Original article
Learning about painkiller alternatives for women and considering admissions at Women’s Recovery can help you see that more than one next step may be available.
Every day, millions of Americans take opioid painkillers as medication. Medications of this type can be highly effective. However, in all cases, they come with the risk of two issues: opioid dependence and opioid addiction. Your doctor can help you safely manage dependence. But unless you stay vigilant, it can eventually turn into an addiction. This is why effective painkiller addiction treatment is an urgent need for many men and women.
Are you concerned that your painkiller use has turned into an addiction? At Women’s Recovery, we specialize in treating problems caused by painkillers and other opioids. In all cases, we focus on the specific types of help most needed by women struggling with addiction. This tight focus allows us to create a program that meets women’s needs every step of the way.
The Relationship of Painkiller Dependence to Painkiller Addiction
Many people rely on pain-killing medications to ease the effects of chronic pain symptoms. If they stop taking their medication, they may find it difficult or impossible to function. However, every time you use a painkiller, your brain grows more accustomed to it. Over time, it may come to treat painkillers as a necessary part of its chemical environment. If this happens to you, you have reached the state of painkiller dependence.
When it comes to opioids, dependence is not the same as addiction. In fact, you can be opioid-dependent while still following a regular, healthy daily routine. But this isn’t something you can achieve on your own. Instead, it requires careful guidance and oversight from your doctor. Why? Without this oversight and guidance, dependence can quickly turn into an addiction.
When Does Painkiller Addiction Begin?
When do you cross the line from functional dependence to painkiller addiction? As a rule, this occurs when you’re not only physically dependent on opioid medication. In addition, you’re psychologically or emotionally dependent. This means that you have a mental reliance on painkillers that’s not rooted in actual physical need. How do you know when this happens? Common symptoms of painkiller addiction include:
- Having a compulsive urge to seek out and use more medication
- Losing control over how many painkillers you take or how often you take them
- Not being able to stop your painkiller use, even after multiple tries
- Creating a routine focused on meeting your need for painkillers
- Needing more and more painkillers to feel their desired effects
- Continuing your painkiller use despite knowing the harm it causes you
- Going into withdrawal if you try to stop using painkillers or cut back on them
All of these things are symptoms of opioid use disorder. The disorder also includes signs of harmful, non-addicted painkiller abuse. You only need two out of 11 potential addiction/abuse symptoms to meet the criteria for opioid use disorder.
Seeking a Painkiller Addiction Treatment Program
Painkiller addiction can be treated. This is true regardless of the severity of your specific symptoms. An effective painkiller addiction treatment program has two main aspects:
- Medication to help you quit and avoid a relapse in treatment
- Psychotherapy that enables you to avoid future painkiller problems
It’s common to receive both forms of help during your recovery.
Turn to Women’s Recovery for Effective Women’s Painkiller treatment
Women’s Recovery offers a variety of options for effective women’s painkiller treatment. In all cases, we feature two levels of treatment. First, we focus on recovery techniques known to provide benefits for many women with opioid problems. In addition, we customize those techniques to your one-of-a-kind situation. The end result for you is a painkiller treatment program best suited to supporting your needs. To learn more about our available treatments, fill out our online form or call us today at 833.754.0554.