Painkiller addiction is a growing epidemic in this country. As more and more people go to doctors expecting immediate pain relief, more and more painkillers are being prescribed. As medical science advances further, patients expect that doctors are going to be able to immediately cure what ails them. As doctors have more prescription quotas to fill, they are more likely to prescribe medications that their sales reps ask them to prescribe. This can lead to an overage in the amount of people who are taking painkillers and the amount of people who are becoming addicted to them. There are some things about painkiller addiction that everyone who takes prescription painkillers should know.
1. Painkiller addiction can be deadly
Without treatment, painkiller addiction has the potential to kill you. This kind of addiction will, overtime, inhibit the natural function of the body. Painkiller addiction can cause kidney failure and liver failure because of how hard both of those organs have to work to try to keep up with the amount of toxins that they have to process. Overdose is also a very real possibility when it comes to painkiller addiction. The body builds up a tolerance to painkillers and eventually, the user will need to take more and more just to achieve the same level of pain relief. Even though the user may not be experiencing much in the way of pain relief, they continue to take the painkillers. This can lead to an overdose and potentially death.
2. Detox is the place to start
Like most other addictions, there is no cure for painkiller addiction. Addiction is something that people will likely struggle with for their entire lives. This does not mean that an addict cannot seek treatment for keeping addiction at bay. Formal treatment for addiction really is the best option.
It is not recommended that addicts attempt to detox from painkillers without the aid of trained professionals. There can be some medical issues that come up when a user is beginning to detox from painkillers.
3. And then move on to rehab
Detox alone may not be enough to keep a painkiller addict clean and sober permanently. Treatments you will receive during rehab include an intensive amount of therapy, both individual and group. In individual therapy, painkiller addicts will be addressing drug cravings, the compulsion to get high, past events that may have led to this addiction, and coping strategies and tools for dealing with all of these kinds of things when the user returns to the regular world. In group therapy, participants will learn from the experiences of others and benefit from some additional coping strategy suggestions.
4. Aftercare can help you fight relapse
Aftercare planning is an often overlooked part of rehab and recovery. Making a relapse prevention plan while still in rehab can be one of the best decisions a recovering addict make while in recovery. A user can make use of his or her therapist to write down the tools that can be used in a trigger situation. The recovering addict will also want to make note of who he or she can call in the event that help is needed. Some other aftercare options to consider are making and keeping regular follow up therapist appointments, going to regular maintenance groups such as Narc-Anon, and taking part in sober living community activities.
5. Painkiller addiction is a lot more expensive than painkiller rehab
Prescriptions can be fairly expensive. If a regular user develops an addiction, he or she will have to make more purchases, more often. If the prescription eventually runs out or the doctor will not prescribe more, the user will likely start seeking the drug from other sources. Most likely these sources will need to be of an illegal nature. Illegal drugs cost quite a bit more than prescriptions drugs. And as the addiction increases so does the cost of the drugs that need to be acquired. This is the point where the typical addicts starts selling his or her possessions and asking family members for money.