What Is Causing the Dramatic Increase In Opioid Addiction?

Opiods seem to be the hottest topic when it comes to the outlook for drug addiction recovery. The sheer number of opioid addiction and overdoses is staggering. It’s time to find an heroin rehab center in Panama City FL if you or a loved one find themselves in the grips of a full-blown opioid addiction.

What is an opioid addiction?

An actual addiction to opioids happens when you have built a tolerance to an opiod substance that no longer allows you to comfortably quit using the drug without severe withdrawal symptoms. It can happen relatively quickly with consistent use. Opipid use can often be brought back and stopped if it is at the mere level of tolerance and dependence. Stepping over the line into actual addiction will require serious detoxification and treatment.

Why are opioids hard to quit?

The main reason that opiates are hard to quit using when an addiction develops is the severity of withdrawal symptoms. Depending on the amount of drug used and length of addiction, the severity of symptoms can range from moderate discomfort to life-threatening medical emergencies. You need to seek treatment from a center that specializes in detox as well as basic treatment. The goal is to bring you down gradually off of the level of opioids in your system. It’s the safest way to become clean of the drug.

Opioids and Pain Relief

Many current opioid addictions start as simply seeing the doctor to deal with severe pain. The CDC states that opioid painkiller use has been on a steady incline in the US since 2015, producing a nearly 500 percent increase in deaths related to overdose. The alarming figures have done little to curb the steady use by the general public. It has also done little to limit the number of prescriptions being written for opioid-containing painkillers.

Opioids and Prescription Abuse

People that become addicted to opioid painkillers are more likely to shop around for doctors that will provide more than one prescription. Even with protocols in place, patients can find ways to get extra medications or resort to buying them on the open market. The evidence of this is the sharp rise in opioid-related crimes on the court dockets all across the US. The penalties for purchasing illegal prescription drugs is high, but many choose to take the risk due to the severity of addiction.

Opioid Addiction and Heroin Use

The only alternative that many people with opioid addiction are left with is to turn to the streets and purchase heroin. It’s a dangerous gamble with the strength being unknown and the tendency to have it cut with artificial products like fentanyl. It has made overdose numbers climb even higher. Measures to rein in the prescriptions of opioids and push doctors to find alternative pain relieving measures is too late for many people. The vicious cycle of serious addiction already has them in their grasp.

The Blurred Lines of Opioid Use In the US

The scope of heroin addiction in the U.S encompasses all genders, races, and socio-economic levels. No one has escaped the potential for developing a serious opioid addiction. Expanding treatment options and availability seems to be the only answer to the ever-increasing crisis. Time will be the telling factor in whether these treatment options are taken advantage of, or if it will first take court intervention to initiate treatment for many addicts. The hope is that increasing availability of treatment will help push the addicted individual into making the better decision to get free of opioids.

Seeking Opioid Addiction Recovery

If you or a loved one suffers from opioid addiction, begin seeking a treatment center that you are comfortable with right away. The sooner treatment begins, the sooner the recovery process can start. What you need is a treatment center that focuses on safely detoxing in a comfortable inpatient environment. Once you are clear of the opioids you will better see the damage it has done to your life. You have an excellent chance to stay drug-free and live a life of full recovery.

Trying to beat an opioid addiction without the help of proper detoxification and treatment is not only a tough way to go, but it can prove extremely dangerous. You are not alone in being addicted to opioids.  Find a treatment center that offers medication assisted treatment that will lead you safely out of the darkness of addiction.

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