Kicking Pain Pills
Opiate addiction comes with its own special set of problems, one of the worst of which is an agonizing withdrawal. The development of a tolerable withdrawal technique at Narconon drug recovery centers is good news for opiate addicts.
Kicking pain pills at a Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation center surprises some addicts with its relative lack of discomfort.
Getting off painkillers once and for all
The solution offered by many drug rehab centers is long-term treatment with substitute drugs, either methadone or buprenorphine, both developed to prevent withdrawal symptoms in addicts kicking opiates. But both are themselves drugs of abuse.
So when someone came up with a more tolerable, drug-free way to kick opiates and opioids as a first step toward a new, drug-free life, this was excellent news for addicts.
At Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, those who come for opiate drug recovery find a withdrawal step that is tolerable and humane. This drug-free withdrawal phase is begun after any step-down or medical detox that may be required due to heavy opioid use or certain other drugs or heavy alcohol. It has been found that nutritional supplements such as B-vitamin combinations and calcium-magnesium help the body get through withdrawal with much less discomfort. “Assists,” gentle physical and re-orienting exercises, help the recovering addict focus his or her attention in the present, safe environment and relax muscle spasms.
The Narconon Drug Recovery Program Offers Much More than just Withdrawal
There are detox programs that simply get a person off the drug that was addicting them. There are drug rehabs that run for 28 or 30 days, as long as many insurance plans will cover, and then whatever progress in developing a drug-free life the addict has made up to that point is all they are going to get. They are back on the street and on their own. But the Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers located around the world offer a very different type of program.
The unique Narconon system of recovery allows each addict to proceed at their own pace. So no longer is an addict forced to face life on their own before recovery is complete. The Narconon program helps those who were addicted learn to build a new life to replace the one that was destroyed by drugs. It is very common for addicts to arrive at a Narconon facility with little or nothing left of that former life. The family may have given up on them, careers may have been trashed, homes, jobs, and self-esteem may have long since been replaced by homelessness, despair, and guilt.
Those in Recovery Can Learn to Live Life Without Drugs
Before there were drugs and addiction, there may have been problems that could not be faced. Or perhaps it was just boredom or desire for something different and exciting. When drugs took over, self-confidence, trust, happiness and ability to achieve one’s goals and many other qualities were lost. They can be regained at Narconon. It happens every day, around the world.
Those in recovery on the Narconon drug and alcohol drug rehabilitation program learn why they made their decisions to start using drugs. They learn techniques for shedding the guilt for terrible things done while they were high or trying to get drugs.
When all is said and done, a Narconon graduate has the tools to stay drug-free without crutches like methadone or buprenorphine.
Narconon graduates will tell you that is the very best way to live.
More about Narcotic Pain Medications
It’s a class of drug that makes life livable for millions of people who would otherwise suffer debilitating pain, chronically or acutely. But it’s also a class of drug so prone to abuse that millions more have misused it. This misuse has had a variety of effects. Some people just experienced the euphoria that commonly results from its abuse. Other people have become addicted. Some of those who became addicted made it into rehabs and some of them died.
The class, of course, is narcotic pain medications. The class starts at the less effective end with Demerol (meperidine HCl). At the other end of the scale of effectiveness is Dilaudid (hydromorphone).
A study at Harvard rated all the current prescription narcotics for their effectiveness as pain relievers, using a scale of 1 to 11. “One” was aspirin and Dilaudid was at “11”.
In between, in ascending order of effectiveness on pain are:
- Combinations of hydrocodone plus acetaminophen (known to most people as Tylenol); brand names in this category include Vicodin, Lortab and Lorcet.
- Oxycodone combinations such as Percodan which also contains aspirin or Percocet that also contains acetaminophen. Oxycodone is best known by its brand name, OxyContin.
- Oxycodone HCl
- Fentanyl, an extremely powerful pain reliever that has been known to cause hallucinations. It is so prone to overdose that it is normally administered in a patch or a lollipop.
- Morphine sulfate, brand named MS Contin.
- Then Dilaudid, a derivative of morphine, tops the list.
These drugs follow in the footsteps of the earlier opioids used for pain relief:
Opium, morphine, codeine, and heroin. Each of these drugs was developed and marketed for medical purposes. (The only exception is opium which dates back to ancient Egypt; it may well have followed the same pattern but that history is not recorded.) After many people became addicted or died, each substance was either made illegal or subjected to severe legal and distribution controls.
Effects of Opioids, Good and Bad
Yes, opiates and the partially-synthetic opioids do relieve pain. But they come with unpleasant side effects. Researchers continue to try to find pain medications that avoid side effects such as nausea and vomiting; drowsiness; itching; dry mouth; slow or fast heartbeat; respiratory depression which is often the cause of fatality in overdoses; confusion, hallucinations, delirium.
Constipation is such a well-known and widespread side effect of pain medication that some laxatives now promote their use for people taking pain pills.
Withdrawal from Pain Relievers Can be Agonizing
When a person becomes addicted, either through legitimate use or abuse, getting off the drug can be a miserable experience, enough to prevent addicts from seeking help. Withdrawal from many of the opiates and opioids includes severe and deep muscle and bone pain, abdominal cramps, chills and sweating and nausea.
This is one of many articles covering prescription drug addiction. Call if you know someone who may be addicted to prescription drugs or for more information. You could save their life.
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