What You Must Know About Opiate-Based Painkiller Medicines
Most of the people never stop to consider that the drugs their doctors might prescribe for certain conditions might be addictive. Painkillers are the most common drugs that individuals unsuspectingly get addicted to. The human body naturally deals with pain by discharging serotonin or dopamine which gives the body a feeling of pleasure or comfort, pain relievers bring that feeling along quicker than normal. It takes the neuropathic pathways to work with the brain to secrete and deliver natural pain killing hormones. The more potent painkillers can make a person feel like they are floating and the stress, tenseness, weariness and pain are temporarily numbed
With prolonged use, patients get more tolerant and find that they should take an increasing number of pills to get the same “relief”. The most common and menacing addictive painkillers that are available in most countries around the world as over-the-counter drugs are codeine based pain relievers. Codeine is a harmful synthetic opiate, along with stronger drugs like heroin and morphine. Substance abuse can be found almost everywhere in society.
Opiates are the most addictive substances and can turn deadly when taken in high doses which often happens when people feel the need to take more in order to have the euphoric feeling reproduced. Once a person is obsessed with opiate based pain killers, the pills cease being effective in the pain relief but the addict will only feel sick and in pain if he goes without the pills. The patient might not be aware that he is addicted or might try to hide the fact that he is, because of the fear that the doctor will stop suggesting that prescription to him. Withdrawal symptoms can differ in intensity from pain, respiratory failure, to mood swings, depression and even death. Most codeine based pain relievers contain paracetamol which by itself is not actually addictive but can be harmful to a person’s liver.
There are some typical things that prescription drug addicts often do to get the medicines they need to feed their addiction. They might go from one doctor to another to acquire prescriptions and will ask for extra under various pretexts like going on vacation. The online world has made it harder to curb the problem of getting prescription medicines without a doctor’s permission and so most people go to the internet to obtain the drugs they need.
Doctors should be careful about recommending painkiller medicines and should suggest drug rehabilitation as soon as they realize that their patients have fallen into addiction. It is important that patients aren’t vilified because often times they don’t fully realize the problems that come with prescription medications.
