Prescription Opioid Addiction Treatment in Tampa, FL
Tampa Opiate Addiction Treatment
Addiction to prescribed drugs has escalated in Florida and opiate addiction is among the largest problem both for those who are addicted, and for Tampa, Florida officials who are combating the issue of the illegal use of pharmaceuticals. According to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office, prescription drug abuse has become more fatal than abuse of illegal street drugs.
“What we’ve noticed in probably in the last 10 years across all parts of the United States, and in particular Florida, are unprecedented numbers of prescription drug overdoses in patients coming through the medical examiner’s office.” Dr. Julia Pearson is the chief forensic toxicologist at Hillsborough County’s Medical Examiner’s Office in Tampa.
In this county right now, our top two drugs in terms of overdoses, are actually two prescription drugs. One is oxycodone, which can be formulated as Percocet or oxycontin. And the second drug is methadone, which used to be used to treat heroin addiction, and now is being used to treat chronic pain. So those two drugs are the number one and number two causes of drug overdoses in this county, which is quite a substantial number of cases. At this point, we’re looking at almost 300 drug overdoses per year in Hillsborough County, which is almost one case per day.
Source: http://www.wmnf.org/news_stories/prescription-drug-abuse-on-the-rise The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency lists primary concerns in Florida as opiates such as heroin, Vicodin, OxyContin and methadone, and benzodiazepines such as Klonopin and Xanax. Opiate addiction in the Tampa bay area is on the rise and opiate treatment is in high demand. The key to successful treatment of opiate addiction is choosing the very best opiate treatment center or physician who can assist you with detoxing from opiates.
Finding Professional, Compassionate Opiate /Suboxone Treatment in Tampa Florida
Most Tampa suboxone clinics or doctors offer the same basic types of treatment such as the use of suboxone combined with behavior modification and counseling. Dr. Northrup is conveniently located in Tampa and offers compassionate care and addiction treatment. You will receive personalized addiction treatment according to your specific needs. Patients who are opiate addicted are treated uniquely and treatment is tailored to your individual needs, including but not limited to the use of suboxone and other treatment as indicated.
Whether you are a Tampa area resident addicted to pain killers such as Oxycontin, vicodin or other prescription opiate based drugs, or you are addicted to heroin another opiate based drug— Dr. Northrup will treat your addiction with straight forward methods including suboxone treatment and behavioral modification and counseling. Substance abuse is on the rise in the Tampa bay area, and throughout Florida. Being dependent on opiates or addicted to opiates is a medical problem that requires treatment. If you are searching for a Tampa suboxone doctor to assist you with the withdrawal effects it is important to choose a professional, qualified and compassionate doctor who is concerned about your well-being. Most importantly, you should make an informed decision and choose a physician and staff that you will feel comfortable with and who will provide consistent, professional care.
It is estimated that ten percent of physicians are themselves dependent on the very drugs they prescribe, according to the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD). Dr. Northrup has the expertise, knowledge and concern for his patients. He is committed to the care of those who are either opiate dependent or addicted to opiates or other addictive behaviors such as alcohol addiction, gambling, smoking and also other brain disorders.
Did You Know?
Opiate addiction is recognized as a central nervous system disorder, caused by continuous opiate intake.
What is Opioid Addiction?
Opioid addiction is an addiction to any substance that contains opiates whether legal or illegal. Prescription drug addiction is a disease that affects your brain and causes changes in your moods and behavior. Often times, people who are prescribed pain medicine become addicted to the pleasurable effect that it produces. This makes some people want to keep using these drugs—despite the absence of pain. For those addicted, use turns into “abuse” and over time, an addict’s brain actually changes in such a defined way, that a powerful urge to use the drug overtakes any reasoning or rationale the addict may have with regards to the effect the prescription medication is having on their life. In other words addicts may truly want to stop using the medication but they cannot tolerate the physical effects associated with withdrawal. This is due to the chemistry changes in the brain caused by the opioids.
Prescription drugs that contain opioids or (opiates) are found in commonly prescribed pain medications. Many of us have used pain medication at one time or another but continuing to take a prescribed medication improperly or illegally is considered to be a non medical use of a prescription drug. Nearly 20% of all American’s are addicted to pain medications which leads to the destruction of their personal well-being and often the affects the well being of those closest to them.
Who is Affected by Prescription Drug Addiction?
There is no age, gender or race barrier against prescription drug abuse and addiction. In fact, every day, more than 2,000 teenagers try a painkiller to get high for the first time. According to recent ad campaigns to raise awareness of teen prescription drug use, teens are often times obtaining these drugs from their own parents’ medicine cabinets and are both being abused and sold on the street.
What Prescription Drugs Contain Opioids?
If you’re addicted to pain medications containing opioids, you may know them either by their prescribed or their street names; Codeine, Fentanyl, Hydrocodone, Morphine, Oxycodone (OxyContin, Percodan, Percocet) Paregoric, and Sufentanil are the brand or generic names. The National Institute for Drug Abuse provides the public with a list of common street names used for prescription drugs containing opioids on their website, and they are as follows: Tylox, OxyContin, Percodan, Percocet; Oxy 80s, Oxycotton, Oxycet, Hillbilly Heroin, Percs, Demerol, Meperidine Hydrochloride; Demmies, Pain Killer Dilaudid; Juice, Dillies, Vicodin, Lortab, Lorcet; Darvon and Darvocet. Fentanyl is often referred to as Actiq, Duragesic, Sublimaze; Apache, China Girl, China White, Dance Fever, Friend, Goodfella, Jackpot, Murder 8, TNT, Tango and Cash. Morphine is commonly referred to on the street as M, Miss Emma, Monkey or White Stuff.
As you can see, there is a sophisticated language that has emerged and associated with these drugs. If you are a spouse, parent, friend or family member of a prescription drug addict, you may have already figured out that deceit and desperation is associated with drug abuse— It is common for the addict to be extremely successful in hiding their prescription drug abuse for some time and problems may not surface until that person no longer can obtain the drug legally.
A New Start Begins with Acknowledgement
Many who are addicted to prescription drugs, especially those addicted to opioids may have either tried to stop using “cold turkey” or they refuse to stop because they refuse to acknowledge that they have a problem. Surely if it’s prescribed they find justification in taking them yet, many Doctors in the United States, as well as certain online pharmacies make it far too easy for an addict to continue using. Withdrawal from opioids is an unpleasant and sometimes even a life threatening experience for the user. The changes in the brain caused by the use of opioids causes the body to go on alert once the drug is stopped. The brain is telling the body to give the addict a signal by producing physical symptoms —symptoms that in the past could only be alleviated by more opiates. Body aches, flu-like symptoms, sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea as well as rapid heartbeat and tearing, are common withdrawal symptoms which can and do occur in most cases of withdrawal. Despite the addict’s desire to want to quit, the severity of the withdraw symptoms overrule any desire the user has to stop taking the medication. It’s a terrible, vicious cycle.
Medically Supervised Withdrawal Utilizing Suboxone
There is help for the person who is addicted to opiates by way of medically supervised withdrawal using Suboxone treatment. Combined with psychiatric care or counseling–it is a highly successful treatment for opioid addiction. Again, most people would rather not be addicted to painkillers however; the brain that has been altered by opioids fights against emotion and common sense—and usually wins. Suboxone or buprenorphine helps tame the opiate withdrawal symptoms. It is quickly becoming a popular method of treatment for opiate addiction. Entering into a Suboxone treatment program is a highly personal decision, one that a Doctor who specializes in Suboxone treatment can help you make. It’s not for everyone but for some it has been the one method that has helped them to regain their dignity and quality of life. Taking the steps to obtain the help that is needed for drug addiction begins with making a phone call to our office,located in Tampa, we can help you. Please feel free to watch our drug addiction videos and remember, seeking help for your addiction and depression is up to you, giving you the help you need to make it through rehab or detox from the street drug roxy or oxy or other opiates, is my job.
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