Opiate Dependence

Opiate Dependence General Information

A patient is diagnosed with Opiate Dependence if he or she is not able to stop the intake of opioid products, even if the cease of that intake is in his or her best interest. The patient will present a cluster of cognitive, behavioral and psychological phenomena that vary in intensity and that are strongly linked with the use of a certain type of psychoactive medical products (in this case, with the intake of opioids).

A patient who is in a similar medical disorder will present a high preoccupation to obtain the medicine. This type of behavior is known in the medical industry as “drug-seeking behavior”. Drug dependence is a severe medical condition that presents several dangerous consequences of a social, psychological or biological nature. Opiate Dependence is a medical disorder that occurs in the case of individuals who have undergone a prolonged therapy with opioid medical products. The patient may be scared of quitting his or her intake of opioids, due to the fear of experiencing the withdrawal symptoms of this medicine. A therapy with opioid drugs has beneficial, but also harmful effects. For this reason, it is very important for the patient and his or her physician to take into consideration all the risks and benefits that would arise from such a therapy before deciding whether the patient should start such a treatment of not.

Opiate Dependence Symptoms

If a patient is diagnosed with the presence of this addictive medical condition, he or she is probably experiencing a sense of compulsion or a strong desire to take the opioid medicine. Individuals who were suffering from this medical disorder reported that they found it very difficult to control his or her intake of this type of medical products. Other patients who have been diagnosed with the presence of this medical disorder and were able to stop using opioid medicines presented psychological withdrawal symptoms (this also occurred when the patient was administered lower doses of the same opioid medicine). Other patients presented worrying symptoms of tolerance; in other words, they needed to intake higher doses of their opioid medicine in order to achieve the same effects as those that he or she used to obtain from their initial dosing schedule.

Individuals also start neglecting their daily pleasures, interests or routines as they require more and more time to obtain the doses that they crave for or to recover from the effects of the opioid medicine. In some clinical cases, the individuals do not want to quit their opioid addiction (they do not want to be helped) even if the harmful consequences of the intake of opioids is obvious. If the patient does not receive an adequate clinical support and continues with his opioid dependence he or she may experience the severe complications of this medical disorder: impairment of cognitive function, depression, liver damage, and so on. As you may have observed, the presence of this medical disorder (Opiate Dependence) generally triggers the same symptoms that a drug-addict generally presents.

Opiate Dependence Treatment

The therapy against this addictive medical disorder (Opiate Dependence) is based on harm-reduction and abstinence-based medical methods. Almost all clinical options that are available in the treatment against this disorder include the participation in detoxification. For this, the patient may be prescribed the use of Methadone and other similar medical products (long acting opioid drugs). Alternative detoxification methods require the cease of the opioid intake. Such patients are prescribed certain medicines that belong to the class of benzodiazepines that should be able to help the individual manage his or her unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

The use of certain medical products has proven to be very effective in aiding the patient manage his or her addictive medical condition (in this case, Opiate Dependence). The intake of narcotic analgesics (Suboxone, Subutex, and so on) has proven to be very effective in easing the potential withdrawal symptoms that the patient may be exposed to after the cease of his or her opioid therapy. However, the main therapy option against this clinical disorder (Opiate Dependence) remains the administration of antidotes. The most common antidotes that are employed in the therapy against this medical disorder include Revia and Vivitrol. In this article, you will find a set of valuable information regarding your potential intake of one or more of these medical products.

Subutex is an effective remedy that is also commonly referred to under the generic name of Buprenorphine Sublingual. This medicine is generally found in the form of tablets. The intake of this medicine should be a part of a complete treatment plan for the patient’s addictive disorder. This medical product is a partial agonist-antagonist for narcotics (opioids) that is able to bind the patient’s nervous system and his or her opioid receptors in order to prevent the patient from experiencing the unpleasant (and sometimes severe) withdrawal symptoms that one may experience.

Suboxone is another effective remedy for Opiate Dependence. Although this drug is similar to opioids such as heroin, codeine and morphine, it is known to produce less euphoric reactions. For this reason, a therapy with this medication is stopped with greater ease. This medicine has two active ingredients: Suboxone and Naloxone. Vivitrol is a special narcotic medical product that is able to block the effects that alcoholic beverages and other narcotic (opioid) medicines trigger. For this reason, a therapy with this medical product is effective against treating alcoholic addiction and narcotic drug addiction. The effects of a therapy with this drug are more promising if the intake of Vivitrol is part of a complete addiction management program.

Studies have shown that the therapy against this medical condition (Opiate Dependence) can last for up to two months. During the time, the patient’s brain opioid receptors are able to go back to their average (healthy) efficacy to endogenous opiates. The presence of this addictive medical disorder does not generally lead to permanent damage to the patient’s opioid receptors or brain, provided that he or she receives proper medical attention for his addictive medical disorder. A similar medicine, Revia, is known to also provide the patient with beneficial effects.