The drug-related deaths in England and Wales increased by 11 per cent, according to the data published by the Office for National Statistics. There were 5,448 deaths, or 93 deaths per million, which is the highest since the start of the record of drug-related deaths in 1993.
Choosing to take a step forward to treat opioid use disorder takes a lot of strength and determination. There are a lot of ways to approach this problem, and it is important to seek help to have the proper guidance to ensure your safety.
In this blog, you will learn about how you can quit opioid use slowly but surely.
Understanding Opioid Use Disorder
Opioids are a kind of drug that is made from or copies the natural substances that can be found in the opium poppy plant. This kind of drug includes both pain medicine and illegal drugs. The opioid drug works in the brain by producing several effects, such as pain relief.
The Use of Opioid Medicine
Once legally prescribed by a doctor and used properly, opioids block certain receptors in the brain to slow down gastric motility and help manage conditions such as:
- post-surgical pain
- severe pain because of trauma or disease
- coughing
- diarrhoea
The Symptoms of Opioid Dependence
Opioid dependence is all about how your body has grown used to the presence of the drug in your system, which results in tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. Physical dependence on opioids means having to take a specific dose to feel the same feeling and avoid withdrawal symptoms. It usually happens when a patient has problematic opioid use and develops rapidly in as little as four to eight weeks.
Common examples of symptoms of opioid dependence are:
- Intense cravings for the drug
- Feeling drowsy
- Shifts in sleeping patterns
- Flu-like symptoms
- Weight loss
- Changes in eating habits
- Isolating from friends and family
- Stealing from friends and family
- Lack of control on opioid use
- Continued use despite harm
- Neglect of responsibilities (hygiene, work, school, home)
Why Is It Important to Get Off Opioids?
The consistent and long-term use of opioids can pose a lot of harm to the body. It can generally lead to dependence, addiction, and withdrawal symptoms even when you are using it as it was prescribed to you. Opioids can also cause severe constipation, nausea, breathing difficulty, dependence, misuse, opioid use disorder, accidental overdose, and possible death. In addition, opioid use can also cause your body to build a tolerance, which means you will need higher doses to feel the same effects; it will also cause you to have a higher pain sensitivity, a condition known as opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH).
Assessing Your Relationship with Opioids
It is important to understand where you stand on the progression of your opioid use to be aware of whether you will require treatment or not. Advice from a professional is highly recommended for them to guide you on the next steps. Here are some things to consider about your relationship with opioids:
When to Stop Taking Opioids
If you have exceeded two weeks in taking opioids or if you are taking a high dose, you will need a doctor’s help to taper off opioids slowly.
The Factors to Consider Before Quitting
Quitting opioids should not be done abruptly, especially if you have been taking them for a long period. This may create more damage than intended instead of being beneficial for you in the long run. You will never know how your body will react.
When a gradual reduction of the dose of opioids is warranted, this is usually done under close medical supervision; this is aptly called supervised tapering. This is done to minimise withdrawal symptoms and to make sure you come off the opioids safely. The length of time of supervised tapering depends on the duration of opioid use and the status of the patient’s health.
Should You Consult a Healthcare Professional?
If you are currently taking opioid medications and you feel like you are developing opioid use disorder, you should consider talking to a healthcare professional as soon as possible.
If someone close to you, like a family member, friend, or loved one, is exhibiting symptoms of opioid use disorder or misusing opioids, encourage or bring them to a healthcare professional as soon as possible.
Creating A Plan to Quit
Deciding to stop using opioids on your own could be dangerous. It is important to be guided by a healthcare professional’s advice specific to your case on what can be done for you to quit safely through a plan called a taper.
What Steps to Take
Tapering off opioids has two main objectives, which are to manage or eliminate withdrawal symptoms and to get the body accustomed to what life was like before taking opioids, which could take years to successfully achieve.
Opioid tapering happens at different rates based on the needs of the patient. There are several guidelines that healthcare professionals use for supervised tapering, and these clinical strategies are individualised to meet the specific needs of the patients and their family members. The main goal is to return to function and to achieve a quality of life before opioid use. The whole process may take months or even years.
Set Realistic Goals
Setting realistic goals is important because, like in any other substance abuse disorder journey, it is a trial-and-error process once you start to make that different decision about choosing to start your recovery journey and seek treatment.
It is important to set realistic goals because having unrealistic ones puts too much pressure on the person, which often leads to the person being discouraged and the possibility of ending up in a relapse.
Support Systems in Place
Counselling can be beneficial while you are dealing with the stress of tapering off opioids. It will help you learn about ways to control and manage stress and identify the possible signs of relapse for you to avoid giving in to retaking opioids. Counselling enhances the likelihood of a successful transition off opioids.
There are also voluntary support groups that are available, such as Narcotics Anonymous (NA). In NA, you will be surrounded by people who are experiencing similar or have experienced similar problems. NA aims to provide support and encourage people in their recovery journey. Talking to a spiritual and or religious advisor may also be beneficial for recovery because it is important to cover all bases once going through addiction treatment.
Managing Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms
Opioid withdrawal takes place in the body once a person suddenly decides to stop the consistent intake of opioids after growing accustomed to the presence of them in their system. When the body is used to opioids, abrupt cessation will lead to withdrawal symptoms. Management is primarily medical, and as such, medical supervision is imperative. Medically supervised withdrawal involves the use of medications such as buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone. Newer medications and clinical strategies are also being studied to manage opioid withdrawal symptoms. The main goal of management is to alleviate discomfort during the whole detoxification process and eventually ease the patient toward long-term recovery.
Common Withdrawal Symptoms
Some of the common opioid withdrawal symptoms include:
- Anxiety
- Goosebumps
- Restlessness
- Insomnia
- Yawning
- Runny nose
- Watery eyes
- Dilated pupils
- Body aches
- Sweating
- Vomiting
- Belly cramps
- Fever
- Shaking
- Fast heartbeat
- Fast breathing
- High blood pressure
- Hallucinations
- Seizures
Prepare For Withdrawal
The first step in the preparation for withdrawal involves consulting a medical professional. The withdrawal process should always be under the supervision of a medical expert. This is to ensure your safety throughout the whole process. It is important to discuss your plans with a doctor or an addiction expert so that you will be properly assessed and informed regarding the treatment plan.
Withdrawal symptoms from opioid use or any other type of drug are essentially uncomfortable. People have different experiences and different levels of discomfort that can be based on a lot of different factors. Here are some tips to consider or what to have to prepare for withdrawal:
- 2 to 3 litres of water to drink for everyday consumption
- medication for diarrhoea
- sleep supplements (ask advice from a healthcare professional on what could work best for you)
- Aspirin
- Vitamin B and C supplements
Don’t Take Risks
Taking risks usually does more harm than good. It is important to have the right guidance and support around you when you are starting your recovery journey. Before deciding to do something, it is important to ask for advice or the opinions of people around you first.
Seeking Professional Help
The guidance of a healthcare professional during withdrawal is vital to progress for recovery. Healthcare professionals have the licence and knowledge to understand the severity of the withdrawal symptoms being experienced and what is the best course of action moving forward regarding treatment. They will provide medical interventions, monitor your progress, and make sure that you are safe throughout the whole withdrawal process.
Healthcare professionals can also provide emotional support during a challenging time, such as going through withdrawal symptoms. They are trained to understand what you are going through and how hard it can be. They will provide a safe and judgement-free environment for people who are eager to break from addiction and withdrawal. They can also be a bridge for you to explore different networks or resources to improve your recovery journey.
Types Of Treatment Programmes Available
There are a couple of options available for opioid use disorder, including:
- Medicine- medications such as buprenorphine, methadone, and lofexidine work by minimising the withdrawal symptoms and cravings, while naltrexone takes away the high that you can feel once you take opioids.
- Counselling and Behavioural Therapies
- Residential and Hospital-based Treatment
Use Of Therapy
The use of counselling and behavioural therapy can teach the patients how they can change and improve the attitudes that cause them to turn to drug use, how to build healthy life skills, and help with sticking to other forms of treatment by managing the emotions the patient feels during the other forms of treatment. Some of the approaches used in opioid use disorder therapy are:
- Individual counselling
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Motivational Enhancement Therapy
- Contingency Management
- Group Counselling
- Family Counselling
Building a New Lifestyle
It is important to take yourself out of the situations that you have found yourself in that point straight to addiction. Letting go of old habits may be hard, but they are definitely for the best.
Once the patient has realised that life away from addiction is something that could be possible for them, building a new lifestyle will bring them hope and will motivate them because a world full of new possibilities will be open for them to explore.
Recognise And Avoid Triggers
Being aware of what triggers us the most to repeat the destructive behaviour that brought on addiction is important. This is essential in determining your path in recovery and the severity of its effect on your life.
Adopt Coping Measures
A lot of people who are going through addiction have used substances as a way to cope with the overflow of emotions and stress. Adopting healthier coping measures to deal with challenges, as well as diverting our attention in life, is important to separate ourselves from the world of addiction.
Rebuild Relationships
People who are struggling with addiction tend to isolate themselves during the peak of their addiction, and this causes the deterioration of personal relationships. Once you embark on a new journey to build an old lifestyle, it may be beneficial to rebuild the relationships that you know are important for you and would not push you further into addiction. It is important to be reminded that we have people around us who love and are worried about our well-being.
Learn New Hobbies and Interests
Learning new hobbies and interests can be a good way to divert attention to avoid overthinking things. This can also teach us about parts of ourselves that we have not yet discovered. Through learning new hobbies and interests, we are creating a way for ourselves to discover life through a different lens and meet more people who can help us move forward in life.
Staying Committed to Recovery
Going from active addiction to down the path of recovery is a long and tedious process. There will be times when you will feel like there is no progress happening or you are just wasting your time. But it is important to remember that no one gets over addiction overnight. Each experience is important in this journey, and trusting the process will always be one of the biggest keys to success.
Prevent Opioid Exposure
While going through recovery, it is important to separate yourself from the exposure you had to opioids before you chose to enter treatment. The more you are exposed to opioids, the risk of a relapse is more likely. As much as possible, preventing as much exposure would be vital for the recovery to work. Building stability independently to slowly be able to learn how to co-exist with the presence of substances.
Celebrate Your Achievements
Even the smallest steps towards recovery should be celebrated. They should and always will be considered as achievements because it takes a lot to finally choose recovery. No matter how small you view the achievements, it is important to see that a little can go a long way, and people deserve to find the beauty of life, even in the little things.
Accept Setbacks
In every battle in life, it is normal to experience setbacks. Not everything will go your way. Nothing will be perfect, and from time to time, we will experience challenges that will test how far we have come. Do not be so hard on yourself if you find yourself still craving the substance. There are a lot of things that can help you manage what you are going through. Just remember to keep pushing forward.
Help For Individuals Struggling with Opioid Addiction
Sometimes, substances are used for more things than to treat pain. People can easily get lost in the escape that substances can provide because we live in a world where it gets harder to ask for help as time flies by.
It does not matter how long you’ve been taking substances. You can break the cycle of addiction. Recovery from substance use disorder is possible. It takes a lot of determination, guidance, and support from others to get to the other side of the road.
Are you ready to make your recovery journey? Contact Sierra Recovery and be a part of our community.
