Painkiller Addiction Advice

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.

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Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_520465_17.html