Help for Hydrocodone Addiction
Many people consider doctor prescribed medications as relatively safe to take. Hydrocodone’s effectiveness in relieving pain symptoms accounts for why doctors prescribe medications like it on a regular basis in spite of the high addiction potential these drugs carry.
Counseling can help you overcome an addiction to hydrocodone!
Data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show as many as 12 million Americans reported abusing hydrocodone-type medications on a regular basis in 2010. While abusing the drug may seem like a purely intentional choice on the user’s part, the effects of hydrocodone drive the addiction process in spite of a person’s overall intentions.
Hydrocodone addiction treatment provides the type of support and care a person needs to overcome the drug’s effects and take back control of his or her life. Once addiction has set in, a person’s treatment needs typically require inpatient as well as long-term outpatient care.
Hydrocodone Effects
Hydrocodone, commonly known by the brand name Vicodin, can also be found as an active ingredient in other pain-relief medications, some of which include –
- Percodan
- OxyContin
- Percocet
- Lortab
- Lorcet
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, these drugs provide varying degrees of pain-relief and work quite well as treatments for conditions involving pain. Hydrocodone, one of many opiate-based medications, interacts directly with the opiate cell receptor sites throughout the brain and body. Opiate cell receptor sites secrete the body’s natural painkilling chemicals, also known as endorphins.
Hyrdocodone’s effects cause these cell receptor sites to secrete larger than usual amounts of endorphin chemicals. While this process does help relieve pain symptoms, it also works to weaken cell receptor functions. Over time, the brain starts to require hydrocodone’s effects in order to secrete needed endorphin chemicals.
At this point, the brain has grown dependent on hydrocone to function normally. With continued use, users start to believe they need the drug in order to make it through the day. Once a person’s belief system is affected, a psychological dependence has formed and addiction is at work.
Inpatient Programs
As with any type of addiction, an addiction to hydrocodone drives a person to develop a drug-based lifestyle centered on getting and using the drug. This lifestyle coupled with the body’s physical dependency make it all but impossible to stop using without needed hydrocodone addiction help.
Inpatient programs help recovering addicts detox from hydrocodone while providing a safe, structured treatment environment. While treating the physical aspect of addiction is essential to breaking an addiction, treating addiction’s psychological component means taking space away from the people, places and events that support addictive behaviors
Maintaining Abstinence
Maintaining abstinence from further hydrocodone use means developing the type of mindset that doesn’t need drugs to cope with daily life. Through outpatient hydrocodone addiction programs, recovering addicts can receive long-term treatment help while participating in family and work life activities.
Outpatient programs allow a person to schedule treatment times around his or her existing schedule. After completing inpatient treatment, outpatient care is often a necessary next step in the recovery process. Outpatient care keeps a person engaged in the treatment process, which can help prevent him or her from falling back into the addiction lifestyle.
While inpatient treatment focuses on helping addicts break the physical aspect of addiction, outpatient care provides recovering addicts with the insight, coping skills and motivation to maintain a drug-free lifestyle.