Opioid drugs are typically prescription pain relievers. Although they’re legitimate medications, these pain relievers are easy to use indiscriminately. It wouldn’t be difficult to form a dependence, which can lead to a full-blown opioid addiction. If you’re in Ohio and looking for an opioid addiction treatment program, contact Midwest Detox Center online or call 833.647.0392 to learn about how we can be part of your opioid addiction recovery process.
Why should medication-assisted addiction treatment happen sooner rather than later? Long-term opioid addiction can cause abdominal pain, depression, hormonal issues, irregular heartbeats, and an increased risk of having heart attacks. And because opioid withdrawal symptoms can be debilitating, going to a medical detox program and transitioning to a comprehensive substance abuse treatment program is usually what experts recommend.
Signs of Opioid Addiction
Symptoms of opioid use disorder can be behavioral, physical, or psychological. Some signs are difficult to observe without the complete cooperation of the person using opioids, so it can be hard to ascertain whether someone had developed an addiction or not. Here are some warning signs of opioid addiction you should watch out for:
- Anxiety attacks, bouts of depression, irritability, and drastic mood swings
- Constipation and sweating
- Drowsiness and changes in sleeping patterns
- Financial hardship
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of coordination, slurred speech, and shaking
- Lowered motivation, poor decision-making, and abandoning responsibilities
- Shallow or slow breathing
- Spending less time with family and loved ones
What to Expect From the Opioid Detox Process
Withdrawal symptoms will occur when someone stops using an opioid. They can be severe and intense, especially after heavy and regular opioid use, and can keep occurring as the body tries to filter out the drug and get used to not having the drug affect its functions.
Effects of withdrawal can increase in intensity over time until the detox process is complete but its severity will decrease after it peaks at about 24 hours after the last opioid use. Withdrawal symptoms will initially feel like a bad case of the flu, with eyes tearing up, heavy sweating, muscle aches, restlessness, and a runny nose, along with anxiety and difficulty falling asleep.
Withdrawal symptoms that show up after the first day of starting the detox process, like abdominal cramps, diarrhea, intense nausea and vomiting, rapid heartbeat, and high blood pressure, can be more serious and severely deplete a patient’s energy and focus.
Some detox centers can include medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to a patient’s customized detox plan to deal with the effects of these extreme withdrawal symptoms until the patient has safely overcome their opioid addiction and has stabilized. MAT can also reduce opioid cravings and increase the chance of successful detox and long-term sobriety.
After the detox process, most medical teams will encourage the patient to transition into an opioid addiction treatment program or something similar.
What to Expect From an Opioid Addiction Treatment Program
The best addiction treatment programs are comprehensive and include forms of care and therapy, like group therapy and individual therapy, that address both the psychological and physical aspects of the substance use disorder. Mental health professionals that are part of these programs should also make sure that patients are diagnosed correctly because treatment for people with a dual diagnosis should be different.
Any effective opioid addiction treatment program should be customized for each patient, whether or not they have co-occurring disorders or not. Underlying health conditions and the severity of opioid addiction are also important considerations, for example.
Sometimes, patients can be admitted into a residential addiction treatment program that begins with medical detox and then turns into an inpatient addiction treatment program. Other patients may have a solid support system and not require 24-hour care. They can simply attend an outpatient addiction treatment program. Patients that struggle with chronic addiction will definitely require an inpatient program for a successful recovery.
Learn More About Midwest Detox Center’s Opioid Addiction Treatment Program
Are you or someone you care about in Ohio and struggling with opioid addiction? Contact Midwest Detox Center online or call 833.647.0392 and find out more about our opioid addiction treatment program and other services that can help you as you walk the opioid addiction recovery path.
