What Are Opioids?
Opioids are a class of drugs that are often used for pain relief. They bind to specific receptors in the brain and spinal cord, reducing pain perception. Opioids can be prescribed by doctors for short-term use after surgery or injury or long-term use in cases of chronic pain. Common pharmaceutical opioids include morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and fentanyl.
The most common illegal opioid is heroin, however, illegal production of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl has skyrocketed since around 2015. All opioids, prescribed or otherwise, are highly addictive and dangerous if misused or abused. They can cause respiratory depression, sedation, and death in high doses or when mixed with other drugs.
Most people require treatment for opioid addiction to stop the cycle of use and safely regain control of their lives and their health.
Where Do Opioids Come From?
Opioids were originally derived from the opium poppy, and most commercially available opioids still begin from this organic source. Semi-synthetic opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone, for example. Illegal opioids like heroin and opium also come from the sap of the opium poppy. Opium poppies grow best in dry, warm climates. Most opium poppies are grown in the mountainous region from eastern Turkey through Pakistan and as far east as Laos. Afghanistan has long been a center of opium production.
Synthetic opioids like fentanyl and partial opioid agonists, like buprenorphine, are synthesized in a laboratory and do not require the organic opium derivatives to be created. Production of illegal opioids has shifted largely towards synthetic fentanyl and carfentanil in recent years. These compounds do not require organic opium derivates to manufacture. Instead, they are made using precursor chemicals which are made on an industrial scale, primarily in Asia. The precursor chemicals can then be combined anywhere in the world and turned into fentanyl or carfentanil.
Opioids come from:
- Natural opium from poppies grown in the Middle East and parts of Asia
- Synthetic chemical compounds made in legal or illegal laboratories
- Legal or illegally obtained prescription pain medications.
- Illegally manufactured heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil.
Understanding Opioid Addiction
It is important to understand that any person who uses opioid drugs for an extended period of time, will develop opioid dependence. The period may vary somewhat from person to person and depending upon the form of the drug, but regular opioid use will result in dependence. This means that a sudden drop in dosage, or cessation of the drug altogether will result in physical withdrawal symptoms often accompanied by powerful cravings.
No amount of willpower or self-discipline can prevent someone from becoming opioid-dependent if they use opioids regularly. Opioid addiction is not a moral failing or a sign of weakness or bad character. Anyone can become addicted to opioids. It is also true that anyone can recover from opioid addiction. Recovery requires willingness and courage. The willingness to follow directions and the courage to try a new way of living.
Redemption Recovery is ready to help you or the person you love conquer their opioid addiction. We offer a range of treatment options from partial hospitalization programs (PHP) to intensive outpatient programs (IOP) and outpatient programs in Richland County, Ohio. All it takes is a phone call to (419) 528-8007 to begin.
Why Are Opioids Addictive?
All opioids attach to opioid receptors in the brain. You might think of these receptors as keyholes. Only the right-shaped key will fit them. Once the key is inserted, it initiates an effect. When opioids attach to opioid receptors, they trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of pleasure and reward. This creates a sense of warmth, well-being and euphoria. It also reduces our perception of pain.
There are three main factors that help make opioids highly addictive:
- The sense of euphoria and well-being is appealing, especially to people who aren’t experiencing these feelings naturally with much frequency in their everyday lives.
- Chemical dependency, when opioids are used regularly for some time and are suddenly taken away, there is a rebound effect called withdrawal which leaves the person feeling worse than before.
- The development of tolerance. Using opioids over a longer period of time reduces your sensitivity to them and you need more and more of them to get the same effect as before.
The science behind opioid addiction is complex, but research suggests that opioids can quickly change the brain’s chemistry and structure. The prolonged use of opioids can actually decrease the number of available opioid receptors in the brain. This causes an effect known as tolerance, where more and more of the drug is needed to achieve the same effect.
As a result of this desensitization, the brain may struggle to produce its natural “feel-good” chemicals, which further fuels the cycle of addiction. After a while, a person will need to take a certain amount of opioids just to avoid feeling awful. Achieving any sort of “high” will take more and more of the drug. Sadly, many people die trying to pursue that initial high they had when they first used opioids.
What is Opioid Withdrawal?
When someone stops taking opioids, the body struggles to rebalance its natural chemistry. The usual levels of dopamine and other neurochemicals are dramatically depleted as the brain has changed due to the presence of opioids for an extended period of time. This chemical imbalance and deficit of key neurotransmitters causes symptoms that are known collectively as withdrawal.
Opioid withdrawal symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches, anxiety, and depression. Withdrawal symptoms can be so intense that individuals often feel compelled to start using opioids again to avoid the discomfort. This is why attempting to quit opioids using the ‘cold turkey’ method is so rarely successful.
The chances of success in quitting opioids are dramatically higher when a person receives professional help and support from an opioid addiction treatment program.
Physical opioid withdrawal symptoms include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Muscle cramps
- Muscle aches and spasms
Psychological opioid withdrawal symptoms include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Sleeplessness
- Cravings
Opiates vs. Opioids
There is still a fair amount of confusion over the terms opiate and opioid. These two very similar-sounding words are often used interchangeably, but they have slightly different meanings. The term opioid applies to ALL drugs that act as opioid agonists in the brain creating analgesic effects (pain-killing) and euphoria (a high).
Opioids
Opioids include heroin, oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and fentanyl among many others. The category of opioids also includes partial opioid agonists, like buprenorphine or methadone. Essentially any drug that acts on the brain’s opioid receptors to produce the pain-killing and other effects associated with opioids.
Partial opioid agonists have muted effects, lacking the euphoria-like side effects tend to have a much longer duration of effect and half-life, and are used for different purposes than conventional opioids. For example, opioid detox, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), or harm reduction.
Opioids:
- Are drugs that act on opioid receptors to reduce pain and/or produce pleasure.
- Include fentanyl, oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, heroin and morphine.
- Also include partial opioid agonists like buprenorphine and methadone.
Opiates
The term opiate applies only to drugs or drug compounds that are derived directly from natural opium and organic products harvested from the opium poppy. Opiates include heroin, codeine, and morphine. All opiates are opioids, but not all opioids are opiates.
Opiates:
- Come ONLY directly from the products of the opium poppy.
- Include opium, heroin, codeine and morphine.
- ALL opiates are opioids.
Examples of Opioids
Opioids have been used by humans for thousands of years to control pain and as an intoxicant for recreational purposes. It would be difficult, if not impossible to name every prescription brand name of opioid medication here, as there have been so many over the decades. However, this is a fairly comprehensive list that includes the most commonly encountered types of legal and illegal opioids.
Illegal Opiates:
- Opium
- Heroin (diacetylmorphine)
- Carfentanil
Morphine:
- MS-Contin
- Roxanol
- Kadian
- Oramorph
Codeine:
- Tylenol 3
- Robitussin AC
- Allfen CD
- Antituss AC
Fentanyl:
- Fentora
- Actiq
- Sublimaze
- Subsys
- Duragesic
Hydrocodone:
- Vicodin
- Lortab
- Lorcet
- Hycodan
- Vicoprofen
- Xodol
Oxycodone:
- OxyContin
- Percocet
- Roxicodone
- Endocet
- Roxybond
- Xtampza ER
Oxymorphone:
- Opana
- Opana ER
- Numorphan
Other Opioids:
- Meperidine (Demerol)
- Dextropropoxyphene (Darvocet)
- Tramadol (Ultram)
Note, that the list above is incomplete, but the most common (and some uncommon) opioids of abuse are listed. Some opioids, like partial opioid agonists like methadone and buprenorphine (Suboxone/Subutex) were left out because they are rarely abused. Others like loperamide and Dextromethorphan were omitted because they have little to no potential for abuse and are available without a prescription.
The Most Important Thing to Know About Opioids
Perhaps the most important thing of all to know about opioids is that thousands of people recover from opioid addiction every year in the United States. Make no mistake, opioid addiction in Ohio is an epidemic. But overcoming opioid addiction is absolutely possible with the right treatment and support.
The key to conquering opioid addiction begins with accepting the fact that you cannot do it alone. It’s not a matter of willpower. You can’t outmuscle addiction, you can only outsmart it and the way you do that is by bringing in outside help.
Opioid Addiction Treatment in Richland County, Ohio with Heart
Redemption Recovery is made up of a team of compassionate professionals who are committed to helping people overcome addiction and build new lives in recovery. For us, this is much more than a job, it’s a calling. It is a chance to help people make real and lasting change in their lives. We believe that Ohio needs our help more than ever before and we are stepping up to the challenge.
If you or someone you love is struggling with opioid addiction in Ohio or anywhere else in the U.S., Redemption Recovery wants to help. We offer a range of treatment options from partial hospitalization programs (PHP) to intensive outpatient programs (IOP) and outpatient programs in Richland County, Ohio. All it takes is a phone call to (419) 528-8007 to begin.
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