Education About Pain Killers and Opioids Could Help Addiction

Education About Pain Killers and Opioids Could Help Addiction

As many know, pain killers (specifically opioids) have been widely prescribed over the past decade, in many cases leading to dependency and addiction. While opioid pain killers have amazing utility in clinical settings, their illicit use in the general populace has led to a lot of problems. Opioid dependency isn’t usually directly life-threatening. But in extreme cases, the difficulty in acquiring the (now) necessary drugs, the cost of self medication, the physical side effects such as chronic constipation, and the social stigma of visible addiction can cost people all that they hold dear. But education and preparation could help people find ways to use opioids for their positive benefits, without being carried away by long term abuse.

Opioids Have Great Benefits! Drugs like morphine and codeine have great pain relieving power. They have been used in medical settings for generations, and allow people who suffer greatly to feel better, even living independent and function lives previously impossible. Different sports injuries, cancer, chronic injury, all of these would be unbearable without opioid intervention. Because of opioids’ widespread illicit use, education on this subject much be more generally known. These drugs can make people feel better, physically and emotionally. But if they are used to withdraw from difficult situations, a growing tolerance will make hard things in life that much harder to deal with when drugs are not available. Dependency can creep up in a matter of days, characterized by a feeling of illness, weakness, and emotional disease. People who use opioids should do so with confidence, but with a plan for cessation or appropriate distance between doses, and with a plan for peace and harmony in the rest of their life.

People also need to understand just how much tolerance can build. With incessant use, a dose that once dulled the senses and provided calm, pleasant feelings will not be felt at all. Many people with opioid dependency issues start with common prescriptions like percocets. These small doses are safe to consume for just about everybody, and are pleasant for most. But when consumed daily, or multiple times daily, they quickly start to become less powerful as the body compensates for the drug in the system and tries to restore normal sensation. It gradually takes more of the drug to feel the same calm elation, and higher classes of the drug may need to be obtained in order to maintain the high.

This phenomenon has been observed in all classes of society at this point. We all know someone who has at least struggled somewhat with opioid dependency. By educating ourselves and removing the stigma surrounding opioid abuse, we can help people like this come back into the light. Opioid abuse is about intolerable pain, physical or emotional. Without resolving the underlying issues that motivate people to dose themselves, it’s unlikely that the problem will go away. At the very least, treatment and management should be made available for people struggling with addiction. In some cases, cessation simply doesn’t happen, but management, nutrition, and social support can be extended.