Understanding Opiate And Pain Medication Addiction

2 October 2015
 Categories: , Blog

Share

You may have been prescribed pain medication for the discomfort associated with a surgical procedure or injury. However, many people cannot stop taking their pain meds, even months after being fully recovered from the surgery or injury the meds were prescribed for. Many people become addicted to pain medication without being aware of it. Consider these tips for helping you realize you may be addicted to your pain medication.

Your First Step Is Admitting Addiction To Yourself

When you tell someone you are hurting when you are not just to get a pain pill, you are lying and covering up your addiction. Before you can get back your life and get on the road to recovery, you must admit to yourself you cannot make it through a day without pain killers. Once you come to terms to with being addicted and you are able to admit it to yourself, you can begin learning how to deal with it.

Are You Willing To Stop Taking Pain Meds?

Admitting you are addicted and taking the steps to stop taking pain meds are two different things. Stopping pain meds after taking them for a while can be horrific, causing your body to react because it is physically addicted. Your brain has opioid receptors, special proteins, that become the reason you are addicted and the reason you cannot stop on your own. The opiates in pain medicine attach to the opioid receptors in your brain, most of them being in the areas of the brain that control pleasure and rewarding neuron-transmission. Because of the intense feelings of euphoria and pleasure opioids provide to the brain's opioid receptors, stopping them can be tough. Understanding how you have become addicted can help make it easier to see your way out.

Visiting A Rehab Center or Your Family Doctor

You may have realized how pain meds have taken over your life. You may also have feelings of fear about stopping them because of the painful withdrawal symptoms you have heard about. Maybe you have experienced the first hours of withdrawal as you searched for meds from friends or the streets when you were out. Visiting a rehab or your family doctor about how to stop taking pain medication safely and without serious side effects is important.

Your life while addicted to pain meds is not under your control. If you are ready to take back control of your life, then you are ready to take the first step to recovery from addiction to pain medication. You can rest assured a reputable drug rehab recovery center will have the physical and emotional support you need for getting off pain medication once and for all. You can stop taking pain pills and get back on track as soon as you say and believe you can and you want to.

To learn more, visit a website like http://www.olalla.org