While opiate addiction has always tugged at the frayed edges of American culture, it has recently entered official “epidemic” territory. An estimated 30 million people abuse opiates worldwide, with approximately 2.1 million addicts living within the U.S. As a result of a recent growing numbers of users, overdose deaths are surging, having quadrupled since 1999. This surge in opiate use and overdose affects many sectors of our population, especially adolescents and women. In young people, this surge is often attributed to the volume of prescriptions being written for opioids, nearly doubling over the past decade. Women are far more likely to be prescribed pain relievers in higher doses and they tend to use them for longer periods than men. 48,000 women died of prescription pain reliever overdoses in the past decade.

Opiate addiction is often a highly visible condition and includes patterns of both physical symptoms and aberrant behavior which are easily detected. Physical symptoms include:

When people begin to abuse opiates, there are also a number of changes in the way they act. In order for addicts to continue to stay high and support their habit, they will likely begin to engage in any of the following behaviors:

When measuring the total “cost” of an opiate addiction, one must account for much more than the monetary cost of the drugs themselves. While supporting an opiate habit is expensive and can cause addicts extensive problems, the price of addiction costs much more than money.

Many addicts begin using opiates with a prescription. During this time, if they have insurance, the drugs are often relatively inexpensive. Once their addiction goes beyond the scope of a doctor’s supervision, however, the street price causes the drug’s price to jump significantly. On the street, an addict’s supply can go up by 10-13 times. For drugs which can cost $40-100 per bottle with a prescription, these pills rapidly become unaffordable. As a result, many addicts will switch to the more dangerous heroin, which, while still costly, can be purchased for much less, closer to $20 per dose.

Opiates also affect the brain. One of the primary actions of opiate painkillers (and heroin) is to prevent the brain from releasing a naturally occurring chemical called GABA. This chemical is responsible for controlling the flow of dopamine (the pleasure signal). When this chemical can flow freely, it creates the powerful rush of euphoria for which opiates are known. On the other side of this, particularly after prolonged periods of addiction, this begins to change the brain chemistry and can lead to issues like depression and other mood disorders.

The longer an addict abuses opiates, the more likely they are to experience severe and potentially deadly side effects. Users may begin to experience agitating symptoms like muscle spasms, cardiovascular problems (heart attacks, etc.), and even death. Opiates are the leading cause of overdose in the United States, with more people dying from opiates than any other drug.

Opiate addiction is one of the most difficult substance problems to treat effectively. More than 90% of opiate addicts can be expected to experience at least one relapse during the course of recovery. Most of these relapses occur early on in the recovery process, but relapses can occur at any point in a person’s life.

There is no one reason for relapse among heroin and opiate addicts. Addicted individuals have altered and damaged what is called the mesolimbic system of the brain. This area of the brain is responsible for pleasure and reward. As opiates warp this area of the brain, most addicts find that they need the drug to experience any kind of pleasure or well-being at all. Without the drug, they suffer from an ongoing sense of depression or anxiety. Given enough time, most addicts are able to fully overcome this change in their brain chemistry, but it is often a long and challenging process.

Most addicts are unable to recover without a defined period of abstinence and separation from their drug of choice. This can occur within a hospital or a dedicated rehab facility. Many medical professionals consider this necessary for the intense cravings of early recover to subside. After this, most addicts find that therapeutic sessions, 12-step programs and religious programs can be very helpful.

Opiate withdrawal is a well-documented phenomenon and is the stuff of legends and nightmares among the addict community. As always, the severity of these symptoms is dictated by how long and how much a person was using.

Withdrawal symptoms include:

In particularly severe withdrawal episodes, addicts will also suffer more pronounced symptoms, which include:

Withdrawal from heroin and other opiates is not inherently medically dangerous, and many addicts attempt to detox in their own home. While this may technically be “safe”, the cravings often make this an inadvisable course. During withdrawal, cravings can become so intense that addicts find themselves unable to follow through with the recovery process. Medical settings offer other advantages, namely opiate detox drugs (e.g. methadone, suboxone, etc.) which can moderate some of the withdrawal symptoms and prevent some of the cravings.

Recovering from most severely addictive drugs, like opiates, is a long and difficult road. Once the opiate addict is clear of the initial phase of withdrawal and detox, they will almost always require a great deal of recovery and support thereafter.

Relapse rates for opiate users are very high. Throughout much of their early recovery, most addicts will experience overwhelming cravings which become nearly impossible to ignore on their own. To ease this, some opiate recoveries include a tapering protocol during which addicts will use diminishing doses of methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone, or naloxone.

These drugs reduce an addict’s cravings without producing the euphoric and debilitating high of opiates themselves.

Light House Women’s Recovery Center in Fresno, California offers the *highest success rate for long-term addiction treatment. Light House Women’s Recovery Center substance abuse and the alcoholism recovery rate are second to none in the industry. Residents receive a new spiritual foundation on which to rebuild their lives. They receive guidance, mentoring, and motivation to remain clean and sober. This program is not a resort or a vacation; but if other programs have failed you, maybe it’s time to check it out because it really works! Call us now to find out how we can help you kick the substances that are destroying your life!