The Treatment Of Opioid Addiction

The United States currently faces an unprecedented epidemic of opioid addiction. This includes painkillers, heroin, and other drugs made from the same base chemical. In the couple of years, approximately one out of twenty Americans reported misuse or abuse of prescriptions painkillers. Heroin abuse and overdoses are on the rise and are the leading cause of injury deaths, surpassing car accidents and gun shots. The current problem differs from the opioid addiction outbreaks of the past in that it is also predominant in the middle and affluent classes. Ultimately, anyone can be fighting a battle with addiction and it is important for family members and loved ones to know the signs. The cause for this epidemic is that the current spike of opioid abuse can be traced to two decades of increased prescription rates for painkillers by well-meaning physicians.

America has a major problem with opioid addicts, and many facilities are helping the addicts by providing safer options to taking the drugs their bodies crave. Methadone clinics are places where people addicted to opioids can receive medicine-based therapy. Opioid use, drugs such as heroin, morphine, and prescribed painkillers, has increased in the US with all age groups and incomes. People become addicted to these drugs when they are prescribed, recreationally used with other addicts, or they are born addicted. Many health institutions are addressing this issue with an estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffering from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers in 2012 and an estimated 467,000 addicted

As we all have researched and found out the devastating numbers to the opioid epidemic “the abuse of prescription and non-prescription opioids is one of the greatest threats facing public health in the United States today. It is estimated that as many as 2.5 million people in the US are suffering from opioid addiction related to prescriptions, and an additional 467,000 are addicted to heroin”(2017).

Dr. May then goes into a much more in-depth look at the psychological factors of addiction. The text furthers the discussion of self-deception and goes into specific defense mechanisms that we use when we struggle with an addiction. During this portion of the text it elaborates on the understanding of how we will denial to others and more importantly to ourselves that we are increasing the particular behavior that we are addicted to. The book also mentions how we attempt to rationalize the situation to help us continue our addictive behavior. The text then goes into detail about hiding and delaying tactics, such as how we tell ourselves that “we will quit tomorrow.” The book then goes into the understanding of control issues within the addiction, along with how it effects other and how other effect an individual’s addiction. The book then goes into different areas of the psychological factors and discusses the behavioral issues and the understanding of the psychoanalytical aspect of the issue through explaining how addiction uses our unconscious to develop. There is also a

This is inaccurate because prescribed opioids are still addictive. The truth is that people typically turn to street drugs because they offer the same euphoric and satisfying feeling but at a much cheaper cost. Everyone blames the drug-addicts because it was "their fault". But no one goes deeper than that. The Western ideology that "pills heal all ills" needs to end. In some parts of the U.S., pills are prescribed for almost anything you can think of, and doctors, not wanting to disappoint their patients, give more and more medicine and it is unnecessary.

Opioid abuse is a crisis that is plaguing America, in 2015 there we an estimated 15,000 deaths due to prescription opioids*. People are dying, and families are being ripped apart, a radical change needs to occur in order to save lives. Although there are many ways to attempt to solve this problem, here are three solutions that could potentially save lives; decriminalize all drugs, limit prescribed painkillers, and provide access to Narcan (naloxone).

If evidence were to overly support this new concept scientists will most likely be able to find a cure to reverse the fatal outcomes of the opioids and then further understand how and why people become so dependent and addicted to opioids and drugs as a whole. I believe that furthering the concept of opioid addiction can help society understand how to detect and point out other people who have been overcome with the addiction. It is VERY important that society as a whole understands why opioid addictions are most commonly fatal and why it’s so hard to reverse the fatal consequences. Many patients become addicted to the medically used drug because it takes their pain away so it then turns into the person taking the drug over and over enough times they slowly start to become addicted to the drug that takes their pain away. It’s not just opioids that are the addiction problem, it’s the issue of medical error. The medical error isn’t because the doctor or medical practitioners have become lazy and just didn’t care, it’s because they want to try something new that they believe would work but it doesn’t, and then causes patients become

The effects of opioid overdose are traumatic, devastating, and preventable. It is estimated that there are 128,000 people addicted to opioids in New Jersey (Stirling, 2015). Furthermore, many of those addicted to the drug heroin became so after being prescribed narcotic pain killers. This is because when the prescription runs out the addiction is still in place. Those addicted can find pills being sold illegally but they can cost up to 30 dollars a pill. Heroin, costing only 5 dollars a bag according to law enforcement officials, is a much better deal (Stirling, 2015).

People that can access prescribed opiates can easily become physically dependent on the high; whereas, an individual who cannot obtain them have symptoms of withdrawal. This causes a broad range of heroin seeking behavior. It has become evident that users who are dependent on

Among all medical treatment, what we are interested in is the substitution treatments for patients with opioid-dependence. The substitution treatments can eliminate withdrawal symptoms and cravings and blocks the euphoric

Carson-Dewitt, Rosalyn MD. Encyclopedia of Drugs and Alcohol & Addictive Behavior. Second Edition, Vol. II, E-Q, Macmillan Reference Center, 2001, pages 702-712.

Since their development, Opiate painkillers have proved invaluable in the healthcare industry. The need for analgesia has been prevalent since the beginning of time itself and opium has been used as early as Ancient China and fought over in wars such as the Opium Wars. More modernly, this substance has been synthesized for potency and purity in achieving the ultimate pain reliever. It exists in drugs today such as OxyContin, Norco, Percocet, morphine, Dilaudid, Opana, and Demerol. In addition to relieving pain, these medications also produce euphoria and bind to opiate receptors in the brain which contribute to the development of forming an addiction. Opiate Addiction only grows as an issue in the United States due to its availability and lack of knowledge regarding addiction on behalf of patients receiving pain medication. This is why finding an effective cure or treatment to opiate addiction is imperative. Individual treatments for opiate addiction such as replacement therapy, rehabilitation, and support groups are flawed by themselves, however, in combination provide the most effective treatment for opiate addiction.

Working in the addiction field, I get to see foremost how addiction affects people. Watching these men and women come into treatment broken, damaged, and scared, it is difficult to see. When I look at these women who come into the program where I work, I see a piece of me in them all. I too have been where they are at. A majority of patients that come into these programs are seeking help from opiate addiction. Over the past few years, treatment centers have expanded due to the demand to help opiate abusers. It has definitely become an epidemic over the years, but why? Research shows that when doctors started to overly prescribe narcotic pain medication, the rate for heroin users rose over the years. Prescription drugs play a major role

Scientifically, addiction can be defined as an adaptation in specific structures that together render the state of addiction. More than 5% of the population is affected by addiction and it costs almost 3% of the domestic gaining to treat and support patients. Moreover, current therapies are not sufficient for preventing the patients from relapsing (Collins et al., 2011).

When I began this class I had a very specific experience and understanding of addictions. One of the major influencers in my view of addictions has been my mother. This is something I never fully processed until I began really learning about addictions and what they do to people. I had impressions of addiction which were completely off base, and I had never taken the time to filter my prejudices through the reality of addictive disorders. Nevertheless, this project and this class has had a wonderful effect on my perception of those struggling with addictions.