If you are going to a treatment center, Georgia is one of the states which offers Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT). This medication can help you to remain clean while you are adjusting to a new and better way of living.
If you are considering Vivitrol, Atlanta, Georgia has many treatment centers that offer this MAT amongst many others.
Precipitated withdrawal?
But what about precipitated withdrawal? This is withdrawal caused by using MATs to soon after you finished using opioids. Is this something you should be worried about? Read on to find out.
Anyone who takes an opioid medication, even if the medication is prescribed by a doctor, is at risk of dependence. Opioid’s medications are effective at alleviating pain, but they also have a dark side.
In 2017, it was estimated that over 2 million people have opioid use disorder, and a further 11 million people misused opioid type drugs.
Opioids that people abuse include prescription medications like oxycodone, morphine and Vicodin. These drugs are all part of the same class of drugs, and all produce similar effects on the brain. They relieve pain and also flood the body with dopamine, providing a high that is very addictive.
The more someone takes these types of drugs, the more the brain adapts to having them circulating throughout the body. Using drugs frequently increases levels of tolerance, which means that users will require more of the drug to get the same effect.
Addiction to drugs of alcohol is a lifelong, chronic condition which requires a multidisciplinary approach to treatment. Combinations of counseling, behavioral therapy and MATs comprise the majority of treatment plans for those who are in recovery. MATs can be useful in helping people in recovery to avoid withdrawal symptoms, decrease cravings and decrease the risk of relapse. But the misuse of these medications can cause a condition known as precipitated withdrawal.
What is precipitated withdrawal?
The MATs Suboxone, Subutex and Naltrexone are all effective in helping people recover from opioid addiction and transition to sober living. The drugs Suboxone and Subutex are both made with the substance buprenorphine, a drug which activates the opioid receptors of the brain.
Buprenorphine is intended to decrease symptoms of withdrawal and help patients maintain sobriety from opioids. The medicine Naltrexone does not activate opioid receptors but instead blocks them.
Precipitated withdrawal happens when a person takes on of these medications before they have sufficiently detoxed from the opioids which they are addicted to. Taking MATs too early within the process of recovery can cause sudden and severe symptoms of withdrawal to occur.
Withdrawals
Withdrawal symptoms are part of the recovery process in treatment of drug and alcohol addiction. Withdrawal symptoms vary and are different with every drug. Withdrawal symptoms occurring in opioid addiction can be intense and painful but are not usually fatal.
However, in precipitated withdrawal, symptoms can be even worse.
Precipitated withdrawal symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea, intense sweating and other unpleasant and severe side effects. These symptoms can cause health problems and may be severe enough to require hospitalization.
Dehydration and electrolyte imbalance are both real risks when dealing with precipitated withdrawals.
Getting treatment from a team of counselors and doctors is vital for helping patients to avoid issues such as precipitated withdrawal.
Why does precipitated withdrawal happen?
Withdrawal symptoms are a part of the recovery process, and they happen naturally once an individual quits or reduces the amount of substance they are taking. But precipitated withdrawals can be induced when an individual starts taking MAT without sufficiently detoxing from opioids.
To avoid precipitated withdrawals, it is important that patients have enough time between their last dose of opioids before they start a MAT.
Regular opioids withdrawals happen over several days or weeks as the brain rids itself of the drugs and adapts to clean living. Detox and withdrawal is the process which the body goes through to return to a state of equilibrium. If misused, a drug such as Suboxone or Subutex can increase the intensity of the withdrawal process, causing symptoms to be more severe than they usually are.
Precipitated withdrawals are a process that no one wishes to go through. If you are thinking of taking MAT, it is important that you have the proper guidance and care.
Wrap
If you are going to an inpatient rehab for alcohol, Georgia has treatment facilities that can offer MAT to help you come off alcohol. Inpatient rehab for alcohol Georgia has staff who can guide you through the process of coming on to MAT without getting precipitated withdrawal.
Most treatment center Georgia can provide Vivitrol. Atlanta, Georgia.