Addiction Treatment

Being addicted and being physically dependent are very different things. However, to completely understand addiction treatment you must comprehend the differences between addiction and physical dependence.

People are dependent upon many substances and things. This is in part due to the built in mechanism for survival which humans each have. The need for water is signaled by thirst. The need for food is demonstrated by hunger. The signal that is provided by the brain gets stronger and stronger as the biological need becomes stronger. This survival mode that is demonstrated by the body can also be a false reading. When there is a condition of addiction, the body feels that it must have the substance and experiences a feeling something like the characteristics of thirst. Feelings of hunger or thirst are in effect withdrawal symptoms for the lack of food and water in the body, in the same way that cravings for drugs are a symptom that the body considers the substance necessary for survival.

Addiction, contrary to the characteristics of physical dependence is when the person can no longer control their desire to use the addictive substance, even though the use the substance has become harmful to the addict. A quite typical situation is where an individual is in pain from a back injury and has been prescribed a opioid pain killer known as Oxycodone. After taking the proscribed dosage for several days or weeks, they will typically gain a tolerance for the drug so that the prescribed levels no longer have quite as much pain control capability as it did originally. Usually, by the time the tolerance level has increased where the pain medication is no longer working quite as well, the pain from the injury has also decreased, so that the individual no longer must take the medication at all.

If the pain remains, however and the person must continue to use the prescription for pain relief in order to be able to carry out duties of daily living, the physician may agree to prescribe a strong dose of the medication or will provide a different type of pain medication which is stronger than the first batch. With continued pain, the individual can get into a destructive cycle where there is flat line pain, but the person must take more and more pain medication in order to maintain the same level of relief. It doesn't take too long and there will be a significant tolerance which has developed. In fact, tolerance has become physical dependence. If the medication were to be discontinued abruptly, it would not be long before the brain would be sending increasingly frantic signals about the need for the opioids. The demand for relief, in the form of pain would increase, eventually reach a maximum level, then eventually fade away to nothing. This entire cycle is not abnormal. In fact anyone who has used opioid pain killers for any length of time has probably experienced the cycle of tolerance followed by physical dependence. It is important to understand that the need for the pain killer medication is not considered addiction at the point and does not require addiction treatment. Physical dependency also does not require addiction treatment.

If, however, the individual chooses not to cease the use of the prescription pain medication at this juncture perhaps because they have a project which is due in a day or two and it is creating stress so they cannot stop taking the painkiller and risk getting withdrawal symptoms. If the individual continues to increase the level of medications which they are taking each day, and become even more physically dependent so that they must have drugs increasingly frequently.

Sometimes the people go on to develop an addiction to the pain killer. If the individual has become addicted, the person will have symptoms of withdrawal if the drug or other substance is eliminated abruptly or if it is suddenly lessened significantly. If the individual continues to find ways to continue taking the drug even if the circumstances are very negative to them, such as loss of a job or spending savings or food money in order to gain more of the drug.

Even though a person may have become physically dependent upon a substance, that is no guarantee that they will be come addicted to the substance. Genetics and environment, among other factors play a part in addiction. Addiction is a tremendous negative impact on a person's life. There is a continuous need perceived for increasing amounts of the substance and by expanding disregard of the negative consequences garnered by struggles to locate and take the substance in spite of negative results.

So, to summarize, taking a pain killer or narcotic type medication over time turns into tolerance which increases gradually to become physical dependence. Physical dependence can then progress to the point where it is addiction. Addiction in these situation carries the definition of a neurobioologic, primary, chronic disease. It has environmental, psychosocial and genetic factors which influence its manifestations and development. Addiction is characterized by such behavior as craving, continued intake in spite of physical or mental harm, compulsive utilization, and weakened control over further use of the drug.

An drug which acts on receptors in the brain are known as agonists. A full agonist opioid causes the opioid receptors to fully activate. Opioids which cause such an effect include opium, morphine, hydrococone, hydrocodone, methadone, oxycodone, and heroin.
Antagonist drugs used in addiction treatment are extremely helpful in the treatment of substance abuse. Antagonist drugs work by attaching to the opioid receptor, but do not activate them, therefore they cause no narcotic effect on the one hand and block the receptors so that the opioids cannot attach. Examples of anatagonists are Naloxone and Naltrexone, A full heroin overdose can sometimes be treated by the use of Naloxone. Another medication commonly used in addiction treatment is Buprenorphine. This drug has properties both of agonists and antagonists, but is rated as a partial agonist. Buprenorphine activates the opioid receptor, but only partially. At the same time the medication blocks other opioids and allows for some effect from opioids of its own. Addiction treatment may make use of any of these assistance methods to ease the abstinence from addictive substances for a while.

Addiction treatment method should only be decided on after a consultation with a medical professional preferably it will not take place until the results of the addictive substance have left the body. A type of addiction treatment which works effectively for one person may not be at all adequate for a second alcoholic.