Opiate Rehab and Treatment Center

Opiate addiction is a chronic brain disease that leaves sufferers at the mercy of powerful, dangerous drugs. Opiates are legally available as prescription painkillers and also sold on the black market in the form of heroin, one of the most notorious of all illicit drugs. Opiate addiction is the second most common form of drug dependency; without treatment, the results of that addiction can be catastrophic. Fortunately, comprehensive inpatient programs for opiate addiction treatment are available and have a good track record of success.

What Are Opiates?

Opiates are chemical substances derived from the opium poppy plant. They are used to manufacture narcotic painkillers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, and morphine that effectively suppress moderate-to-severe pain, but are also highly addictive if used too long or in excessive quantities. Heroin is an illicit street drug that also belongs to the opiate family, and it is just as addictive as its legal counterparts.

These drugs, which are also referred to as opioids, bind with receptors that are indigenous to the human brain, and in addition to their potent painkilling capacities, they also produce feelings of euphoria, calm, and relaxation. Opiates are used to reduce pain, but they are also consumed recreationally, even when manufactured in medicinal form.

Whether an individual has been using opiate painkillers or heroin obtained on the black market, men and women who continually abuse opiates are putting their futures and their lives at risk.

Opiate Addiction Facts and Statistics

Opiate addiction is a chronic brain disease that if left untreated will only get worse over time. Opiates are often used interchangeably, and that is fueling the reemergence of heroin as a significant factor on the illicit drug scene.

Opiate abuse statistics reveal the extent of the misuse of these dangerous drugs, which are initiating a public health crisis:

• Opiates are the second most abused category of illicit drugs, trailing only marijuana.
• According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2019, nearly 50,000 people in the United States died from opioid-involved overdoses.
• 80 percent of people suffering from heroin addiction misused prescription opiates before turning to their illicit cousin.
• Doctors issued 191,218,272 opioid prescriptions in 2017, which was a slight decline from 2006 to 2016 which they issued 200,000,000 opioid prescriptions every year.
• About 80 percent of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
• Overall, Americans consume about 80 percent of the world’s supply of opiate painkillers, while Canada and Western Europe consume 15 of the remaining 20 percent.
• Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, and opiates account for at least 70 percent of the casualties.

Opiate addiction can be a difficult condition to overcome. But with treatment, support, and a strong relapse prevention plan, individual outcomes and quality of life can be improved. Alta Mira’s evidence-based opiate addiction rehab, including supervised detox, residential care, and therapy, offer the intensity and duration necessary to go beyond stabilization to achieve lasting recovery.

For someone in the depths of opiate addiction, recovery can feel like an unattainable goal. But it’s important to know that opiate and opioid addiction can be overcome and a clean and sober life can be achieved. No matter how many times an addict has tried and failed, or how long they’ve been struggling with the disease, recovery is possible. It’s never too late to get treatment.

When clients first walk through our doors at Alta Mira, many are unaware they may have an untreated mental health issue that is contributing to their struggle with opioid addiction. Treating the symptoms of the addiction alone may not lead to lasting recovery if the co-occurring disorder remains unrecognized and untreated. Our approach provides for the most accurate diagnosis possible, enabling our team to customize an effective treatment plan to fit your unique needs and goals, providing a pathway to a more authentic, productive, and healthy life.

Evidence-Based Treatment Modalities

We use evidence-based modalities in our residential opiate addiction treatment programs, including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Somatic Experiencing (SE), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), where appropriate.

Accurate Diagnosis

From your initial psychiatric evaluation to your individualized neuropsychological testing, we work to develop the most accurate diagnostic profile possible. Depending on each individual client’s detox, identifying underlying co-occurring issues can take several weeks.

Appropriate Medications

Following the initial psychiatric evaluation, clients meet with our psychiatrist weekly while they are in residential treatment with us. When prescribed, the use of genetic testing can help clients get on medications that work better for them with fewer side effects.

The signs and symptoms of opiate addiction can vary somewhat based on the substances being used. While addiction to prescription opiates often develops gradually and may require sharp observational skills to detect in the early stages, the indicators of a heroin addiction usually manifest more rapidly, possibly in a matter of weeks. Heroin abuse also causes physical changes in the body that are impossible to miss.

The signs of prescription opiate addiction and abuse include:

• Persistent drowsiness
• Nodding off at odd times
• Frequent nausea
• Slowed breathing and/or heart rate
• Constipation
• Constricted pupils
• Mental confusion, slower thinking processes and reaction times
• Mood changes following consumption of the drug (from depressed or irritable to mellow and relaxed)
• The onset of cravings for the drug become worse as tolerance builds

A developing opiate addiction can leave sufferers desperate to secure sources of the drugs they crave, and the list of opiate addiction signs also includes behaviors that reflect that desperation, such as:

• Visiting different doctors to get multiple painkiller prescriptions
• Using more than one type of opiate, depending on what’s available
• Stealing drugs or the money to buy them
• Social isolation, secretiveness, and withdrawal from family life
• Chronic neglect of responsibilities (work, school, parental, etc.)
• Loss of interest in grooming and personal appearance
• Shifting from opiate painkillers to heroin

Since opiates are so effective against pain, at least when first used, those who are suffering from acute and chronic pain may be tempted to keep using them even after their initial prescription has expired.

Some pain sufferers may try opiates even when they don’t have a prescription, after purchasing them illegally or getting them from family and friends. Without a doctor’s guidance, it is easy for these people to consume them recklessly.

Other risk factors for opiate abuse include:

• Genetic vulnerability to addiction and family history of drug abuse
• Other substance abuse problems
• Untreated mental health disorders
• Peer pressure during adolescence

While some may be more prone to developing drug addictions than others, anyone who fails to use opiates only as prescribed could be in danger of becoming dependent.

One of the gravest risks for opiate addicts is overdose, which is a side effect of the tolerance for opiates that builds up over time. Long-term opiate abusers must consume more and more drugs chasing after the same effects, and beyond a certain level of consumption, the chances of overdose become significant.

The current epidemic of drug overdose deaths in the United States is almost entirely related to the explosion of opiate use and abuse. Of the more than 64,000 Americans who lost their lives to drug overdose in 2016, opiates were implicated solely or in combination with other drugs (usually alcohol or benzodiazepines) in more than 53,000 of these cases.

• The Challenge. Helping a loved one who is struggling with opiate addiction can be a long and heartbreaking journey. It can be hard to help someone, particularly if they don’t want help or if they live far away. Many families wait years beyond the time that they first thought about intervening.
• Get Help for Yourself. If you have a loved one who is suffering from opiate addiction, one of the first things you can do is take care of yourself by attending peer support meetings like Nar-Anon.
• Consider an Interventionist. The longer you wait for someone to “hit bottom,” the more their disease advances. You can actually increase the chance of a successful outcome by intervening with your loved one before their disease progresses to a more dangerous level. However, organizing your family to set limits and boundaries to get a loved one into rehab can be challenging.

Hiring a professional interventionist can help the family get organized as a team, prepare to speak to the addict in a coordinated way, to give your loved one the best possible chance of successfully arriving in treatment. Interventionists can also be helpful during and after the treatment experience, providing support and coaching to the family to ensure that the client completes treatment. If you are considering an opiate addiction intervention, please contact one of our admissions advisors.

During your stay at Alta Mira, you’ll have an individualized treatment plan tailored to your specific needs. This will include comprehensive services for any co-occurring conditions that might be complicating or supporting your opiate addiction.

We believe individuals are best able to focus on their recovery when immersed in a secure, serene, healing setting. That’s why we provide comfortable surroundings while maintaining the most advanced and sophisticated opiate rehab program in Northern California. Clients can expect compassionate care from our best-in-class opiate addiction specialists.

Seeking a helping hand to guide you through these difficult times is not an easy decision. Our caring and experienced team at Alta Mira can help guide you through the next steps toward achieving lasting recovery.

Don’t let opiate addiction destroy your life. To get help and begin your life-changing transformation, contact us today.