has opiates and Tylenol mix together. The Tylenol is the majority part of the pills and is not addicting. However, when the opiates are used, or abuse, it can cause changes in your central nervous system, specifically stemming from your brain, in what are called mu receptors. Once these expect a certain level of stimulation, you will develop a craving for the opiates every single day. Therefore, it's not the Tylenol in codeine that you get addicted to, but the poppyseed derivatives or opiates.

Finding Treatment Centers For Opiate Addiction

The best way to stop using opiate-based medications is to find a treatment center that can help you out. If you are constantly in pain, and opiates are the only thing that can help you, you won't notice any problem until you stop. It is at that point that your body begins to react to the absence of opiate stimulation, causing the withdrawal symptoms to occur. That's what you need to find a treatment center for opiate addiction if you have been taking these painkillers for many years. This information should help you understand why opioids are addicting, and why you should get treatment for them as quickly as you can.