| Narcotic addiction is life a
threatening condition that can lead to physiologic and
psychological dependence. Narcotics, class of drugs
that includes opiods, utilized to treat pain.
Cocaine is also considered a narcotic. Often, through continued
usage, narcotics lead to tolerance that can then lead to
addiction.
Narcotic Treatment Centers
Opiods act by binding to the opioid-U receptors or the
"reward pathway." With regular and continued use
the brain stops producing natural pain killing neuro-chemicals,
and relies on outside supplementation. As the user develops more
tolerance they then develop dependence. Failure to provide
the drug to the brain, the patient undergoes withdrawal. Withdrawal
symptoms include pain, cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, anxiety,
sleep problems, cravings. These can be severe, or
mild.
Currently limited effective treatments are available for
those addicted to opiods.
One effective treatment is with a product called Suboxone ®
(buprenorphine). Treatment protocols are administered by
physicians that have taken a special training course, as
dictated by the Federal Government. Once trained, a Suboxone ®
prescribing physician may only maintain a certain number of
patients at any one time, as dictated by the Federal Government.
The treatment protocols include an treatment induction phase
that occurs in the office, and then regular visits for a
prescribed period of time, sometimes up to a year.
Narcotic Treatment Centers
Home References OxyContin
® use and misuse in three populations: substance abuse
patients, pain patients, and criminal justice participants
J Opioid Manag.
2008 Mar-Apr;4(2):73-9
PMID: 18557163 Prescription OxyContin ® abuse
among patients entering addiction treatment
Am J Psychiatry. 2007 Nov;164(11):1634-6.
PMID: 17974941 Trends in abuse of Oxycontin ®
and other opioid analgesics in the United States: 2002-2004
J
Pain. 2005 Oct;6(10):662-72.
PMID: 16202959 An exploratory study of
OxyContin ® use among individuals with substance use disorders
J Psychoactive
Drugs. 2007 Sep;39(3):271-6
PMID: 18159780 Trends in nonheroin opioids
abuse admissions: 1992-2004
J Opioid Manag.
2007 Jul-Aug;3(4):215-23
PMID: 17957981
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