When someone is badly injured, they can sometimes have long term chronic pain that can be hard to manage. Fentanyl is sometimes prescribed for pain management so that the person can live a more productive life. Unfortunately, Fentanyl addiction can happen and the drug is often abused by people who aren’t prescribed to take it – this is where methadone can help. This can lead to illness and even death. Understanding what Fentanyl does, how it should be taken and what can be done if you do become addicted to it is important.

What is Fentanyl & How It is Contributing to the Opioid Epidemic

Fentanyl is a pain medication that commonly prescribed by doctors for people who have had an accident or injury that has left them in intense pain. The pain that cancer patients experience is often treated with the medication, as well. It is taken as a lozenge, pill or even as a nasal spray for cancer patients. Individuals who need constant 24-hour pain management often use Fentanyl in the form of a pain patch or an injection. The pain patch releases the medication in small doses over extended periods of time so that there is constant pain relief provided to patients.

Fentanyl boosts chemical dopamine in the body which creates a euphoric feeling and promotes relaxation, to decrease the pain that someone feels. Unfortunately, the euphoric feeling that is created is sought after by those who are prescribed the medication and those who are not. Many people become addicted to the fact that the drug keeps them from feeling physical pain and to the euphoric mental state it puts them in. People who are addicted to other opioids often start taking Fentanyl because it is easy to access and is much stronger than heroin or other opioids found on the market today.

How Bad is Fentanyl Addiction & Withdrawal

Fentanyl addiction can be quite drastic. If you are battling pain on a regular basis, the intensity of the pain can feel quite dramatic when you stop using because you are not only feeling the pain for the first time in a long time, but your body is also feeling withdrawal symptoms. The symptoms can include insomnia, sweating, nausea, stomach cramping, muscle aches and agitation. Unlike most drugs, the withdrawal symptoms with Fentanyl can last for quite a while.

Many addicts battle the withdrawal symptoms that come from a Fentanyl addiction for two weeks to a month. When people try to overcome the addiction on their own, they cannot always handle the withdrawal symptoms they experience as they detox and end up relapsing. This can lead to an overdose because they make the mistake of using again to ease the pain that they feel. When they do the drugs again after not doing them for a long time, they end up overdosing because their body isn’t used to the drugs anymore.

How Methadone Can Help

Methadone prescription medication that can be taken to ease some of the symptoms that come along with detoxing from Fentanyl. It can be taken as a pill, powder or liquid and is designed to be taken for a short period of time. The great thing about methadone is that it can be taken through outpatient treatment programs. That means that you can take it while you still go about your daily life.

Methadone is great for addicts who have problems with relapsing because it minimizes the pain that they feel as they detox and helps them to not be able to get high if they do try to take any opioids while the methadone is in their system. Methadone is very affordably priced and readily available at just about any drug rehabilitation treatment center near you. It needs to be taken as directed and monitored if Methadone is going to be as effective as it can be. You should only take methadone from medical professionals to ensure that the right dosage is prescribed to you and so that you can slowly decrease the amounts that you take so that you can wean yourself from the drug in a safe manner.

Why You Should Consider Methadone Maintenance for Fentanyl Addiction

Many people are fearful to try methadone because they assume that it won’t help them and because they are fearful that they will become addicted to it in place of the Fentanyl. While addiction to methadone is possible, through proper monitoring and other forms of drug intervention treatment, you can use it as a great way to overcome an addiction to Fentanyl.

When you decide you’re ready to stop using Fentanyl, you need to go to see a psychiatrist, as well as take methadone to overcome the addiction. The methadone relieves physical symptoms of addiction that you feel, but you may still have mental issues that need to be addressed. Learning how to cope with the psychological side of an addiction is the key to success. You can learn how to handle triggers that you may feel throughout life and develop coping mechanisms for battling a relapse. You have to take control of your body and mind in order to be able to overcome an addiction to Fentanyl.

It’s important to realize that overcoming addiction of any kind is a process. Do not get overwhelmed and simply give up on your recovery. If you feel that a relapse may be in your future, seek help from outside sources to avoid it from taking place. You can go to an inpatient treatment program to get help for any addiction that you face. Inpatient treatment allows you to be secluded from not only the drugs but other factors in life that could lead to a relapse. Within the treatment program, you can take methadone to help minimize the withdrawal symptoms that you experience as you detox and get help from medical professionals. To learn how to cope with the stresses that come with overcoming drug addiction reach out (855) 976-2092.

Sources

The overprescription of opioids is a big problem in the USA. Drug overdoses killed 63,632 Americans in 2016 and around two-thirds of these deaths involved opiates.

So why are these drugs still being overprescribed to this day? This is a highly complex problem with a lot of different factors at play.

An Authoritative Source

One of the big factors in the prescription opioids problem is that people are prescribed these drugs from an authoritative source. People trust their doctors to make the right medical decisions. Therefore, they might not be aware of the risks of opiate medication.

Some people who abuse opiate medications might not even realize they have a problem. They might only become aware when something serious happens, such as an overdose or withdrawal.

Another big factor in the opiate epidemic is the fact that these drugs are so easy to consume. Unlike a lot of illicit street drugs, you simply consume these prescription opioids in pill form. This has led to many people assuming these drugs are safe.

Just because you’re not snorting or injecting these drugs doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous.

Why the Overprescription of Opioids?

There are a few factors that have influenced the overprescription of opioids in the United States.

For instance, many doctors were mistakenly taught that patients who were in pain could not get addicted to pain medication. It was believed that once their pain stopped, a patient would simply stop using the drugs.

Unfortunately, this was not true, and many patients would continue using opiates long after their pain had subsided. If their legitimate supply was cut off, many users would then start looking for opiates on the street. Many heroin users in the USA today started off with prescription painkillers.

Another factor in opioid dependence is the aggressive marketing from the pharmaceutical companies. In recent years, these companies have spent much more money promoting their opioid products.

This kind of “direct to the customer” marketing has only reinforced the belief that these drugs are good for you and won’t cause any problems. Thankfully, steps are now been taken to rein in advertising for prescription opioids.

Easy Drug Availability

Another factor in the epidemic is it’s just too easy to get a hold of these pills. Many users have learned how to fake symptoms in order to get a legitimate painkiller prescription. And other people might go to multiple doctors at once to get more pills.

Some might use these pills recreationally and others may sell them on the street. The wide availability of these pills and the perception amongst the public that they are “safe” has contributed heavily to the opiate problem in the United States.

All Opiates Lead to Heroin

One of the big problems with prescription painkillers is users will eventually switch to more dangerous alternatives, such as heroin. Heroin belongs to the same class of drugs as opiate painkillers and it becomes the drug of choice of most long-term users.

This is because heroin is cheaper and the high it provides is much more intense. It is also easier to get than prescription painkillers. Someone who’s had their prescription supply cut off is likely to turn to heroin.

Shockingly, there is evidence to suggest that heroin might be a safer alternative. In 2014, for instance, the overdose rates for prescription painkillers were twice as high as the overdoses on heroin.

What Can Be Done?

There are a few steps to take that could help combat the overprescription problem.

One of the main issues is patients need education. No one should be prescribed opiates without understanding exactly what they’re getting into. Patients should be aware of the addictive potential of these drugs.

Another factor is doctors themselves need to be aware of the addiction potential for these drugs. This is a difficult problem to address, as there is a fine line between pain management and addiction. Every case needs to be carefully considered.

Doctors need to consider pain management alternatives. Any patient who is prescribed opiates needs to have their usage levels monitored carefully.

A Complex Problem

When it comes to the overprescription problem, there are many factors at play.

For instance, those from a lower socioeconomic background are significantly more at risk. Level of education has also been shown to be a key factor. Those who’ve attained a higher level of education are significantly less likely to get a prescription for opioids.

It has also been shown that geography has an influence on prescription rates. The more rural areas of the United States, such as the Southeastern States and the Northwest, have much higher rates of prescription painkiller overdoses than other areas.

Non-Opiate Alternatives

So what are some alternatives to prescribing these kinds of pills?

There are many choices other than opioids. Medical marijuana, for instance, can be a less harmful alternative. Cannabis provides patients with effective pain relief but is significantly less addictive than opiates.

Medical marijuana is also a desirable alternative because it can’t be overdosed on. There is even evidence that CBD, a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis, is a good way to treat opiate addiction.

There needs to be a good support system in place for people who develop opiate addictions. If someone is seriously addicted to opioids, a methadone treatment program might be one of the only ways they can recover.

Methadone treatment allows an addict to safely withdraw from opiates. It also means the addict will not have to experience all of the debilitating withdrawal symptoms.

Avoid the Use of Opioids

There is no question that prescription opiates are being overused in the United States. Despite being legal, these drugs have huge potential for abuse and addiction.

Thankfully, steps are being taken against the overprescription of opioids epidemic. Both the public and healthcare professionals are becoming increasingly aware of the harm these drugs can cause.

Are you or a loved one suffering from opioid addiction and want to turn your lives around? Read about how methadone treatment can help or contact us at (855) 976-2092.

Sources