How Bad are Opioids?

Figure 1: Drugs making out the United States

Have you ever wondered what kind of medicine your parents gave you when you were sick? They most likely gave you Tylenol, a weaker version of an opioid. An opioid is a type of medicine that takes away the pain you are having as long as you take them in a controlled amount (1). Tylenol is sometimes mixed with stronger opioids to try to weaken them. Most opioids are highly addictive which makes some people take more than what is recommended. So what happens if you took more than you needed?

CAN'T STOP ABUSING DRUGS

Figure 2: The burden drugs have on someone

Did you know that you could get addicted, or dependent, on a medicine as weak as Tylenol? Once you take opioids more times than you need to, you start to depend on the medicine (1). Some that were or are addicted claim that worrying how they were going to get their next fix was more like a job than a hobby. You might experience a dry feeling in your mouth or have problems breathing and thinking right if you did this (1). The longer you were addicted, the more intense the side effects would be. These long term effects can range from HIV/AIDS to collapsed veins to infections in the heart lining to the weakening of the immune system (1).  In some severe cases of addiction, the user may take too much of the drug and overdose. An overdose may lead to, in the most extreme cases, death since the body can not handle that many chemicals in one dosage. The medicine starts to supply your body with receptors to block the pain in nerves (1). Once taken for a long enough time, the body stops making the natural receptors since it becomes used to using the receptors from the opioids to cause withdrawal symptoms when they are no longer supplied (1). Those who are addicted tend to look for the drugs that will keep them from having these symptoms whether it is legal with a prescription or illegal. This can lead to more problems other than just when you could get your next fix of drugs. 

Figure 3: Breaking through drug addiction

GOING COLD TURKEY?
Coming off of the addiction to opioids may be worse than the addiction itself. Withdrawal is the way your body reacts to not being given a drug either physically or mentally. Once you acknowledge that you have a problem, you start to figure out ways to come off of the drug. Some people seek medical help and start to use less addictive opioids to slowly come off the addiction (1). This is the safer route to take, but may not always work since the user is still being supplied an opioid. There was even a law passed that allowed medical personnel to use weaker forms of opioids to help those with addiction. Another way users come off the addiction is to go cold turkey. Going cold turkey is a term used when someone stops all drug use at once (1). This option may not be the safest route, but it gives more of a guarantee that the addiction will end. Most people that go cold turkey don't want to go through the withdrawal process again and do not pick up the addiction again. Although, if you cannot make it through all of the days that your withdrawal may take, then you will pick up your addiction again. 

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
If you believe you are starting to get addicted to an opioid you are taking for medical purposes, immediately contact your doctor. If things get as far as being addicted and not being able to stop as easily as if you were just starting, you might want to consider other options for help such as rehab or start a withdrawal process. If a friend or family member is suffering from addiction, you should seek help for them. 
For more information on how to get help click here!

References:
(1) Sanna, E. J., & Henningfield, J. E., (2008). Heroin & other opiates: Poppies' perilous children. Broomall, PA: Mason Crest Publishers. Retrieved from http://library.bloomu.edu
(2) Drugs over the United States [Digital Image]. (2017, March 30). Retrieved from https://rxight.com/opioid-epidemic/
(3) The burden opioids carry [Digital Image]. (2014, August 8). Retrieved from https://janaburson.wordpress.com/2014/08/18/opioid-physical-dependence-versus-opioid-addiction-whats-the-difference/
(4) Breaking through the drug addiction [Digital Image]. (2015, June 11). Retrieved from http://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/opinion/comment/the-prescription-opioid-addiction-and-abuse-epidemic-how-it-happened-and-what-we-can-do-about-it/20068579.article