The other name for opioid addiction is opioid use disorder. It is a relapsing and chronic
disease that can trap anyone. There are millions of folks who are suffering
from this disease each day. Individuals suffering from opioid addiction face
negative health impacts on their physical and emotional well-being.
Like most diseases, even opioid addiction
is treatable under certain circumstances. If you notice that your loved ones
are suffering from this disease, you must seek professional treatment and help.
Along with a proper treatment plan, counseling is also helpful.
It is also good to note that the patient
must be equally willing to receive the treatment. Recovering from opioid
addiction requires strong willpower. It is also a long-term process, and both
the patients of the individuals supporting them through it must also be equally
patient.
1.
Detox Process
For an individual who is already deep
into the clutches of opioids, it can seem extremely difficult to get past the
addiction at first; however, it is not exactly impossible. Patients suffering
from opioid addiction experience changes in certain parts of their brains.
If you are adamant, and the patient moves
forward with the detox process, they experience several withdrawal symptoms
such as:
· Large pupils
· Craving for drugs
· Yawning
· Diarrhea
· Belly pain
· Body aches
· Chills and goosebumps (the origin of the phrase "cold
turkey")
· Agitation and severe bad moods
· Nausea and Vomiting
They experience symptoms of withdrawal
ranging from a few days to weeks. It also depends on the kind of drug you were
using and for how long you have been consuming it.
These symptoms are just some hurdles on
the path to the glorious reward.
2.
Medication for Addiction
When an addict goes through opioid
withdrawal, the withdrawal symptoms are significant. Therefore to curb this,
most health professionals usually prescribe the addicts an alternative drug to
lessen the symptom.
· Methadone:
Methadone is a drug that acts quite the
same as opioids. It affects the part in the individual's braid, just like
opioids. However, Methadone does give the individual high. With the correct
dose of Methadone, an addict can successfully withdraw the symptoms of opioids
and also, at the same time, ease the cravings for the drug.
· Buprenorphine:
Buprenorphine is another drug that treats
opioid dependence. This medication affects a similar part of the individual's
brain. But Buprenorphine is not as strong as an opioid. Buprenorphine also has
a lesser chance of leading to a lethal overdose; therefore, most medical
professionals favor this medicine.
· Counseling
Treatment
There is a great and successful chance of
relieving oneself from the clutches of opioid addiction by committing to
long-term maintenance therapy. Medication, along with counseling therapy, has
been seen as a successful treatment for most opioid addicts. This kind of
treatment is also known as medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
Counseling sessions that are assisted by
qualified health professionals help the patients to deal with any personal or
social issues that they might be facing. These issues among addicts are all the
major reasons for their addiction. A few of the most common problems that most
addicts deal with are:
· Their self-worth
· Personal problems at home
· Work-related problems
· People surrounding them that promote drug use
The counseling that will be carried out
to help the patient are:
· Motivational
interviewing
This therapy treatment helps the patient
identify why they might not be willing to change their behavior.
· Contingency
management
This kind of treatment helps the patient
collect different rewards or incentives to help them meet their daily goals,
such as taking their medications and correctly meeting their treatment requirement.
· Cognitive-behavioral
therapy (CBT)
This treatment helps the patient to see
deep into themselves and question why they might be using opioids. This
treatment helps to make the minds of the addicts believe that they are strong
enough to address the situation and get rid of their opioid addiction.
This form of treatment helps addicts to
cope with all their struggles related to opioid addiction.
· 12-step
groups
This treatment involves defining the
goals of the treatment by the addict and then attending addiction meetings and
finding a reliable sponsor.
· Family
therapy
In this kind of therapy, the patient's
family and loved ones are brought in to strengthen the treatment's ability.
· Support
groups
This kind of treatment was introduced to
familiarize the patient with individuals going through similar problems.
To
Conclude
Are you aware of someone in your family
suffering from opioid addiction? Are you worried about them and looking for
different treatment procedures? Counseling treatment for opioid addiction is
very beneficial for addicts in the long term. NuLease is one of the best treatment
centers to treat opioid addiction effectively.