Opioids were once marketed as powerful medications that can help people enjoy a pain-free life. While their pain-relieving properties are undeniable, today it’s no longer a secret that opioids are incredibly addictive; the rates of opioid addiction, dependence, and overdoses have long reached epidemic proportions.
Often, those struggling with opioid dependence turn to drug detoxification treatments in hopes of making a swift recovery. Such therapies claim to be effective, yet they remain controversial—and not without good reason.
Read on to learn more about opioid addiction and dependence and find out whether drug detoxification is a good option to treat them.
What Are Opioids, and What Are They Used For?
Opioids are drugs used for pain relief. Typically, they are prescribed to patients suffering from moderate-to-severe pain that cannot be managed with non-opioid painkillers. This class also includes illicit opioids, like heroin, which are not approved for any medical purposes.
Based on their origin, opioids can be classified into three groups:
- Natural opioids (opiates). These are extracted from the poppy plant (e.g., morphine and codeine).
- Semi-synthetic opioids. Oxycodone and hydromorphone are examples of common semi-synthetic opioids, which are created in laboratories by synthesizing opiates.
- Synthetic opioids. These are entirely human-made. Opioids like fentanyl and tramadol are devoid of natural opioids.
Regardless of their type, opioids work by interacting with opioid receptors located in the central nervous system (CNS). By binding to these receptors prevents the brain from receiving pain signals from the body, altering the perception of pain. They can also trigger a release of dopamine, inducing feelings of euphoria and deep relaxation.
Side Effects of Opioid Use
Opioids can cause various side effects, including, but not limited to:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Sedation
- Itchy skin
- Drowsiness
- Constipation
- Lightheadedness
- Difficulty breathing
Talk to your doctor if you experience any side effects while taking opioids. Though anyone can experience them, opioid abuse (i.e., taking opioids in other ways than prescribed, such as in higher doses) increases the risk of serious side effects, such as respiratory depression.
Moreover, opioids can also affect your coordination, reaction time, etc., which can make it unsafe for you to drive or operate heavy machinery.
Risks and Dangers of Opioid Use
Though opioids effectively soothe pain, they expose users to various risks and dangers, including:
- Tolerance
- Dependence
- Opioid addiction
- Opioid overdose
- Organ (kidney, heart, liver, etc.) damage
- Increased sensitivity to pain
- Chronic constipation
- Respiratory problems
- Sleep disturbances
- Sexual dysfunction
- Reduced fertility
- Depression
- Death
These risks increase with long-term opioid use. This, coupled with the fact that there’s a lack of evidence to prove the benefits of long-term opioid use, explains why it is generally not recommended to take these medications for a prolonged period.
Opioid Addiction and Dependence Explained
Opioid addiction and dependence often co-occur, but you can be dependent on opioids without being addicted.
Opioid dependence refers to the physical dependence on these medications that anyone—including those who carefully follow their doctor’s directions—will develop if they take them long enough. This is because repeated opioid use alters brain chemistry.
Besides hindering endorphin production, repeated opioid exposure also causes an increase in the production of opioid receptors, leading to tolerance.
Feeling like your usual dose has lost its effectiveness is usually a sign you’ve become dependent on opioids. This means your body can no longer function normally without them; if you quit them, you’ll experience uncomfortable opioid withdrawal symptoms.
If you don’t treat opioid dependence, it can eventually develop into an addiction.
Opioid addiction primarily differs from opioid dependence in that it is also characterized by psychological symptoms and affects people’s ability to control their opioid use. Those addicted to opioids lose control of their impulses and struggle to stop taking opioids, even though they negatively affect their lives.
Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms
Some of the most common opioid withdrawal symptoms include:
- Nausea
- Tremors
- Vomiting
- Insomnia
- Irritability
- Sweating
- Goosebumps
- Muscle aches
- Stomach ache
- Opioid cravings
- Elevated blood pressure
- Flu-like symptoms (fever, runny nose, watery eyes, etc.)
Opioid withdrawal symptoms can be tough to bear; many users continue taking opioids just to alleviate their suffering.
It’s also not uncommon for people to switch to illicit opioids if they can no longer obtain opioids legally (e.g., if the doctor refuses to renew the prescription). One study found that close to 80% of Americans addicted to heroin have previously abused prescription painkillers.
Due to a high risk of relapse, overdose, and death, it’s in your best interest to seek professional help if you’re planning on quitting opioids.
How to Treat Opioid Addiction and Dependence: Drug Detoxification as an Option?
There are many ways to treat opioid addiction and dependence, but not all of them are equally effective.
Some examples of traditional opioid treatment programs include:
- Inpatient rehabilitation treatments. Such programs require you to stay at treatment centers throughout your opioid addiction treatment.
- Medication-assisted treatment (MAT). MAT combines opioid-replacement medications with counseling and behavioral therapy.
- Opioid detox. Drug detoxification procedures like rapid detox use medications, such as naloxone, to quickly remove opioids from your system.
While other opioid treatment programs often take months, if not years, to complete and still don’t guarantee long-term results, opioid detox is often marketed as a quick and easy fix for opioid addiction.
However, this couldn’t be further from the truth; drug detoxification doesn’t cure opioid dependence. Rather than addressing its underlying causes, it simply flushes opioids out of the system, which renders it ineffective.
Why Opioid Detox Cannot Treat Opioid Dependence
Opioid detox cannot treat opioid dependence and addiction because it fails to address their root cause—the opioid-induced imbalance in brain chemistry.
For this reason, many people experience withdrawal symptoms even after completing drug detoxification. Unfortunately, this means that it’s not uncommon for people to undergo this procedure only to relapse. One study found that a staggering 75% of patients relapsed within just a month of undergoing ultra-rapid opioid detox (UROD).
Worse yet, relapse can lead to a life-threatening overdose due to reduced tolerance to opioids. While this is one of the reasons why opioid detox is dangerous, it isn’t the only one; it can also lead to adverse events like cardiac arrest, worsening of mental health problems, and even death.
The bottom line is that opioid detox is neither safe nor effective. To make a long-term recovery, look for a treatment that prioritizes your safety and tackles the root of opioid dependence.
ANR Treatment: A Revolutionary Opioid Dependence Treatment
Developed by Dr. Andre Waismann, Accelerated Neuro-Regulation (ANR) is the first and only opioid dependence treatment that addresses its deep-rooted neurobiological causes.
By fixing the root cause of opioid dependence, ANR has helped nearly 25,000 people quit opioids for good and leave the fear of relapse behind.
The ANR treatment doesn’t stop at drug detoxification; it is the result of the treatment but not its therapeutic goal.
Instead, ANR brings your brain to its pre-addiction state by re-regulating the endorphin-receptor system. Thanks to reversing the damage opioids cause to the brain, ANR negates the risk of ongoing withdrawal symptoms and relapse. For this reason, it has a very high success rate.
Moreover, ANR is designed with your safety in mind. Each treatment is tailored to every patient individually and carried out by board-certified medical professionals, including anesthesiologists and critical care physicians. Because of this, ANR is a safe and effective treatment that can be performed even on those with complex medical issues.
To get started with ANR, contact us today and book a free consultation!
Key Takeaways
Drug detoxification isn’t nearly enough to heal opioid addiction and dependence. While it may sound attractive, it can do more harm than good.
Now, let’s summarize what we’ve learned today:
- Opioids are a class of drugs with pain-relieving properties that carry a very high potential for opioid dependence and addiction.
- Anyone who takes opioids for an extended period of time risks becoming dependent, which is why you should ideally avoid taking them long-term and only take them as prescribed.
- Unlike traditional treatments like drug detoxification and MAT, the ANR treatment eradicates opioid dependence by re-regulating the endorphin-receptor imbalance.
Additional Information
Agonist and Antagonist in Opioid Treatment
Home Remedies for Opiate Withdrawal to Help Manage Your Symptoms
