Suboxone treatment for addiction to opiates

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There is a drug being administered for the treatment of many addictive pain killers that has some promise. This drug is Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone). Traditionally in the past many drugs used to treat addiction to opiates were harsh themselves such as methodone, and ultimately result in a new addiction that must be dealt with. Those living in South Carolina currently addicted to opiates should know there are a wide variety of treatment centers available, see the *links at the bottom of this article for more information.

Suboxone appears to be different in this regard because it has what is referred to as a built in “ceiling effect” which simply means that even if the drugs dosage is increased, it will not improve the effects which make it very difficult if not impossible to become addicted to. Overdoses that are typically seen that are associated with this treatment are due to the patients use of multiple drug intoxication.

Suboxone competes with heroin or opiate painkillers for the same receptors in the brain, alleviating the withdrawal symptoms without producing a “high.” Additionally, there is some evidence to suggest that buprenorphine is effective as an antidepressant. Suboxone comes in both pill and film form and is available by prescription only. Some side effects of the drug are drowsiness, vomitting and respiratory depression. For more information on this treatment, see: Suboxone.
*South Carolina Rehab Information

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Morphine Abuse and Treatment

Morphine is an opiate drug used to treat severe pain. It is generally not prescribed to patients outside of a hospital setting because of the fact that, morphine is highly addictive, even in small doses. Morphine is used for the relief of both short-term and long-term pain, in a medical setting, morphine is used to treat:

• Extreme pain relief
• Pre-surgery anesthesia
• Severe cough relief
• Chronic diarrhea
• Shortness of breath

Morphine exists as white silky crystals, cubical masses of crystals or white crystalline powder. It is soluble in water and slightly soluble in alcohol. As with any addiction, if an addict wants morphine, there are a number of ways to get to it, most of them are illegal. Warning signs of that you or someone you care for may be abusing morphine are:

• Blurred vision
• Double vision
• Involuntary eye movement
• Slurred speech, fainting or uncoordinated muscle movements
• Tremors or seizures
• Memory loss
• Hallucinations, abnormal thinking or exaggerated sense of well being
• Extreme agitation

Although it may be difficult to think about what it would be like to confront a family member about addiction, it is even more difficult to bury that loved one: morphine addiction can kill any addict from the health risks involved. Morphine makes you a different person, and that person is not warm, funny or safe. While morphine can initially make you feel more pleasant, the effects quickly wear off. Besides the dangerous effects morphine has on your body, withdrawals or even high doses can make you anxious, irritable, angry, violent or even psychotic. Identifying morphine abuse is just the first step, the next step is getting treatment and to a safe place.

Questions to Ask a Morphine Rehabilitation Center

Most people who call with questions initially focus the services and therapy strategies offered by the morphine rehab center. The following are some questions on this topic to help get you started:

• Before I come to your center, do you conduct a preliminary assessment or evaluation to get a better understanding of my needs?
• Do you provide detox services, and are they medically supervised?
• Do you offer medication as part of treatment, if appropriate?
• Do you have a primary philosophy that you work with, such as 12-step or faith-based?
• What types of therapies do you offer, such motivational counseling and cognitive or behavioral therapies?
• How is the treatment plan developed?
• What does an average therapy day/week look like?
• Do you allocate time in the treatment plan for group and individual therapy, education sessions, opportunities for reflection and support groups?
• Do you provide services related to addiction, such as treatment for co-occurring mental illness or social, vocational or legal services?
• How often do you assess an individual’s treatment plan to ensure it meets changing needs?
• What are some of the ways that you encourage people to stay in treatment long enough to increase their chance for success?

These questions serve as a good start for your investigation of a morphine rehabilitation center. Learn more about morphine abuse at Morphine Addiction Help.

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Implant for addiction seems promising

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Results of a study issued from the 13th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association  found that the use of buprenorphine implants actually resulted in reduced drug use. The implant was effective in controlled study groups and did have promising results over a 24 week period.
The implant delivers a low, continual dose of medication to the user and is designed specifically to reduce the odds of a relapse in addicts that are addicted to opiates such as heroin and opioid  prescription painkillers .An opioid is a chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central and peripheral nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract. The receptors in these organ systems mediate both the beneficial effects and the side effects of opiates.
 The implants ability to help with relapse is due to the fact it is an implant, so an addict won't skip or forget a dose of the medication. Typically the usual treatment is an under-the-tongue oral medication which is still the preferred mode of treatment by many in the medical field.
While this latest step in innovative drug treatment seems promising, it does have a few drawbacks. It is a surgical procedure, and as with all surgical procedure there are risks of infection and scarring. Oral doses of the medication can be modified and adjusted while the implant can not be customised.  However, the new implant does offer options to the addict and doctor, especially in situations where the addict is likely to not keep up with treatment.

What is Heroin, and why it can kill you

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Heroin is a member of the opiate family. Since Heroin is derived from Morphine, once it enters into the users brain it is changed back into Morphine. Heroin is particularly lethal because of its ability to enter the brain more quickly than Morphine. Addicts prefer Heroin over Morphine for this reason alone. Heroin is often seen as a white powder, that is usually dissolved in saline and injected into the bloodstream. It is also smoked and snorted as well.
What Heroin does to you
Once Heroin has been introduced into the user's body, the abuser  experiences what is called a "rush". The intensity of this "rush" varies according to the amount of the drug used and how it is introduced into the body. The "rush" is described predominately as a warm flushing sensation of the skin, while extremities feel heavy or weighted down. There have been reports of vomiting, extreme nausea and even an itching sensation.
Heroin has a powerful effect on the users' nervous system. Mental functioning becomes severely impaired, breathing is greatly slowed to the point the user becomes unconscious and dies due to the cardiac functions Image via Wikipediabreaking down. Because it is difficult to know how pure the Heroin may be at the time of purchase, overdose is a constant threat to the user.
Treatment for Heroin addiction involves initially detoxification of the users body. Detoxification rids the body of the drug and once this occurs the patient adjusts to their body being drug free. This is the first short term treatment but the long term treatment is to use various methods, such as using drugs that block the effects of the Heroin and eliminates the withdrawal symptoms experienced by the user. Studies show the most effective treatment involving Heroin addiction is by using a combination of treatments, including pharmacological treatment with behavioral therapies.
Long term damages
Using Heroin over a long period of time will render the user not only an addict but also very unwell health wise. The user will have scarred and collapsed veins,cardiac infections, bacterial infections, abscesses, soft tissue infections, HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis C, and  Hepatitis B (sharing needles), liver disease, kidney disease, lung diseases like Tuberculosis and Pneumonia. Street Heroin poses additional risks as the additives found in street Heroin often clog blood vessels that have the ability to severely compromise lungs, heart, liver and brain.
If you or someone you know needs help or information, more can be found on addiction here:

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Opiates in the Human Body

Opiates elicit their powerful effects by activating opiate receptors that are widely distributed throughout the brain and body. Once an opiate reaches the brain, it quickly activates the opiate receptors that are found in many brain regions and produces an effect that correlates with the area of the brain involved.
Two important effects produced by opiates, such as morphine, are pleasure (or reward) and pain relief. The brain itself also produces substances known as endorphins that activate the opiate receptors. Research indicates that endorphins are involved in many things, including respiration, nausea, vomiting, pain modulation, and hormonal regulation.
When opiates are prescribed by a physician for the treatment of pain and are taken in the prescribed dosage, they are safe and there is little chance of addiction.
Read more information here:
Opiate

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