| When you're addicted physically to any drug, like pain | | | | counseling; usually, the patient is medically detoxified |
| killers or alcohol, etc., it's because you've suppressed or | | | | before any treatment approach or counseling is begun. |
| shut down your body's production of endorphins, which | | | | Often people addicted to pain killers are plagued with |
| are natural opiate pain killers; when this happens you | | | | different symptoms to different degrees; many times |
| start craving the drug that you replaced the endorphins | | | | they don't associate the symptoms they're having with |
| with whether it's alcohol, any of a number of other | | | | the drug. Opioids, used as the doctor has prescribed, |
| drugs or pain killers. Many other drugs can interact with | | | | are supposedly not dangerous according to some |
| opioids and cause a variety of symptoms; this can be | | | | well-established medical groups; but if that's the case, |
| fatal. Addiction to pain killers is a rapidly escalating | | | | why are so many people addicted to them? There is |
| problem today, especially the abuse of opioid pain | | | | a difference: An opioid-dependent pain patient has |
| killers. | | | | improved function with the use of the drug while an |
| Less commonly known side effects and adverse | | | | opioid-addicted patient does not have improvement. |
| reactions of pain killers are: confusion, hallucinations, | | | | There are many side effects and adverse reactions |
| delirium, hives, itching, hypothermia, bradycardia (slow | | | | that can occur with the use of opioids used as pain |
| heart rate), tachycardia (rapid heart rate), raised | | | | killers. More than 415,000 people received treatment |
| intracranial pressure, ureteric or biliary spasm, muscle | | | | for pain killer abuse or addiction last year. Chronic pain |
| rigidity and flushing to name a few. Patients can | | | | affects one out of three or so adults and millions of |
| innocently start taking pain killers, for example, after a | | | | people suffer from severe disabling pain. |
| moderate injury or because of a severe injury in an | | | | Many insurance plans cover inpatient detoxification, |
| automobile accident, fall or for post surgical pain. And | | | | check your plan if you have insurance. It's important to |
| more than ten percent of high school seniors have | | | | go through rehab following your detox stay; make it a |
| started taking Vicodin for reasons other than reducing | | | | big part of your plan of action. Taking the time to |
| pain to complicate matters. | | | | spend in a treatment center, detoxing, is of the utmost |
| Opioids should never be taken when drinking alcohol | | | | priority. Get started now. |
| (some people still don't realize it's also a drug) or when | | | | If you don't have insurance, check with your local |
| alcohol may still be present in the system. There are a | | | | mental health agencies to see what is available that's |
| number of effective treatment options to treat pain | | | | free. There are many free programs to help people |
| killer addiction to prescription opioids and to help | | | | with pain killer addictions. Find out from your local health |
| manage the severe withdrawal symptoms that can | | | | professionals and agencies where the closest and |
| sometimes accompany sudden stopping of pain killers | | | | best pain killer addiction treatment centers are. It's |
| or other drugs. Treatment options for pain killer | | | | important to get help and not to try getting off pain |
| addiction include: medications, like methadone and | | | | killers on your own. |
| LAAM (levo-alpha-acetyl-methadol), and behavioral | | | | |