What are opiates?
Opiates are dangerous drugs known as narcotics. Narcotics are drugs that produce narcosis or sleepiness (morphine like effects).
Opiates come in one of three forms:
- Natural (morphine, codeine)
- Semi-synthetics (heroin, oxycodone)
- Pure synthetics (methadone, fentanyl)
Opiates are very powerful drugs. In fact, most opiate medications are prescribed as pain relievers, pain killers and analgesics. Unfortunately, opiate medications are often misused, abused and sold illegally. The reason why prescription opiates, more than any other drug classification are sold illegally is, the populous has a demand which is greater than the legal supply.
America has gone through other periods in its history when opiates demand rose sharply but never to the level that opiates demand is at this time in history. The variety and strength of prescription opiates available in pharmacies throughout the country are greater and more powerful than at any other period in medical history. Per capita there is an increase in the amount of opiate medications being prescribed. The primary consequence of this iniquitous behavior is that countless numbers of people will inadvertently become opiate addicts. Most opiate addicts are not the archetypical street junky who sticks a dirty needle filled with heroin into their arm. The majority of opiate addicts today are everyday people who went to their doctor for a medical problem and inadvertently became addicted to their medicine.
When physicians treat their patients for example; orthopedic pain (chronic pain) or post operative pain (acute pain); some of these patients will inadvertently become physically dependent to their medication. Addiction can happen in a matter of weeks especially with opiate drugs. Opiates addiction will often lead to long-term drug abuse problems that will lower lifetime earnings, life expectancy, quality of life, situational perception, mood stability, mental health of the entire family, physical health of the entire family and children who live in a household where one or both parents are opiate addicts have been shown to have more D’s and F’s on their report cards. Drug addiction that is born as the inadvertent result of medical treatment is known as iatrogenic addiction. Unfortunately, iatrogenic opiate addiction is on the rise in America. The United States has an aging population. With an aging population comes with it a greater need for additional medical treatment and this often means more opiate prescriptions. More opiate prescriptions means more opiate abuse and more opiate abuse means more opiate addiction and more opiate addiction means more opiate overdoses (opiate poisoning).
Another critical reason why opiates are misused and abused is because opiates as a class of drug build tolerance very quickly. Two of the primary side-effects that result from opiate use are greater pain perception and increased pain sensitivity. These two side-effects lead to quick increases in the dosage needed to lessen pain. In fact, opiates as a class of drug have the fastest build-up of drug tolerance than any other drug class.
Other types of opiate medications which are used primarily to treat opiate addictions:
- Buprenorphine (Suboxone, Subutex)
- Methadone (liquid, tablets, diskettes)
Some forms of black market opiates include heroin (diacetylmorphine), opium (dried resin from the bulb of the papaver somniferum plant), illegally purchased prescription opiate medications like; Oxycontin (oxy’s, hillbilly heroin), Roxicodone (roxy’s), Percocet (perks) and Vicodin.
What are the symptoms of opiate withdrawal?
Opiate withdrawal symptoms are a set of recognizable signs that occur shortly after abrupt cessation or rapid tapering from opiates.
Most Common Symptoms of Opiate Withdrawal
- insomnia
- runny nose
- body aches
- anxiety
- depression
- nausea
- dilated pupils
- cold-sweats
Progression of Symptoms Related to Opiate Withdrawals
As opiate withdrawals progress so do the amount and gravity of withdrawal symptoms. The opiate withdrawal symptom - nausea, will often progress into diarrhea, vomiting and anorexia. Symptom of opiate withdrawal - depression will often lead to lethargy and the symptom of withdrawal - cold-sweats will often cause goose bumps.
What is Opiate Addiction?
Opiate addiction is recognized as a Central Nervous System disorder caused by continuous opiate use. Long-term opiate use leads to nerve cell disruptions within the brain and spinal cord. Chronic opiate abuse causes central nervous system dysfunction and a marked decrease in the production of natural endogenous opiates including endorphins, enkaphalins.
Opiate addiction is often the inadvertent result of long-term pain management treatment (iatrogenic). Many experts believe iatrogenic opiate addiction accounts for more than 50% of all opiate addictions.
Studies have shown that long-term opiate use leads to an increase in pain perceptions and pain sensitivity. Increased pain sensitivity and pain perception leads to opiate tolerance. As medical treatment and prescription opiate use is prolonged it develops into opiate abuse and opiate dependence and then into opiate addiction.
Continuous opiate use causes a concatenation of chemical dependency problems > more pain perception > increased pain sensitivity > opiate tolerance > opiate abuse > opiate addiction> opiate overdose.
The worst side-effect of iatrogenic opiate addiction is opiate poisoning also known as opiate overdose. More than 16% of all suicides involve opiate poisoning. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for people ages 10 - 64. Studies have shown that for every one suicide there are 25 attempts.
Which Opiate Produces the Worst Withdrawal Symptoms?
All opiates including Heroin, Oxycontin, Roxicodone, Vicodin, Opana and Suboxone (Buprenorphine) produce almost identical opiate withdrawal symptoms. All opiate drugs cause eight withdrawal symptoms that are common to every type of opiate withdrawal. The eight most common opiate withdrawal symptoms include; insomnia, sniffles, body aches, dilated pupils, anxiety, nausea, depression and cold-sweats.
The magnitude and duration of opiate withdrawals vary from person to person depending upon a person’s general health, magnitude of opiate tolerance and duration of opiate use.
Most detoxification experts believe Methadone produces the worst withdrawal symptoms of all the opiates. Methadone abstinence syndrome or methadone detox produces severe and long lasting opiate withdrawal symptoms. Methadone withdrawals often peak between 5 to 7 days into detox but may linger for months especially if treatment isn’t properly handled from the outset.
The key to a successful methadone detox is professional help from detox centers that do not prescribe to opiate maintenance treatment protocols.
Opiates Withdrawals?
Opiates withdrawals come in two distinct categories;
1. Psychological Opiates Withdrawal Symptoms
2. Physiological Opiates Withdrawal Symptoms
Psychological side effects caused from opiates withdrawal are palpable. They produce intense feelings of anxiety, malaise, angst, lethargy, fear, and depression.
Physical side effects caused by opiates withdrawal closely mimic the symptoms of influenza (Flu). In fact, opiates withdrawals are so similar to the flu; many opiate addicts claim to have the flu instead of revealing their addiction to opiate. There is one significant difference between the flu and opiates withdrawal. Opiates withdrawal produces insomnia which can trouble opiate addicts for weeks.
There are several types of opiate detox programs that claim to work. But the best opiates detox programs treat every symptom that develops during the withdrawal process. Plus they initiate a comprehensive sleep, hydration and nutrition program to maximize the rate of recovery.
Opiates Detox That Works
Total Recovery is the easiest way to help with opiate withdrawals and is the best solution to opiate addiction. No other method of treatment completely frees opiate addicts from all drug addictions.
We developed “Total Recovery,” a treatment program that can help people recover from opiate addiction.
Total Recovery is a proven treatment system of recovery for all drug addictions.
The Total Recovery opiate addiction treatment program is a comprehensive recovery methodology that has shown excellent results. It can help people with opiate withdrawal and transform opiate addiction into opiate independence and freedom.
Detox from Heroin, Methadone, Oxycontin, Roxicodone, Suboxone and all other opiates is now a virtually painless endeavor.
Help with Opiate Withdrawal
Call the opiate detox experts and find out how to end opiate addiction.
You have nothing to lose but your opiate addiction.
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Significant opiate withdrawal symptoms develop quickly after opiate discontinuation and rapid taper. Chronic opiate users often experience sniffles, diarrhea, insomnia, cold sweats and anxiety within hours of stopping opiate intake. These types of opiates withdrawal symptoms are considered the most significant opiate withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawals should be appropriately treated in order to successfully manage opiate detox. |
Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms and Opiates Withdrawal Side-Effects
Opiate withdrawals cause many opiate addicts to fear opiate addiction treatment. This fear keeps many daily opiate users stuck in their addiction; for approximately 18 – 36 months.
It usually isn’t until a daily opiate user experiences several failed attempts at self detox that they find the necessary willingness to seek out professional help. Their hope in contacting an opiate addiction detox center is to minimize as much as possible the pain and discomfort that develops during opiates withdrawal.
Symptoms of Opiate Withdrawal
- Insomnia
- Anxietyat
- Depression
- Dilated Pupils
- Lethargy
- Sweating
- Sniffles
- Runny Nose
- Sneezing
- Fever
- Diarrhea
- Body Aches
- Restless Legs (Restless Kicking)
- Elevated Pulse Rate
- Goose Bumps
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Indigestion (Dyspepsia)
- Anorexia
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SUBOXONE TREATMENT: Opiate addicts should postpone Suboxone induction until significant opiate withdrawals symptoms develop. Objective recognition of opiate withdrawals is the established guideline for initiating Suboxone Induction. |
Opiate withdrawal symptoms develop shortly after discontinuation especially with opiates like heroin and morphine. Heroin and morphine have short elimination half-lives which cause opiate withdrawals to develop more rapidly than with other opioids such as methadone and buprenorphine.
Opiates Half-Life
Six and one-half hours after a heroin user last uses heroin 50% of that original heroin (diacetylmorphine) will metabolize into secondary metabolites and the other 50% will remain as heroin. Heroin metabolization is a chemical breakdown known as hydrolysis which converts heroin into 6-monoacetylmorphine and then into 3-monoacetylmorphine then into morphine and then into harmless byproducts which are primarily excreted out of the body through urine.
On the other hand significant opiate withdrawal symptoms will develop much later with opioids like methadone and fentanyl because methadone and fentanyl have much longer elimination half-life periods which are estimated at approximately 24 hours.
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