Opiate Addiction in San Juan, TX
Opiate addiction in San Juan is an increasing public health concern. The number of fatal overdoses caused by opiate substances continues to increase at alarming rates.
A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that the number of overdose deaths in Texas involving prescription opiate painkiller medications has increased dramatically over the past 5 years. A troubling trend across Texas is seeing dealers ‘cut' heroin with the synthetic opioid fentanyl in an effort to increase potency, which increases the risk of overdose dramatically. Texas is also rife with Mexican "Black Tar" heroin.
It's common for most people to automatically assume that opiate addiction in San Juan means the person has been using heroin. In reality, opiates can also include opioid pain relievers, such as morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, pethidine, or tramadol. However, hydrocodone is the most predominantly abused prescription opiate painkiller medication in Texas.
What is Opiate Addiction?
Opiate drugs act directly on the body's opioid receptors, making them useful for treating chronic or acute pain in a medical situation. However, many people abuse opiate drugs in an effort to experience the temporary euphoric feeling, followed by the relaxed state of dream-like calmness the drug can produce.
Prolonged abuse of opiate drugs can cause the brain to become dependent on the continued use of the drug.
How Are Opiates Used?
- Most people associate opiate drug abuse with images of heroin users heating the substance in fluid on a spoon before injecting the liquid directly into a vein. However, opiate drugs can be taken in a number of ways, including:
- Orally: Many prescription opiate painkillers are available in pill form, which makes them easy to take orally.
- Snorting: Some users may crush pills into a fine powder that can be snorted in a similar way to snorting cocaine. Snorting the drug can produce effects more quickly, but it is considerably more dangerous as it can cause a rapid onset of effects and increase the risk of accidental overdose.
- Injecting: Many users may dissolve the drug into a solution and inject the drug directly into a vein, or ‘shoot up', as this provides the most direct method of absorption and creates a faster ‘high'
Opiate Addiction Signs and Symptoms
- A person who may be developing an addiction to opiate drugs may exhibit some signs and symptoms, which include:
- Cravings: An addicted person may experience strong compulsions, or cravings to take more of the drug
- Loss of control: As an addiction develops, the user may begin to lose control over the amount or frequency of use.
- Tolerance: Abusing opiate drugs over a period of time causes the brain to adapt to the presence of the drug in the system, so the normal doses being taken will no longer have the same effect. The user may need to take higher doses in order to achieve the same effects.
- Physical dependence: As the brain adapts to the presence of the drug in the system, it begins to learn that it can no longer produce certain hormones or neurotransmitters naturally unless the user continues to take more of the drug. The user needs to keep taking it just to feel normal. At this point, the person is considered physically dependent, or addicted.
- Withdrawal symptoms: When the brain has adapted to the continued presence of the drug in the system, it can't adapt if the user stops taking it suddenly. The user may experience horrible withdrawal symptoms when usage stops, which leads many people to continue a cycle of drug abuse just to avoid the onset of symptoms.
Treating Opiate Addiction
Anyone struggling to break free from the grip of opiate addiction in San Juan should seek professional rehab in a drug and alcohol treatment center. Treatment for opiate addiction begins with the detox process.
A person who attempts to stop using opiate drugs suddenly after a prolonged period of abuse may experience a range of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. However, going through the detox process in a drug and alcohol treatment center provides the recovering person with access to treatment medications, such as methadone or Suboxone.
Medical detox using treatment medications reduces the severity of any withdrawal symptoms, making it easier for the recovering person to get through the process. Over a period of time, the dosage of medication is tapered down until the person is free from drugs without experiencing the negative symptoms associated with withdrawal.
While detox is an important aspect of opiate addiction recovery, it's only the first stage in a comprehensive program for addiction treatment in San Juan. Treatment for opiate addiction also requires specialized behavioral therapy and individual counseling sessions to identify each person's unique addiction triggers and high-risk situations associated with using.
The underlying psychological reasons and triggers behind opiate addiction in San Juan are different for each person. For this reason, there's no point using a ‘cookie cutter' approach to treatment for opiate addiction. Instead, drug rehab centers work to tailor the correct combination of therapies to suit each person's individual needs.
Some therapies used to treat opiate addiction in San Juan may include behavioral therapy to address dysfunctional attitudes or self-destructive behaviors. Intensive counseling also works to help each person develop a customized relapse prevention strategy designed to reduce the risk of the recovering person relapsing back into a pattern of addictive drug use after leaving inpatient rehab in San Juan. The objective is to encourage the recovering person to learn healthy, productive of coping with life without the need for drugs.
Drug treatment centers also provide a range of recovery tools and resources, including aftercare services designed to offer ongoing support and guidance even after the person leaves the drug and alcohol treatment center. Attendance at group support meetings also provides a network of peer support and motivation to maintain sobriety. Call now at (877) 804-1531.