Opiate drugs include heroine, morphine, codeine, methadone, and various prescription painkillers such as Dilaudid, Vicodin, and Oxycontin. according to the most recent estimates, about 1 in every 10 North Americans abuse one of these drugs at some point in their lifetime, and about 1 in 30 go through opiate drug detox at least once.

Among all illicit drugs, opiates are the easiest to become addicted to, and they have the sharpest increases in tolerance. It’s possible to become addicted after just one week of daily usage. And after just two weeks, it’s common for opiate abusers to find that they already need twice as much of the drug to achieve the same euphoric effects.

And because tolerance develops so quickly, addiction can be very severe. As a result, opiate drug detox can be unbearably physically and mentally painful. The withdrawal is severe, leading to high rates of relapse.

Here are some of the symptoms you can expect:

oAgitation
oNausea
oSweating
oVomiting
oDiarrhea
oDilated pupils
oConvulsions
oStomach pain
oRunny nose
oGoose bumps

Opiate drug detox cannot lead directly to death, however it can cause complications that in turn lead to death. for example, people going through detox may become severely dehydrated, which can lead to potentially fatal electrolyte disturbances. also, because people with severe addictions to drugs like heroin often don’t take very good care of themselves, drug detox can cause other health problems to flare up, sometimes with fatal consequences.

Because the effects of opiate withdrawal are so severe, it’s recommended that addicts should not quit without consulting a doctor. in fact, the best thing to do is to go through your drug detox under the supervision of a medical professional.

Of course, this isn’t so necessary in cases of addiction that haven’t lasted a long time and which aren’t severe. for example, if you’ve only been addicted to the drug for a couple of months and you’re not taking a huge amount, you can probably get approval from a doctor to go through your drug detox at home.

In this case, what will most likely happen is your doctor will give you a prescription for an opiate replacement drug. this will probably be methadone, although there are others. Then, you’ll be asked to check in with the doctor on a regular basis to ensure that your drug detox is going smoothly.

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Rod MacTaggart

Victims prescription drug addicts and street overdoses of opioids can often be saved by the drug naloxone, but the event must immediately with the arrival of the drug rehab be pursued, followed by a long rehabilitation from drugs.

published according to recent statistics Massachusetts, show a decrease in the number of drug related deaths in the first time in more than a decade, and some of the credit is currently due to the drug naloxone, retire the person can from death, Door to opioid overdose. But someone has tied-aid from certain death from an overdose of savings only if he or she immediately went to the medical detox program to help remove, these opioids, they admire.

Tags: detox, Drug, Medical, naloxone, Opioid, Overdose, should, stick, treatment

this entry was posted on Friday, January 13th, 2012 at 5:53 am and is filed under Opioids. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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 Peoria County has recorded 33 drug-related deaths so far this year, almost half of them caused by opiates – including heroin, methadone and prescription painkillers such as Vicodin and OxyContin.

And as of last week, more than half of Tazewell County's 13 drug-related deaths this year have involved opiates.

if a trend is evident in county coroners' offices, it's even more evident in hospital emergency rooms and substance abuse treatment programs.

"It's scary," says Dr. George Hevesy, director of emergency medical services at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.

Hevesy says he's seeing heroin addicts as young as 14 and as old as 60. Regardless of age or drug of choice, he's seeing more drug-related cases.

"We're seeing increases in deaths, we're seeing increases in overdoses, we're seeing increases in heroin," he said. "But the most popular thing out there right now is prescription drugs."

the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a report declaring overdoses from prescription painkillers at "epidemic" levels.

most of the prescription drug abuse cases Hevesy sees are related to opiate abuse. He's concerned that doctors are over-prescribing painkillers such as Vicodin, OxyContin and Percodan.

"I can see 40 patients in a day and 32 are already on opiates. Those are bad drugs," he said.

at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC), an alternative program for nonviolent offenders with substance abuse problems, clients who reported opiates, mainly heroin, as their drug of choice jumped from 17 to 23 percent in the past year.

the staff at Whitman Medical Unit in Peoria, one of the few free-standing drug detoxification units in Illinois, doesn't make distinctions between heroin and other opiates.

"For us, it's the same creature; opiates are opiates are opiates," said Jeania Murphy, a nurse who is program manager at Whitman.

Methamphetamine and cocaine get a lot of attention and they're still out there, Murphy said. But from her perspective, the trend runs on two tracks, both leading to drugs in the opiate family. She's seeing younger people with serious heroin addictions and increasing numbers of people, across the board, addicted to prescription painkillers.

Meanwhile, Whitman, a 12-bed program under the umbrella of White Oaks Companies' residential and drug treatment programs, is located in a building that, until recently, also housed White Oaks' drug treatment program for men.

due to budget cuts, White Oaks has closed some treatment programs and shifted others, leaving 30 empty beds at White Oaks programs. Whitman's detox program, however, is almost always at capacity. Patients stay five to seven days, then can decide to go into a treatment program if they can find one with an available bed.

Whitman opened 25 years ago, originally to relieve hospital emergency rooms from dealing with drug overdoses and to help people detox from alcohol and benzodiazepines, a category of drugs that includes Valium, Librium and Xanax.

now, on any given day, people withdrawing from opiate addictions make up half, if not more, of Whitman's population. Whitman first started seeing more clients addicted to opiates after new medications were developed that made opiate withdrawal more comfortable.

the state agency that funds drug treatment programs, the Department of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, also prioritized admissions of intravenous drug users, often heroin users, to drug treatment programs, which further increased the opiate population at Whitman.

But Murphy is convinced the change also reflects huge increases in opiate abuse in the area. like Dr. Hevesy at St. Francis, she says physicians' attempts to help patients manage pain by prescribing painkillers may be inadvertently contributing to the problem.

And as the problem increases, Whitman is drawing people with opiate addictions from the Rockford area and down to Springfield. Suboxone, the medication that helps them get through withdrawal, is not cheap. if insurance doesn't cover the cost, many rely on family and friends to pay the bill, according to Pat Kennedy, director of substance abuse services at White Oaks.

"I know of three times in the last six months where churches pulled out the checkbook and paid for it," Kennedy said.

Pam Adams can be reached at 686-3245 or .

Drug-related deaths Peoria County

2011: Total thus far of 33 (16 opiate-related, including 9 heroin-related)

2010: Total of 29 (16 opiate-related, including 9 heroin-related)

2009: Total of 37 (16 opiate-related, including 7 heroin-related)

2008: Total of 38 (20 opiate-related, including 5 heroin-related)

Source: Peoria County Coroner Johnna Ingersoll

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Well, I hate to be the one to bring you the bad news, but drug detox is only your stepping stone to recovery from your drug addiction. It is the first step in becoming a recovered addict. an alcohol or drug detox is required when a person’s body becomes physically dependent on alcohol, drugs or certain types of prescription medications. although this may not be necessary for you or your loved one, for many, it is an important step in their treatment program.

Drug Detox is equally important for accidental prescription painkillers addicts. It is usually a short program and will normally last between 3 and 10 days. the basic feeling of an individual that enters a detox center is desolation. this treatment is performed in many different environments with a variety of philosophies. the goal of drug detox is the removal of poisonous toxins in the body that are accumulated from drug use. Medically supervised prescription drug detox is highly recommended for methadone dependency or addiction. Rapid opiate / narcotic detox is safe, effective, painless and fast. It is often necessary, especially when opiates such as heroin or prescription pills like OxyContin are involved.

Sometimes drug detox is ordered by the court as the result of a conviction related to charges stemming from possession or use of an illegal substance. Non medicated detox might be ordered and it is the process of cleansing and getting rid of all the drugs and toxins in your system without the use of any medication. While it is not physically painful like is for most substances, it is very difficult emotionally to stop using. after drug detox is complete, comprehensive addiction therapy is crucial.

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Addiction among olderadults is a hidden and hushed problem. Signs and symptoms of alcohol or medication abuse can easily be mistaken for conditions related to aging. And even when friends or family members recognize signs of addiction, they often discount the need for intervention or treatment. with an estimated three million older Americans struggling with alcohol and drug misuse and abuse, Aging and Addiction is a much-needed resource. the authors, both experts in the field of addiction tre

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Federal Official Says Prescription Drug Addiction Is A serious National Health Threat

Article by Rod MacTaggart

The diversion and abuse of prescription drugs for non-medical use is a serious threat to public health and safety, and medical drug detox is the preferred first step in recovery.

Nearly a third of new drug abusers begin their downward spiral into addiction with prescription drugs, and potent narcotic painkillers, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone, are the first-time choice for one in every five new abusers, says a new report from the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC). And all across the country, thousands of people who have fallen victim to prescription drug addiction are searching for treatment to help them get back their lives.

Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy, has released a report on prescription drug diversion and abuse, calling non-medical use of prescription drugs a serious threat to public health and safety.

According to the report, unintentional deaths involving prescription opioid painkillers increased 114 percent from 2001 to 2005, while treatment admissions increased 74 percent in the same period.

Since then, unofficial figures suggest the destructive trend is only getting worse. More than 8,500 Americans died in 2005 as a result of prescription drug addiction and abuse, all involving opioid painkillers. That’s a 114 percent increase since 2001. Emergency room visits for nonmedical use of painkillers increased 39 percent from 2004 to 2006, and treatment admissions increased 74 percent from 2002 to 2006. nearly a third of all individuals who began abusing drugs in the past year say their first drug was a prescription drug — and 19 percent indicated it was a prescription opioid. Thus, 1 in 5 new drug abusers are initiating use with potent narcotics, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone.

The most recent reports have revealed that diverted prescription drugs are more readily available than heroin in all drug markets. Opioid painkillers are most commonly diverted, and are the drugs most associated with prescription drug addiction, injury and death. Diversion methods include prescription drug fraud such as “doctor shopping” and forged prescriptions, outright theft and robberies at knife- or gun-point, along with rogue Internet pharmacies, friends and relatives.

In fact, says the NDIC, the primary source of controlled prescription drugs are friends and relatives, most of whom have no idea they are supporting someone’s prescription drug addiction by leaving their Vicodin, OxyContin or Perocet lying around where it can be stolen, or by handing pills out to friends or family members in a misguided attempt to help.

Diversion of prescription drugs is reported as highest in the eastern states, but violent crime, as well as theft and burglaries, have increased in all regions of the United States over the past 5 years, says the report.

If you know someone with a prescription drug addiction or abuse problem, do them a favor and help them into a medical drug detoxcenter to begin the treatment that could do more than just end drug abuse — it could save their life.

About the Author

Rod MacTaggart is a freelance writer that contributes articles on health.

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