Treatment Of Addiction To Opioids

Opioid is a psychoactive chemical resembling morphine. It is usually administered to reduce pain, increase tolerance to pain and reduce the perception of pain. This drug may be prescribed by a doctor to reduce the pain one may be feeling. Abusing pain medications can lead to a person depending too much on the drug to reduce pain.

Morphine reduces pain however, if a person takes the drug for a long time, they become addicted to the drug. Addiction to any Opioid is dangerous as it may have other effects. These effects include depression, respiratory problems, brain damage and even death.

There are two main ways of treating Opioid addiction. The first common method that has been in existence for a very long time is detoxification. This treatment method however is not useful alone as statistics indicate that most people relapse after detoxification if there is no effective program to enable them to get over the addiction.

The other effective method for treating Opioid addiction is by use of Opioid agonists, partial opioid agonists and Opioid antagonists. Methadone an Opioid agonist has been the most effective method of treating Opioid abuse. This drug is taken orally so that it may reach the brain slowly reducing the induced effect of a drug that may occur when someone administers the drug in different ways thus preventing withdrawal symptoms.

Opioids are suitable since they are administered to relieve pain. Despite their positive effects, too much consumption of the drugs can lead to overdependence which may lead to addiction. To prevent this from happening it is important that you use the prescribed medication as per the instructions of the doctor. If you do not follow the doctor’s instructions, you can easily be addicted to these drugs thus presenting a big problem.