A New Way to Conquer Painkiller Addictions

As I have mentioned a time or two here on my blog, I had back surgery several years ago for a nerve that was severely pinched by two disks that were badly herniated. My back problems began a long time ago but became quite severe in the spring of 2005. I was out of work for over two months and was put on three different medications to bring the pain down to a dull roar. I was never pain-free but at least on a combination of Vicodin, Neurontin, and Lodine I was able to get back to work until I was able to have surgery in August. Even after surgery I still took a combination of the three drugs in one form or another until almost November when the nerve that had been so badly pinched finally got “back to normal”.

While taking all of those prescribed medications for over six months, one of my biggest worries was developing an addiction to them – especially the Vicodin. Even before I started working in emergency medical services I had heard stories of people becoming addicted to prescribed pain medications and the horror stories of trying to overcome those addictions. I didn’t want to become one of those horror stories but I had no idea how coming off the drugs was going to affect me until the time came. Thankfully I was able to wean down the dosages and then stop taking them completely with no ill effects or withdrawal symptoms but not everyone is as lucky.

Prescription drug abuse is an emerging major problem in our country and one that is showing an increasing trend. Prescription drugs can have great medical benefits when taken under the supervision of a physician but, because of the nature of the drugs, even if they are taken exactly to the letter they can easily become an addiction due to the make-up of the medications themselves.

Opioids or opiates such as Vicodin, Oxycontin, Percocet, Morphine, Darvocet, and others like them that are prescribed for pain relief after surgery and for chronic pain management attach themselves to opiod receptors both in the brain and the spinal cord. At that point, the pain doesn’t end but the patient’s perception of that pain changes, sometimes even being replaced by a feeling of euphoria. Over time, the human body builds up a tolerance or dependence upon the drugs and when a person stops taking them the body feels the pain more acutely and loses the ability to manage itself. On top of that a lot times withdrawal symptoms appear when the levels of the prescription opiod drop below the elevated tolerance levels so it’s easy to see how someone can become addicted. Depending upon a body’s tolerance, this dependence can develop in as little as two weeks or may take up to a month or two or longer. Or, if a person is lucky like I was I in my case, it may never develop.

There's no line drawn as to who can become addicted and who can't. These prescription drug addictions aren’t just happening to celebrities, though we hear plenty about those, but also to working professionals, stay-at-home moms, regular folks who don’t have the luxury of putting themselves into a rehabilitation center for a month or longer in order to overcome their addictions. So what does a person who is addicted to prescribed pain medications do? What help can they find before these drugs take over their lives?

Thankfully there is a new service available that helps people overcome their addiction to painkillers and opiates which is very similar to the methadone treatments used for heroin addiction in the 80’s. The program involves the use of buprenorphine hydrochloride, also known as Suboxone, a medication that was approved by the FDA for the treatment of opiate dependence and which helps people to safely transition away from prescription pain relievers minus the painful withdrawal symptoms.

Suboxone is available at a group of nationwide opiate detox centers called Meditox which offer Suboxone detox services for those who wish to be free from prescription drug addictions. Using “The Meditox Method”, developed by psychiatrists and addiction professionals who have successfully treated thousands of patients and freed them from their prescription medication addictions, these centers provide out-patient treatment for people wishing to overcome an opiate addiction.

The program is tailored for ‘one-on-one’ treatment based on a patient’s needs and allows a patient to detox at home rather than in a rehabilitation center or hospital while still receiving the care and expertise of doctors and nurses who are available continuously throughout the six-week treatment program. All it takes to get started is to place a phone call to determine whether the Meditox program is right for you or for a loved one who might need treatment.

If you’d like to learn more about “The Meditox Method” please visit the Meditox website or check out their official blog at Suboxone Blog where you can read about celebrity detox experiences as well as find resources for dealing with painkiller addictions. Sometimes we all need a little help so if you or someone you know has an addiction to prescription painkillers, don't let it take over and ruin your life - take charge of it and get your life back!