“The Opioid Crisis” is in the news practically every day. To be clear, the word “crisis” is justified. In 2017 alone, roughly 47,600 people died of opioid drug overdose deaths in the United States alone. That’s a shockingly high number and makes up the majority of the overdose deaths in the United States. Of course, what makes it a “crisis” isn’t just the deaths: the number of people addicted to opioids is still staggeringly high. At our Los Angeles rehab center, we have multiple kinds of treatment for opioid addiction. Even when it may seem hopeless, there is a way to get help. Los Angeles rehab center

Opiates Defined

“Opiate” has multiple definitions, whether it’s being used as a noun or verb. As a noun, it means “a drug containing opium or its derivatives, used in medicine for inducing sleep or relieving pain.” As a verb, it means “to dull or deaden.” That’s what these opiates do: derived from the poppy plant, they can give one a feeling of euphoria. Often, they’re prescribed as painkillers. That’s actually where the “crisis” began. It’s important to note that unlike other drugs, many opiates were prescribed by medical professionals. In fact, they have been the most prescribed class of medications of the entire United States. That means that the people who were taking them didn’t go seek them out on the streets or anything like that at first. Rather, they were recovering from trauma, surgery or something else, and they were prescribed. Indeed, these drugs were prescribed too often, which lead to abuse. The people who became addicted used these drugs beyond the prescription. Some may use these drugs to bring about that initial euphoric feeling that comes from using the opiates. Many use them to continue to minimize their pain. Part of the opioid crisis comes from the fact that these drugs are relatively inexpensive. They’re far easier to acquire than other kinds of drugs. All of these factors combined make for the crisis which afflicts America to this day. You may have heard of opiates like morphine, suboxone, methadone, hydrocodone, and oxycodone. There are other forms of opiates as well, like codeine and heroin.

Opiates and America

The effect of opiates on American essentially cannot be overstated. Many of the statistics around the damage opiates have done almost feel like they must have been made up. In the US in 2015, the number of people who died from opiate overdoses was close to the number of people who died from car accidents. In fact, the National Safety Council crunched the numbers and found that a US citizen was more likely to die of an opioid overdose than they were to die in a vehicular crash. When one takes into account all of the Americans who don’t drive, this number becomes even worse.

The Difficulties of Opiate Withdrawal

Opiate withdrawal is extremely difficult. There are no “easy” kinds of withdrawal obviously, but opiate withdrawal can be especially rough. Yes, it’s non-fatal, but that doesn’t make it easy on a person. Withdrawal is always dangerous. Someone who’s going through opiate withdrawal is likely to be very agitated, with high amounts of anxiety. Paradoxically, they may have insomnia as well as excessive yawning. They may have increased sweating, tearing and a runny nose that won’t stop. Muscle aches are common as well. That’s only the beginning. For all of these reasons and more, it’s important to go through opiate withdrawal in a location that will be able to monitor you. Without competent, professional and trained experts monitoring you or your loved one’s opiate withdrawal, your loved one could be hurt or worse. Here at the Iris Healing® Retreat, we’ll be able to watch over opiate withdrawal at all times. “At all times” is neither an exaggeration nor a euphemism, we have counseling staff on hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week. By doing so, we’re able to keep people from giving up, so that they can see opiate withdrawal through to the end. Unfortunately, as opiate withdrawal progresses, it can get that much more difficult. Abdominal cramping and diarrhea are common. Vomiting and nausea can occur, too.

Los Angeles Rehab Center for Opioids and More

Once you or your loved one has made it through the sub-acute detox phase at our healing retreat, then they can move to our residential treatment location. There, we’ll put together a personalized plan for them, drawing from multiple (if necessary) therapeutic modalities, so that you or they can get all of the help that they need. Opiates are just one of the many addictions we treat at our facility. We can schedule a free consultation with you so that we can talk through what kind of help you’re seeking. To start the process, call (844)663-4747.