Challenges Of Opioid Detox

 

Challenges of Opioid Detox

Opioid detox is not something you want to try on your own. Often, when the pain medication prescription runs out, someone who has become addicted to opioids cannot get what their body needs. Withdrawal symptoms can be exaggerated. As the body screams for more, it calls to the brain to go find more, at any cost. Generally speaking, most family members and friends don't understand the extreme intensity of these withdrawal symptoms because they have nothing to base them on and therefore don't know what the person is going through. The addicted person is trying to self-medicate at this point. However, finding a substitute to ease withdrawal symptoms can be difficult, especially now that government regulators have cracked down on prescription opioid abuse. Without a source of opiates, an addicted individual may take to the streets to find an illegal substitute. This is one of the reasons why heroin use is on the rise again in the United States (cit. 1). Another substitute can be Fentanyl, which can be purchased illegally online (cit.: 2). Fentanyl is the active ingredient in some of the most effective prescription pain relievers available. The problem is that one does not know exactly what one is getting or in what concentration. Taking more than a person is used to can cause further addiction, and too much can cause an overdose death. The above scenario is very common. What starts as a pain reliever for a real medical or health problem turns into a living nightmare that often destroys their life. We all agree that this is horrible, completely unacceptable, and should never have happened. Of course, shifting blame now will not solve the problem of everyone who has become dependent and addicted to opioids (quote: 3). What is the solution to the opioid detox problem? In the scenario above, we see that simply stopping an addict's prescription for pain medication often does not end well. By the time an opioid-addicted individual enters a legitimate rehab center, the situation is usually more convoluted and complicated because the combination of prescription and illegal drugs, the amount and concentration, and the individual's deteriorating health have progressed. 

 One-Size fits all programs will not work and will only lead to relapse, which means more pain, more health problems, and increased personal financial stress, often to the point of no return. An individual has no chance to take his life back. Time is critical The longer a person waits to get into treatment, the more damage their body and mind will suffer, and the more difficult it will be to successfully treat addiction. Long-term brain and nerve damage can occur, and opioid use takes its toll on internal organs. Throw in the illegal drug use and lifestyle of someone who is down or out on the streets, and there comes a point where even after successful treatment, they will never be the same. The sooner addiction treatment begins, the better for everyone involved. Therefore, time is of the essence. No one should become a "thrown away" person (quote: 5). Reference: 1.) “The Self-Medication Hypothesis of Substance Use: Testing an Updated Kantian Theory,” by Danny H. Hall and John E. Queener, published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, pages 151-158, September 8, 2011. 2.) "Detection of Illicit Online Fentanyl Sales via Twitter," Tim K. Mackey and Janani Kalyan am, Version 1. F1000Res. 2017; 6: 1937. Published online 2017 Nov 2 doe: 10.12688/f1000research.12914.1  Fields, published in Neuron. " Jaap van der Stele, Ph.D., published in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine.