Opiate drugs are narcotic sedatives that depress activity of the central nervous system, reduce pain, and induce sleep. These, like other prescription drugs, could be beneficial to the body. Yet, when taken abusively can lead to addiction.
Getting dependent to opiate is a disorder in the body’s central nervous system. Constant and extensive opiate use can cause the nerve cells in the brain to stop functioning as they normally and stop producing natural endorphins. Opiate substitutes endorphins in the body. This makes the nerve cells to deteriorate and opiate dependency would then occur. Scientists have found that the brain has its own opiate and opiate receptors, which are concentrated in the parts of the brain that manages pain and emotions. The nucleus accumbens is a region in the brain that enhances the release of dopamine. Dopamine gives an individual a high feeling of pleasure and relaxation which can lead to addiction.
Normally, a substance dependent would take actions to conceal the addiction. But eventually it will start to show, both in their behavior and in their attitudes. Symptoms of opiate dependency includes obsessing over medications, obsessing over doctor appointments and the need to get more medicine, being restless, irritable, and angry when not getting enough opiates, being preoccupied with getting more drugs, lying about how much they have used or when they got the medicine, and lying to doctors or faking injuries or illnesses in order to get more medicine. An addict may even go out of their way to the point of inflicting injury to one’s own body to get medication.
This type of addiction is treated the same as any other type of drug addiction. All treatments always start with the addict willing to overcome the addiction. Professional help is also needed for a high possibility of recovery from the addiction. Detoxification is needed as a first step in treating the addiction. In the process of the treatment, withdrawal symptoms could occur. Opiate detox and withdrawal can occur when one suddenly reduces the amount of opiates after intense use. Opiates could be an illegal drug or prescription drugs. Actually, it is the occurrence of withdrawal syndrome that makes an individual to continue using the drug. Furthermore, opiate users often experience drowsiness, vomiting, nausea, muscle soreness, constipation and dry mouth.
Opiate dependency was once viewed as a condition with no solution. Patients with opiate physical dependency were considered to have acquired an addictive personality or psychological disorder or to have suffered with a dysfunctional family life. However, studies have been made on how to treat this kind of addiction. After more than a decade of NIH-supported animal and human research, buprenorphine became one of the daily-administered medications most recently approved to treat opiate addiction. With the help of the opiate receptor discovery, researchers determined that buprenorphine worked like a treatment already available, termed methadone, by activating opiate receptors and mimicking opiate drugs of abuse. Receptor-activating medications can help relieve drug cravings and control a person’s addiction. Medications should also be paired with behavioral therapy such that the patient is encouraged to feel and be hopeful that the addiction would later on subside. To help deal with the addiction, behavior should be modified.
Opiate is a drug usually used to alleviate severe and chronic pain. Prescription drugs may be safe to take but exploiting it could always lead to danger. Opiate can be tolerated by the body and later on may lead to addiction. Treatment may be hard but it is the only way out.
