If you are struggling with an opioid addiction, you are not alone. Thanks to skyrocketing levels of opioid prescriptions, addiction to these powerful drugs has become a national epidemic. Fortunately, opiate addiction treatment in Marietta GA, can help you reclaim your life and see a future after substance abuse. Watch this video to learn more.

Most people with an opioid addiction have a similar path. They are prescribed an opioid painkiller to help them cope with the effects of surgery, an accident, or chronic pain, and then they become dependent on the substance. As their need for the medication grows, they can no longer get an adequate supply from their doctors. They then turn to buying drugs off the street or to using other, less expensive opiates to achieve the same effects, such as heroin. The only way to break the dangerous cycle is substance abuse treatment and an aftercare program to support long-term recovery.

If you have a loved one who suffers from addiction, it’s important that you take the time to study your own behavior to ensure that you are not inadvertently enabling his or her addiction. Enabling means that you are preventing an addict from feeling the full consequences of addiction because you are taking on some of those consequences yourself. Because the addict is relieved from suffering the negative results of addictive behavior, he or she is not motivated to stop. Paying a person’s rent, making excuses for a person when he or she fails to meet their obligations, and giving a person money with no strings attached are all common examples of potentially enabling behavior. However, there are positive steps that you can take to help your loved one. Most importantly, you can encourage them to get help. Checking into an addiction treatment center in Marietta GA, is a productive first step toward ending addiction and asserting control over your life once again.

For people who are addicted to opioids, enduring the effects of withdrawal can make it extremely difficult to quit. That’s why buprenorphine, widely marketed as Suboxone, has become such a popular treatment. By replicating the sensations of getting high on opioids, buprenorphine provides a temporary replacement that enables a person to stop taking the opioid. It’s essential, however, to take buprenorphine only under the guidance of a health professional. As this video shows, it’s easy for buprenorphine use to become its own kind of addiction. However, the treatment has a very high success rate. If you are suffering from opioid addiction , contact a treatment center in Marietta GA, for help.

In Marietta GA and the Greater Atlanta area, substance abuse is a major problem. Many people struggling with opioid addiction aren’t sure how to go about getting help. If this describes you, you should know that there is drug addiction help available to you, but you need to take the first step to contact a clinic that offers this type of treatment.

Patient Education

Before your appointment at the clinic, you should become informed about the nature of opiate addiction treatment. One common treatment method is the use of a class of medications known as opioid partial agonists . These are opioid medications that latch onto the same receptors in the brain as do opioid drugs. However, opioid partial agonists do not produce a feeling of euphoria. Instead, they work by blocking the unpleasant effects of drug withdrawal.

Initial Therapy

If this will be your first time receiving this type of addiction treatment, then you should plan for a lengthy first appointment. The doctor will likely ask you to take a urine test to check for the presence of drugs. Then, you’ll be advised of the basics of the treatment program and how to use the medication. Your doctor will determine an appropriate dosage for you, but this dosage may need to be adjusted later.

Dosage Administration

This type of medication is available in different forms. One of the most common is a sublingual film, which is placed under the tongue and allowed to fully dissolve. Drink some water before placing the film under your tongue. When doing so, hold the film between your fingers by its outside edges and place the film close to the base of the tongue. Do not chew or swallow the film; allow it to fully dissolve.

Ongoing Maintenance

It’s likely that you’ll return to the clinic for follow-up appointments on a weekly basis until you’re in an established routine. After that, your follow-up appointments may become less frequent. Your urine may be randomly tested from time to time. If you experience any problems with the medication, such as side effects or decreased effectiveness, you should inform your doctor. This type of addiction treatment allows patients to work through other addiction therapies without suffering the ill effects of withdrawal.

Low testosterone, or low T, is an extremely frustrating problem that is also exceedingly common. Men who suffer from low T experience a range of uncomfortable symptoms, including reduced muscle tone, low sex drive, fatigue, weight gain, and depression. Many different things can contribute to low T, and determining the underlying cause can be part of treating the problem. Alcoholism and opioid use are two significant contributing factors for low testosterone. Obesity, diabetes, infections, injuries, and corticosteroid use can also lead to low levels of testosterone. Find out more about the common causes of low T in this infographic from Altergyn, LLC . We provide bio-identical hormone replacement therapy in Marietta GA and for the Greater Atlanta area, so men suffering from low T can get symptom relief without the risk of other medical treatment options, like testosterone lotions. Make an appointment for medical care today if you are living with low T symptoms, and please share this information to help others learn about their options.

If you sustain severe car accident injuries, you may be prescribed opiate medications to control the pain. These potent painkillers are certainly useful for some people on a short-term basis. However, over time, they can create more problems than they resolve. Substance abuse in Marietta GA and the Greater Atlanta area may be partially attributed to individuals who began using opiates for legitimate purposes. In addition to the problem of opiate addiction , the long-term use of these drugs may disrupt the endocrine system.

Opiates are powerful chemicals that can disrupt the levels of thyroid hormones. Cortisol and testosterone are other hormones that may develop imbalances due to long-term opiate use. The result can be chronic fatigue, depression, emotional instability, sleep disturbances, metabolic changes, and sexual dysfunction. When seeking treatment for opiate addiction, it may be necessary to consider hormone replacement therapy. Hormone replacement therapy can help restore wellness and quality of life while you’re working to beat your addiction to opioids.