Pain Killer Addiction is becoming more and more prevalent among a “new” type of addict. Often, the addiction starts as prescription for the temporary relief of pain from an injury or other problem that has caused pain. Low-back pain in particular is a very popular gateway to pain killer addiction. Who doesn’t know someone with a “bad back”? Most people suffer from pain at one time or another in their lives. If the pain is chronic and pain pills have been prescribed, a temporary pain in the back could very well lead to pain killer addiction and often “harder” drugs.
People unknowingly take their prescriptions from their trusted doctor and if the medication is in the opioid “family”, as it usually is, the patient’s tolerance will lower over time, thereby making more medication necessary to achieve the same pain relief results. In many situations, it seems easier to simply take a pill then find the source of the problem and try to heal it. It is a cycle that is very easy to fall into, and one that doctors do not pay nearly enough attention to.
By the time pain pills become a “problem”, the patient is usually already addicted. Opioids are present in many prescribed pain pills from vicodin up to morphine. Beyond morphine are stronger opioids that are used in the manufacturing of street drugs such as heroin and opium. You may think to yourself, why would a doctor prescribe something that could lead to addiction and possibly “harder” drugs? Many people take the medication prescribed and the temporary pain is healed before tolerance builds up. A “normal” person will take their medication and simply stop when they are no longer in pain. But, pain pills cause side effects that some people simply “fall in love” with, the feeling of euphoria, and a sense that all is well in the world can be very desirable, especially if the patient has problems in their life that they don’t want to deal with. An addict is born.
When the issues of your life can be temporarily “fixed”, it’s very tempting to continue using this temporary fix on a regular basis. Issues can range from anything from childhood abuse that is troubling the addict, to a tough time paying bills. Anything unpleasant can be considered an “issue”. Especially in today’s society, we want instant gratification. No one wants to go through years of therapy and counseling to get past problems in their lives, when the can simply take a pill, and carry on with life, as if nothing is wrong.
One of the main problems with opiods is the vicious cycle that begins when the patient try’s to stop taking the medication, suddenly faced with the very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, the addict will chose to continue taking the drugs rather than deal with the detoxification process. To many addicts it comes as a surprise that you cannot simply stop taking the medication, even if pain is no longer present, there is an intense psychological desire for the euphoric feeling. Giving up that sense that all is well with the world is difficult, especially combined with the unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal. Depending on how long the person has been medicated and the strength of the medication, withdrawal may be just a feeling of being uncomfortable combined with a strong mental desire to use. If the addict has been using for quite a while and has increased their dosages, basically the more drugs you were taking, the worse the symptoms will be.
Withdrawal can be quite uncomfortable, there may be a feeling of flu like symptoms, such as a runny nose, scratchy throat, sore muscle aches and pains, combined with difficulty sleeping, diarrhea. The symptoms of pain pill withdrawal are very much the same as heroin or any other opiate withdrawal.
When faced with the decision of whether to continue on with the euphoric feelings and sense of general well being. It seems like an obvious choice to choose to continue using the drugs rather than going through the physical pain of withdrawal and psychological changes you will have to face. It’s easy to see why an addict would choose the vicious cycle of addiction, over sobriety. Eventually the consequences of addiction will add up, the addict will not enjoy the feelings from the pills anymore, because, an addict gives up the right to live freely. An addict has to depend on getting drugs everyday to simply function, it is not a life of euphoria anymore, it becomes a life of slavery, an addict becomes the slave to drugs, losing the freedom to go through the day without taking medications. In the absence of medication, facing withdrawal, the life of addiction is really no life. A life without freedom to live day to day without depending on chemicals, is not an enjoyable way to live, giving up pain pills is not easy either, but in the end sobriety is worth the pain. It won’t last forever, life will eventually get better as the desire for drugs slowly goes away, as you begin to deal with your issues instead of hiding from them, you will get better. The best part is as an addict, you have the opportunity to recover, your problems and issues can be discovered and therefore dealt with and you can move on with an incredible gratitude for life, that people who don’t go through this process will never understand.
