Opiate Rehabilitation
INTRODUCTION:
Opiate addiction, for many years, has become a general problem in our country. Opiate drug which is intended for use in medical purposes is widely abused by many people in our country. A shocking revelation was recently shown by Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey; the survey shows that a large percentage of teenagers have tried, and some are still using, or already hooked to different kinds of addictive drugs. Though some of them already know the hazards that it can cause to their bodies, they still tend to maintain their bad habit with themselves.
HISTORY:
In the early nineteenth century, opiate drugs were legally available in the United States. It was being marketed in many places at a very convenient price. Opiate, one kind of opiate drug, was in fact used by many soldiers in the battle fields during the civil war. Back then, addiction to many opiate drugs is not yet clear to many who were using it. Drugstores, during that time, sold opiates to consumers without prescription from experts or Physicians. Opiates were also available in many groceries at a very low price. The growth of its wrongful use continues to grow in the late nineteenth century. The growth was caused by importation of the goods from different countries freely.
In medical terms, opiate means any narcotic alkaloids derived from opium, a narcotic drug obtained from the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy. An opium poppy is a type of plant that belongs to the family of Papaveraceae (poppy family). It comes with variety of colors and flowers. For over many years, opium has produced different kinds of opiate drugs. The following are drugs classified as Opiates:
- Opiate: First isolated by Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Sertürner ( German pharmacist), named after the Greek god of dreams Morpheus; its extensive use occurred during the American Civil War; classified as a Schedule II drug in the United States
- Codeine: also known as methylOpiate, classified as Schedule II drug in the United States.
- Thebaine: also known as paraOpiate, classified as Schedule II drug in the United States.
- Heroin: also known as diaOpiate or diacetylOpiate, classified as Schedule I drug in the United States, created by Felix Hoffmann (a German chemist who founded aspirin), was marketed in the year 1898 up to 1910 in the United States as a legal drug
USE:
Most of the opiate drugs are used to treat chronic pain. They are also used as analgesia and anesthesia. Even though opiate drugs are addictive, some of them are also used to treat addiction. For an instance, Opiate was used to treat opium and alcohol addiction. Some of the other uses of opiate drugs are:
- treatment of cough
- treatment of diarrhea
- treatment of anxiety
- treatment of spasms
ABUSE:
Opiate Drugs are addictive; without proper knowledge, the user of opiates may suffer many illnesses. Addiction can be defined as a psychological craving wherein a person who is addicted becomes helpless and continues to take an amount of a certain drug. Though many people know the effects of this bad habit, abusers keep on using the drug improperly. Some of the effects caused by opiate addiction and abuse are:
- flaccid muscles
- fluid in the lungs
- lowered blood pressure
- pinpoint" or dilated pupils
- sleepiness
- coma
- slowed breathing
- slow pulse rate
- hypoventilation
- respiratory arrest
- cardiac arrest
- palpitation
- hallucinations
- nausea
- biliary tract spasm
- renal failure
- overdose
- death
REHABILITATION:
Addiction to opiate, like other addictive drugs, can be treated in many ways. These ways or methods are used by many rehab centers today. However, only few of these rehab centers offered the most convenient way of treatment, Detoxification. Aside from this kind of treatment, the so called Waismann Method and Behavioral treatment is also a very famous method in treating addiction. However most of the patients who have gone through these kinds of treatment often find themselves helpless because of the fatal withdrawal effects suffered by their bodies. In fact, these kinds of treatments mostly lead to failure and sometimes trauma to the patient. Malibu Horizon, a facility that offers detoxification, is one of many facilities who wouldn’t want these things to happen.
Detoxofication, is a process wherein the removal of the toxic effects of the drug being used is medicated by means of another drug that counteracts the effects of the drug being abused. This drug helps the patient to lessen the unwanted withdrawal symptoms caused by rehabilitation. In case of opiate addiction, the drug being used is Methadone and Subotex. These drugs are often milder but chemically similar to the one being detoxified. This kind of treatment, as most experts say, is the most comfortable way to get treated.
Opiate Rehabilitation Patients Say About Malibu Horizon
The identities of the following people writing these testimonials have been withheld to protect their inalienable right to privacy. The names that follow are fictional names of the author’s choosing:
"The treatment given by Malibu Horizon helped me a lot to become a better person, as what I am today. When I got addicted to Opiate, only Malibu Horizon offered me a satisfying and comfortable treatment, like what I have always longed for. Thanks…" – Joe
"Sometimes, I wonder in my bed and have visions of myself back in my darkest years. From the very first day that I got hooked in opiate addiction, things in my life suddenly became hopeless. I was so numb and I didn’t know what to do. Then a friend of mine introduced me to Malibu Horizon, first I wasn’t so sure if it is the right thing to do. But as I struggled amid my darkest hour, I finally gave up and sought help. Malibu horizon opened their door and helped me to leave behind my darkest hour and live a new life. Very big thanks to you." – George
"Do not think twice! If you have problems in codeine, heroin, Opiate, and any other opiate drug abuse or addiction. Malibu Horizon is the right facility that can give you the kind of treatment like you’ve always wanted. Believe me I’ve been in to it." – Junior
"Because of Malibu Horizon I became free from opiate addiction. My deepest gratitude to you and to everyone who is working behind you, may you continue to prosper and help other people." – Baby