Painkiller Addiction Recovery
Many people, from many walks of life in America, are suffering from addiction to analgesics or painkillers. Those that are most physically addicted are usually taking some form of an opiate painkiller; such has Oxycontin, Vicodin, Lortab or Percocet. These opiate painkillers are made form the opiate poppy in the same manner as heroin and the withdrawals from a physical addiction to these analgesics will be equally as painful as withdrawing from heroin on the road to recovery.
People with this type of addiction rival the numbers of all other people seeking treatment. It is obvious, that many physicians are very irresponsible when prescribing these painkillers. Many people are very surprised when they realized that they began to take stronger doses because they were building a tolerance to the drug and that having a tolerance is the first indicator, that they should have known, demonstrates that they are becoming physically addicted. After months of using these "medicines" people will also have a psychological addiction and will find themselves suffering from depression when they reduce or quit taking their daily dosage. Since narcotics produce a general sense of well-being and, life isn't always so kind, it is easy to see how one can easily become psychologically addicted to these drugs. In the case of severe pain, it maybe helpful to give the patient peace of mind and a break from the pain, but many people are using these strong painkillers to treat light to moderate pain, which could be treated with many less addicting types of procedures or drugs.
As mentioned, with repeated use of narcotic painkillers, tolerance and dependence develop. The development of tolerance is characterized by a shortened duration and a decreased intensity of analgesia, euphoria, and sedation, which creates the need to consume progressively larger doses to attain the desired effect. Tolerance does not develop uniformly for all actions of these drugs, giving rise to a number of toxic effects. Although tolerant users can consume doses far in excess of the dose they took, physical dependence refers to an alteration of normal body functions that necessitates the continued presence of a drug in order to prevent a withdrawal or abstinence syndrome. The intensity and character of the physical symptoms experienced during withdrawal are directly related to the particular drug of abuse, the total daily dose, the interval between doses, the duration of use, and the health and personality of the user.
Anyone that has worked with many individuals that are withdrawing from these types of drugs will testify to the wide veriety of difference each individual will feel when confronting this process. Some people will need 24/7 attention by professionals that can continually help them deal with their anxiety and depression, whereas others can be more comfortable with less care. This difference is not necessary related to whether or not the person is "a tough football player" or a more delicate artist, it seems to cross all cultural barriers and there is no real benchmark to predetermine the extent and severity of pain that one may feel. In general, shorter acting narcotics tend to produce shorter; more intense withdrawal symptoms, while longer acting narcotics produce a withdrawal syndrome that is protracted but tends to be less severe. Although unpleasant, withdrawal from narcotics is rarely life threatening and when it has been, it is usually due to the stress that has been place on the body by the withdrawal symptoms and not because any of these symptoms are life threatening. However, because the ability to withstand pain is diminished with the use of narcotics, the person withdrawing may feel as though they are going to die. Methadone is notoriously the worst of all withdrawals and it follows that it is the strongest and longest acting of all opiates.
The best treatment for those seeking help with their withdrawals from painkillers is a holistic approach that uses vitamins, minerals and massage to help speed up the withdrawals. Biophysical programs usually use this model of withdrawals and can increase an individual's chances at long-term recovery from a painkiller addiction.
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