Are you or is someone you know addicted to opioids? Are you unsure if you or someone you know has crossed the line between opioid use and opioid abuse?
Nancy Hilsenrath, LCSW can help you find these answers, and, if opioid use has become problematic, help you learn & use strategies to cope with & overcome that addiction.
Opioid addiction has become increasingly common in the United States over the past twenty years. This pattern is especially pronounced among people developing opioid dependency or substance use disorder as a result of taking prescribed pain medication. This is not surprising, as approximately 1.9 million Americans meet criteria for prescription pain killers.
The 2014 National survey on drug use and health demonstrated the scope of the opioid addiction crisis in America. According to that survey, 4.3 million Americans had engaged in non-medical use of prescription pain medications in the last month. The survey also showed that the number of users was skyrocketing: 1.4 million people had used prescription pain killers for non-medical reasons for the first time in the past year.
How do you know if you or someone you know has developed a problem with opioids?
The following questions can help you to determine if your use of paid medication has led to addiction. Answer each for yourself or the person whose opioid use is raising concern:
· Does the person think about their medication often?
· Is the person preoccupied with the medication?
· Is the person taking more than the dose that was prescribed?
· Is the person taking medication more frequently than prescribed?
· Is the person looking for different doctors hoping to get more prescriptions?
· Has the person lied about their medication?
· Does the person seem irritable or angry?
If the answer to the above questions is yes, the person may be suffering from opioid addiction.
The misuse of prescription pain medication can lead to the abuse of other illicit substances as users either run out of sources of pain medication or develop tolerance that requires higher and higher doses to achieve the same effect. Pain pill users sometimes turn to illicit substances due to the severe withdrawal that opioids cause. Heroin is one of the most well-known illicit opioids, but more powerful, synthetic versions such as fentanyl are also cheap and widely available. Unfortunately, they can also be deadly.
When users begin looking to illicit substances to manage their addiction, dangers abound as these unregulated products vary in purity. Drugs that have been contaminated, or “cut” present health risks from such contamination. On the other hand, users have no real way of knowing if a product is pure, which can lead users to accidental overdoses when drugs are more powerful than expected.
If you or someone you know is addicted to opioids, their health and well-being may be at serious risk. Fortunately, help is available. Nancy Hilsenrath, LCSW, can help you address opioid addiction. Call today and Nancy Hilsenrath can discuss how to treat you or the addicted person. Nancy provides treatment tailored to the needs of individuals, addressing their specific behaviors and situation. Such behavioral therapies can be an effective means of addressing opioid addictions.
If you have concerns about you or someone you know, don’t hesitate to call. Don’t let addiction keep you or those you care about from living the life you want, or that they deserve.
If you or a loved one is suffering from an addiction, Nancy Hilsenrath can help set you on the path to recovery.
(718) 551-2777 EMAIL NANCY TODAY
Therapy for people addicted to opioids – Long Island and Queens, New York residents.
COUNSELING LOCATIONS: West Hempstead, NY, Douglaston, NY, Hewlett, NY
