When searching for an addiction treatment program in Georgia, there are many factors to take into consideration. Opioid treatment programs vary in services offered, cost of opiate addiction treatment, length of stay at a rehab center, and the effectiveness of the opioid addiction treatment provided.
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, “opioid-involved overdose deaths have been rapidly increasing in Georgia since 2010, driven largely by increased use and misuse of prescription opioids (e.g., Oxycodone and Hydrocodone). Beginning in 2013, illicit opioids such as heroin and fentanyl drove the sharp increase in opioid-involved overdose deaths.”
Opioid dependency and addiction are growing problems which have been exacerbated by public health challenges such as the Covid-19 Pandemic. Now more than ever, people are realizing the risk and devastating effects of the opioid epidemic on their local communities, including those within the Empire State of the South: Georgia.
Commonly used opioids (or narcotics) that are responsible for creating dependency include:
– Opium
– Heroin
– Codeine
– Tramadol
– Morphine
– Fentanyl
Opioids and opiates work the same way, acting on receptors in the brain to block the sensation of pain. Over a period of extended drug use, the brain becomes adapted to a certain level of endorphins the opioid drug produces and eventually will require more.
Number of drug and opioid-involved overdose deaths in Georgia – source: https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/opioids/opioid-summaries-by-state/georgia-opioid-involved-deaths-related-harms
Cravings develop when an individual is focused on acquiring more of the drug of choice, has a strong desire or urge to use if the opportunity presents itself, or has what feels like a psychological need for the drug’s positive effects.
If the cravings are persistent and begin interfering with everyday life such as work obligations, relationships, or finances, it is more than likely that an opioid dependency has been established. The brain’s chemistry has been altered enough that in order to now regulate itself, it physiologically can not go without the opioid it has become accustomed to being flooded with.
Opioid addiction can happen to anyone regardless of gender, age, race, income level, or status. Whether illicit or legal prescriptions for painkillers, the number of overdoses and deaths continue to rise in Georgia. For Georgia’s population size, the state ranks near the top of the list when counting deaths resulting from opioid related overdoses.
According to the Georgia Office of The Attorney General:
“In Georgia from June of 2016 to May of 2017, the total number of opioid doses prescribed to Georgia patients surpassed 541 million. To put that in perspective, that is approximately 54 doses for every man, woman and child in Georgia.
Georgia is also among the top 11 states with the most opioid overdose deaths, and 55 Georgia counties have an overdose rate higher than the national average.”
Seeking help for an opioid addiction is the first step in recovery. While opioid treatment programs in Georgia are available throughout the state, there are many opioid addiction treatment facilities near Georgia, in Florida for instance, that may be a better fit depending on the individual’s circumstances.
While not the experience one might have at a typical Georgia opiate detox center, the ANR Clinic opioid addiction treatment is done in Naples, Florida and utilizes modern medicine to beat opioid dependence once and for all. Saving time as well as the need for patients to have to physically endure the physically and psychologically painful symptoms of active opioid withdrawal, makes a trip to the ANR Clinic worthwhile.
Opioid treatment providers in Georgia range from offering a process known as rapid opioid detox which requires about 3 days of monitoring to longer term inpatient stays. In the state of Georgia, there are 76 opioid treatment programs as of 2021, more than any other Southeastern state aside from Florida. Tennessee has only 17, in contrast; Alabama has 23, and Mississippi has five. Florida has 3 more opioid addiction 78 clinics than its neighbor, but Florida’s population is nearly double that of Georgia.
Searching for opiate detox centers of Georgia will render results that may promise to cure an opioid addiction with a month long stay at a resort style detox facility or rehab center, requiring an individual to give up time at work or with family and loved ones in order to undergo an extensive treatment program for his or her opioid addiction. Other Georgia detox centers may boast fast detoxes and results, but do not report the efficacy of their drug detox treatment or rate of relapse.
Professionals in the field of opioid addiction widely agree that the body needs to detox from the drugs that have been introduced into the system. However, the methods of doing so vary from treatment center to treatment center.
Any opioid drug detox currently available in Georgia forces a person who is in active addiction to undergo what is known as “withdrawal syndrome.” Opiate detox centers in Georgia, and across the United States, are using outdated practices which cause unnecessary suffering for individuals battling opioid addiction.
When entering a detox facility for an opioid addiction, it is possible and to be expected, that an individual will experience a variety of opioid withdrawal symptoms including but not limited to:
Withdrawal symptoms can be mild to severe. Symptoms can vary depending on the opioid drug being abused, the method of use (was it snorted? Injected?) the length of time using the drug, how often does were taken, and how large the doses were. Genetic factors such as age, body weight, and overall health also play into what symptoms will be experienced and to what extent.
A drug detox may be successful for some, but many individuals who have tried traditional rehabs or opioid detoxes and have relapsed may feel discouraged. It’s important to note that it is not a failure of willpower or personal character. Very simply put, the opioid addiction treatment Georgia facilities have to offer, leave the brain in a state of imbalance. As long as the imbalance is present, cravings will continue to appear whether it be within days, weeks, or even years to come.
An advantage of living in Georgia, is that Florida is a neighboring state, offering opioid addiction treatment programs and clinics, namely, the ANR Clinic. In about a day’s worth of driving or just over a couple of hours by plane, the beginning of a new, sober life is within reach.
Individuals living in or near larger metro areas and cities throughout Georgia, such as the following areas, may find that flying to Florida for an opioid dependence treatment at ANR to be a cost and time effective solution:
Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW), located in south Fort Myers, is the main international airport serving Naples, Florida.
The following Georgia airports regularly have affordable flights to RSW:
It only takes one single weekend at the ANR Clinic to change an addicted individual’s life.
The ANR Clinic is a viable option for anyone searching for opioid addiction treatment facilities near Georgia that not only provide safe and effective opiate detox or require a check in to a long term rehab facility, but that go one step further in treating the biological root cause of addiction. In fact, the ANR Clinic is the only opiate addiction treatment that re-regulates the brain’s chemistry to its pre-dependence state. This neuro-regulation balances the receptors in the brain, effectively getting rid of what was biologically driving the opioid dependence.
In addressing the root biological cause for opioid dependence, cravings are no longer experienced and the individual is, in essence, free from the chains of opiate dependence and drug addiction.
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