There are a variety of reasons a person would seek medication-assisted opiate dependency treatment. It's not uncommon for a person to have a medical diagnosis that justifies a short-term prescription for pain medication. For example, a C-section, a car accident or work-related injury, back or neck injury, sports-related injury, or even cancer can require such prescriptions. A short-term pain medication prescription should be taken as prescribed, and generally speaking, a person has completed rehabilitation or is on a path to full recovery by the time that prescription expires. However, there are diagnoses of chronic pain in which a pain medication would be prescribed more often.

How does one start on a path of opiate dependency? Very often our clients report being prescribed pain medication, yet over long periods of usage, their bodies build up a tolerance to the prescription; the pain later resurfaces. Thus, the cycle of more pills and higher doses of prescription medication continues, and soon there just isn't enough to prevent the amount of pain they experience on a daily basis. Common prescribed pain medications might be:

• • Oxycodone
• • Hydrocodone
• • Codeine
• • Percocet
• • Morphine
• • Dilaudid
• • OxyContin
• • Fentanyl

Other forms of opiate dependency can start from use of recreational street drugs such as heroin. A person most often injects this lethal drug, and due to the body’s quick absorption into the bloodstream, a dependency starts quickly. While a recreational user may not abuse heroin to control pain, he or she will experience withdrawal symptoms very similar to having the flu.

We are asked this question daily. The individual, spouse, and family are frustrated and angry that their loved one just doesn't stop taking too much pain medication or stop abusing heroin. To the person without an opiate dependency, there is often little understanding or compassion extended to the client. Let us help bring some clarity to the answer.

Currently, a large majority of prescribed pain medications are opioid-based (opium, opiate). Opium has been used for thousands of years to decrease or eliminate physical pain. Papasaver somniferum, the opium poppy, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are derived. Opium is the source of many narcotic pain medications.

Endorphins are the body's natural happy pill. The function of endorphins is to inhibit the transmission of pain, and they can also produce a feeling of euphoria. With long-term use of an opioid-based medication or street drug, a person will experience changes to the part of their brain that once allowed them to naturally produce endorphins.

When one continues to take in opium (pain medication, heroin) excessively, the brain will stop naturally producing endorphins. The brain recognizes the presences of other endorphin-like substances, therefore it has no need to produce them naturally. Therefore, when an individual attempts to merely stop taking pain medication or abusing heroin, he or she experiences a variety of symptoms (withdrawals), because the brain is unable to quickly begin production of the natural endorphins we all are born with.

This is how an opiate dependency may innocently begin for a large majority of the population and why it is very often not something one can just stop on their own. We hope this information brings some clarity to the struggles you may be facing today.

If you are feeling hopeless in your attempts to stop taking an excessive amount of pain medication or abusing recreational drugs, please give us a call today and talk with one of our licensed counselors. Do not let another moment pass without allowing yourself the treatment you deserve. North Fulton Treatment Center offers a private, confidential, and professional office setting.

Methadone and Subutex are long-acting, synthetic drugs. They are opioid agonists, which means that they act in a way that is similar to morphine and other narcotic medications. When used as prescribed, medication-assisted treatments do not create euphoria, sedation, or an analgesic effect. Doses vary for each client, and once the right dose is reached, the cravings stop without creating the effects of euphoria or sedation.

North Fulton Treatment Center is an outpatient treatment center. All clients must dose daily at the treatment center, as well as attend individual therapy sessions with a staffed Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) or Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW). The integration of medication-assisted treatment and individual counseling provides our clients a solid foundation to their ongoing recovery process.

If you have specific questions or concerns, please call us during regular business hours in order to speak with a counselor. We are happy to answer all your questions prior to setting up your intake appointment.

There is help and hope for women who find themselves with an opiate dependency while pregnant. Unfortunately, the reality is that without medication-assisted treatment, the risk for miscarriage increases. If the mother experiences withdrawals, the baby also experiences withdrawals. The stress on your unborn child is more than it is developed to handle.

Medication-assisted treatment during pregnancy can help you and your unborn child. It is safe for the baby, keeps you free of withdrawals, and gives you a chance to take care of yourself. It is also very safe and highly recommended that a mother breastfeed her baby (barring that no other health-related risks are present).

If you find yourself pregnant and struggling with an opiate dependency, please give us a call and talk about it. All communication is private and confidential. Call today to gain more information and make an informed decision on how you choose to care for yourself and unborn child.