All opiates arrive from the poppy plant, which secretes a resin-like botanical substance called opium. Opium is a natural pain killer that also creates sensations of euphoria. Opium has been exploited in one method or another by humans for at least 5,000 years.

 

Through the millennia, opium has advanced and is now synthesized in a vast range of several drugs, some of which you are likely aware of. Many opium drugs are utilized medically as medications for pain and distress, while some versions of the drug are illegal, sold exclusively on the street or in black markets. Regardless, they all originated from one plant, and they can all be hazardous when abused.

 

The opiate family comprises of the following drug variations: morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl, Heroin, and resin opium itself, which is dried, crushed, and smoked. These seven opiate variations are covered in detail below. All opiates are highly addicting, having the potential to form an addiction habit as quickly as after the first dose. Today over 30 American citizens die daily basis from an opiate overdose.

 

Even though a hydrocodone pill is considerably less potent than an injection of Heroin, the connection among all opiates is the same in that they all create a sense of euphoria in the brain which is the likely cause of addiction. Indeed, an estimated ninety percent of Heroin users started their addiction to opiates prescription pills. This makes sense if you think about it, as prescription pain killers are the most accessible way for most people to obtain opiates. As the number of prescribed painkillers was greatly over-prescribed in the last decade and still are today, this led to widespread addiction and an opioid addiction pandemic. Dependences on prescribed opioid drugs can develop quickly, but for many, as their prescriptions run out and they cannot be replaced quickly enough, leading to black-market purchases. That’s likely why Heroin became a cheaper replacement option, as you do NOT require a prescription to obtain it. Whereas doctors and state authorities monitor prescriptions, continued abuse of Opioids has now spilled over into the black market in the form of illicit drugs like Heroin.

 

Knowing how to comprehend abusive signs and threats to support someone struggling with addiction is very important. It is important to know what withdrawal symptoms can be like as there is a broad expanse of severity. Did you know what Ambrosia Treatment Center offers in the way of opiate drug rehab and detox? To begin, a medical detoxification from opiate pain killers is the first step towards recovery.

 

If you desire simply to read about our detoxification procedure itself, please scroll down to the bottom and proceed reading at the section titled “About Our Opiate Detox Program.” With support from well-trained specialist at Ambrosia, you can receive caring treatment to beat opiate addiction. Our knowledgeable staff and top-notch doctors are ready, willing, and able to help you start today.

 

Signs of Opiate Abuse

 

In acknowledging signs of opiate abuse, it is essential to comprehend not only how many opiate variations exist but the differences between them. The symptoms themselves are similar but will also be even more apparent as opiate strength increases.

 

Codeine is one of the weakest opiates. It is designed as both a diarrhea suppressant and as cough medicine. Even though codeine is the weakest opioid, it does not imply it is not harmful. Approximately 2,700 people died from codeine overdose in 2015, which was twice as many victims in the year 2000.

 

Fentanyl is deemed the most potent opiate in use. Today, it is only meant to be applied in unusual circumstances of extreme and severe pain. It can be hundreds of times more potent than even Heroin itself. Fentanyl is presently being used to spike heroin batches, producing what can be a fatal mixture. Moreover, there is a secondary form of fentanyl called carfentanil, which is used for large mammal sedation. It is fifty times more powerful than fentanyl. One grain of this drug can kill a full-grown adult. This version of fentanyl has also been found in spiked batches of illegal street sold Heroin.

 

The other remaining opiates discussed can be prescribed legally in the United States. Opioids are listed in order of ascending strength, are hydrocodone, morphine, and oxycodone. Hydrocodone’s primary marketing name is Vicodin, and further comprises Lortab. Morphine is another well-known drug that many may be familiar with. It is a powerful painkiller utilized for victims of terrible pain. Ultimately, Oxycodone’s primary business names are OxyContin and Percocet. However, Heroin and opium are illegal in the US, the former of which has come to be America’s notable killer of drug abuse victims below the age of 50.

If you think someone is abusing opiates, signs include:

• Exhaustion and abnormally low energy
• Slurred speech
• Constricted pupils
• Nauseousness and vomiting
• Absence of appetite
• Mental confusion
• Stumbling asleep quickly or anywhere, AKA’ nodding out’ (with Heroin especially)

Risks of Opiate Abuse

Because all opiates act similarly, almost at all varying levels, the dangers of abuse, both short-term and long-term, are the same for all opioids. Nonetheless, Heroin and fentanyl present their increased risks due to extreme efficacy.

The short-term dangers of opiate misuse include:

• Abrupt heart rate
• Arrhythmia
• Elevated blood pressure
• Hyperthermia
• Tremors and seizures
• Coma and death

 

Long-term Consequences of Opiate Abuse Are More Drastic Than the Short-Term Ones. They Include but are Not Limited to:

• An all-around weaker immune system, and erectile dysfunction
• Belly issues, rambling from diarrhea to bowel punctures.
• Respiratory depression
• Hypoxia
• Liver injury and failure (especially with drugs containing acetaminophen)
• Brain deterioration
• Coma and death

Heroin and Fentanyl

In the past few years, a growing drug addiction problem in the arena of opiate drugs is fentanyl. It is an extraordinarily powerful painkiller, and only a few grains can kill a person. Fentanyl, up until quite recently, was lawful in China, and it was being sold online to Mexican drug cartels and was even and perhaps still is shipped to the US Illicitly. Drug cartel members have been reported to spike heroin batches with fentanyl, which is inexpensive and 10x more potent than Heroin.

 

Since 2015, fentanyl has taken more lives than Heroin has. Even more horrifying, fentanyl deaths have been reported to be growing, twice as much as the prior year and has been steadily increasing. If an individual receives a heroin hit that is spiked with fentanyl, it can be compared to playing Russian roulette with your life. These drugs can and will kill you.

 

Recognizing Opiate Abuse & Conducting an Intervention

If you or somebody you know is abusing opiates, you should react immediately and intervene by helping them take their first steps to the path of addiction recovery. Of course, you can help yourself, too, if you are the one with the crisis. As with all illegal drugs, the drug abuse shortly drives the afflicted person into addiction. It only takes one hit of any opiate to possibly kill you or a love one. Clearly no drug high could ever be worth that!

 

Stepping in to help someone with addiction problems is easier said than done, especially if you love the person suffering and do not want to harm or distress them. But, where you care for them enough, it is easy to realize they are hurting themselves, and possibly at a rate that could become fatal quickly. In some circumstances, professional intervention is recommended. When it comes to trying to assist somebody, you love, hold these tips in mind:

• Do not call them an addict or condemn them of being an abuser.
• Do not mandate the individual to seek aid. Clearly state your concerns.
• Facilitate the prospect of help but do not be aggressive.
• Retain the connection you already possess with the individual. Behaving differently will probably awaken suspicion.

Withdrawal from Opiates

Opiate withdrawal lasts typically 1-4 weeks, which thankfully for recovering opium addicts is shorter than some other drug withdrawal period.

Due to opiates’ nature, it is recommended to endure the withdrawal process while the afflicted patient is checked into a professional treatment center under medical supervision for serious side effects. Furthermore, please be conscious that it has become common to utilize opiates, particularly buprenorphine, as a step-in opiate withdrawal treatment. This suggestion of battling fire with fire is tested and true.

 

Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms Include:

• Flu-like feelings
• Low energy levels
• Unreasonable sweating
• Body aches
• Nauseousness
• Sleeplessness
• Agitation
• Hallucinations

Withdrawal symptoms are considerably more likely to occur and much more likely to be worse if an addict stops using without assistance. Opiates present some hazardous withdrawal symptoms, and Ambrosia Treatment Center can provide necessary help for an addict to detox and start the journey to recovery. The first step is detoxification, commonly called detox, which safely and effectively removes all traces of opiates from the body.

 

About Our Opiate Detox Program

Opium detox treatments may include use of a variety of pills and medicines stemmed from synthetic opium so to gradually ween the brain and body from the need for the drug by decreasing the daily dosage until the patient can be drug free. Detox from fentanyl, codeine, morphine, Vicodin (hydrocodone), Percocet, OxyContin, oxycodone, and illegal drugs, such as Heroin and opium can take time and the experience of each person in detox can vary. These opiate drugs typically known as painkillers, work by constraining receptors in the brain, which reduces the feeling of pain. A big misconception about prescription pain medication is that because a physician prescribes it, and you’re not attempting to use it to get high you’re not at risk for addiction. It’s fundamental to remember before receiving an opiate treatment that any usage over three days will put you at danger of tolerance and dependency. Where the same amount of narcotics will no longer have a similar impact on reducing pain an addiction problem can grow quickly. This is generally the point where people proceed to search out the drug, they have now become addicted too. While drug addiction can commence in as little as a week of obtaining opiates, dependence begins when a person who has long been receiving a treatment shows off psychological impacts awfully as the obsessional desire for the drug abused. It’s crucial in detox to care for both the physical obsession along with mental obsession and the underlying condition for needing the drug in the first place.

 

Safe Opiate Detoxification

We provide a detailed plan of treatment along with a comprehensive approach to opiate detox, providing our customers with the most significant degree of personalized care so assure a healthy change from addiction to recovery. The Drug Enforcement Administration has classified opioids as a considerably high-priority controlled substance due to the substantial potential for abuse and addiction. Opioid addiction encompasses almost 5 million people in the United States and leads to practically 17,000 deaths yearly. Opiate addiction signs and side effects include sedation, dizziness, throwing up, gastric troubles, blood disorder, and respiratory depression, which is the leading cause of death in opiate users. The primary method of caring for opioid addiction is to enhance physical and psychological health following a stepping down period of withdrawal. It is not advised that where anyone tries to detox on their own from opioids, as the withdrawal symptoms can become severe, depending on the degree and duration of its usage to ask and get help. It is essential to plan for adequate time to detox and to treat the addiction of opiates. At Ambrosia Treatment Center, we offer a compassionate environment where our clients get trained help from specialists to evaluate the steps necessary to manage life without addiction.

 

What to Anticipate During the Period of Detoxification?

At Ambrosia, detox begins with a comprehensive evaluation of each client by our clinicians to cultivate a working understanding of medical records, history of abuse, and personal well-being and psychological situation of each client. Part of the initial health assessment entails a visual screening of the patient. Once the initial health appraisal is complete, our clinical team works with each client to establish an effective treatment plan. Our team has the experience of working with patients who were prescribed opiates and become addicted to them. Our addiction specialists can vary curated treatments based on multiple variables such as severity levels, age, the number of years using, the quantity used per week, family history, and any underlying mental or physical disorders. Withdrawing from opiates can be a complicated process, and at Ambrosia Treatment Center, our clients receive 24/7 care to insure their safety. We are devoted to delivering safe and comfortable treatment, assuring patients the potential to successfully conquer their addiction habits.