Painkiller Addiction
by Bertil Hjert
Addiction to painkiller is a common problem, especially these
days. According to a study, above two million Americans every
year take painkillers illegally.
This is also confirmed by the National Household Survey on Drug
Abuse (NHSDA) in 2002. According to a recent research, people
also try to look for treatment for this addiction more than for
addiction to heroin. Shocking! This is due to the increasing
numbers of injury, accident & illness that ends up in chronic
pain & its treatment conducted by prescription narcotics. With
time, frequent use of this drug can actually result in
addiction.
The addiction to pain killer starts when initial dose of pain
killer becomes inadequate to ease pain. Here, higher doses are
prescribed. Once this cycle begins, a biological process is
initiated where the body gets physically addicted to the
substances used to ease pain. This indicates that it is
essential to maintain a base level of the drug inside the system
24x7 in order to stay away from destructive withdrawal symptoms
accompanied by the pain for which the pain killer was prescribed.
Here, the patient has to deal with the destructive addiction to
pain killers in addiction to severe pain that he is suffering
from.
If you want to get help for an addiction to painkillers, it is
important to treat both the pain as well as the addiction
simultaneously. Experts in this field have proved that
withdrawal from pain killers can be lethal if not taken care of
by a health care practitioner in a gradual & controlled way. In
earlier days, doctors used methadone to help withdrawal as its
effects on the body are less dramatic as compared to opiates.
However, this method of cure resulted in replacement of one
dependency with the other.
Today, scientists have come up with Buprenorphine. It is a
miracle drug that’s used to treat pain killer addiction. The
drug works towards providing total withdrawal from all types of
prescription drug use without the need to replace the old
addiction to the newer one. This treatment is widely used today.
Buprenorphine is an opiate derivative. It is similar to other
opiates in a way that it suppresses the withdrawal symptoms of
body as well as the craving for pain killers. However, the drug
is quite different in its chemical makeup in a way that it helps
in manageable & complete detox.
Addiction to prescription painkillers is a disease. This
practice has become very common these days all across the globe.
Most physicians prescribe painkillers such as Vicodin, Norco,
Oxycontin & Hydrocodone to treat pain. However, most patients
tend to continue these medicines & become physically &
emotionally dependant on the drug. The dependence of these drugs
often results in symptoms of withdrawal.
Once you get to know that you have become dependant on a certain
painkiller, you must seek a medical attention immediately or
consult a healthcare practitioner to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Most patients who get addicted to narcotic painkillers are
suggested a detoxification program.
One requires taking special care in following the instructions
provided by a medical practitioner carefully. The treatment
should be considered & followed seriously.
About the author
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