Codeine Addiction and Opioid Addiction: The Problem 

Codeine Addiction and Opioid Addiction

Codeine Addiction and Opioid addiction is a huge problem in America. Statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse show that there were seven to eight million  abusers of Rx drugs in 2009. The number of individuals overdosing on Rx  narcotics (on purpose or by accident) has tripled since the year 1999. High school seniors are abusing Rx medications at a rate of 10%. Most non-medical use of these prescriptions comes from friends or family who have the medication. The painkiller Oxycontin is one narcotic that has reached epidemic proportions in its’ diversion and abuse. Codeine appears to be less of a problem, but still present.

Many people start with opioids including codeine for a medical issue such as migraines, only to have their use escalate to an opioid addiction. Others start by experimenting in high school only to find they needed to keep using to avoid opioid withdrawals. People then begin to consider if they have an addiction. They want to cease the medication, but they are starting to have major problems like legal issues. Many never had opioid or other addiction problems before. Here are some signs of codeine addiction and opioid addiction:

Top 10 Symptoms of an Codeine Addiction and Opioid Addiction

1. You sell your things for money to buy opioids and codeine
2. You keep using opioids including codeine with little regard to the problems caused: such as money, family, legal, or physical problems.
3. You use other addictive drugs : alcohol, tobacco,pot, extacy,etc.
4. You go to seedy places, have dealings with questionable individuals to obtain durgs.
5. Others tell you that you use too much pain medication and opioids. There may be arguments over your use.
6. You spend a lot of you day thinking of getting the medication and and getting it.
7. You go to multiple doctors for pain medication.
8. You steal prescriptions from others.
9.You are use more medication than prescribed by your doctor.
10. Work and family comes second to you thinking and getting drugs.

Avoid Codeine and Opioid Addiction

Opioid medications including codeine have been very helpful for people with a lot of pain. These medications have brought risks. They have been diverted and sold for a profit. People become hooked and can’t stop. This has become worse as they have been prescribed in larger numbers.  The first way to avoid codeine addiction is to only use Rx medication under the care of a single doctor. Having multiple physicians prescribing codeine and narcotics to you will eventually cause problems. Never change the dose of a medication on your own. This is a recipe for disaster.  Call your doctor and simply check.  One problem with changing the medication on you own is that your doctor may eventually not give you the medication if you keep running out early.

The next way to limit problems with opioids and codeine is to discuss with your physician other treatments for pain.  There are many other treatments ranging from non-narcotic medications to acupunture and massage therapy. You should also know that opioids can make chonic pain worse.  Relying on them to treat pain changes the body chemistry and makes you more sensitive to pain.  In the end, long-term use of opioids for pain does not work well for most .

Opioid Addiction Symptoms Recap

There are many symptoms and signs of codeine addiction and opioid addiction. Others can see the problems caused by the codeine use and may tell you. Other signs are physician shopping, and taking more medication over time. Having physical, legal, family, social, and employment problems from the opioid occurs. Be sure to frequently talk with your physician about stopping opioid medications including codeine and if this would be the right choice for you. Long-term opioid use can cause more harm than most believe.

Here is more help with Codeine Addiction and  Opioid Addiction

• www.allabutsuboxone.com : A site that reviews the use of Suboxone for the treatment of opioid abuse and dependence. It also contains a suboxone doctor directory.
• www.oxycontintreatmentdirectory.com: Site focused onOxycontin Addiction. It contains a search function to find treatment help in your area
• NLB-National Library of Medicine: Opioid dependence article
• www.methadonetreatmentclinics.net: Site focused on methadone maintenance and opioid addiction

Buprenorphine Treatment For Codeine Withdrawal ? 

Buprenorphine Treatment For Codeine Withdrawal ?

Buprenorphine treatment is another type of treatment for opioid dependence. Buprenorphine is the generic name for the medication Suboxone.  Methadone maintenance treatment is very similar to buprenorphine treatment. Opioid dependent and codeine addicted individuals usually go back to using codeine and other narcotics when trying to get off opioids such as oxycontin, heroin, and vicodin, among others. Most addicted individuals are unable to last through the opioid withdrawal period and don’t even last a several days. Others get off the codeine or narcotic, but with the first major problem in their lives, they return to drug use. Buprenorphine treatment can help stop this continuous cycle of addiction.

Buprenorphine treatment will stop the difficult opioid withdrawals. Since buprenorphine is another narcotic, it will stop these withdrawals. It also stops with cravings that an addict is having. Many patients return to opioid use because of sweating, cramps, and cravings during withdrawal. Buprenorphine (an opioid) places the opioid back in the patient’s system. It has to be prescribed and watched by a physician. If one is unable stop opioids, it is better to be on one that is supervised, rather than buying it off the street with all the problems that come with doing this. Eventually for many, the desire is to get off the buprenorphine treatment with the aid and medication from a doctor. Some are able to get completely sober.

Why Buprenorphine Treatment ? Why Not Just Quit Suddenly

Staying  on a narcotic such as methadone or buprenorphine works better than just suddenly stopping. When a patient is not having to be think constantly about the cravings they are having, they are able to focus on getting better. When they don’t have to worry about losing their next employment from being tardy or getting high, they can focus on treatment. The goal of buprenorphine treatment is to maintain the person in a good place so they can work on other areas of their life  first.

Opioid dependence kills patient’s lives. Heroin patients frequently have crime problems. Others are duplicating prescriptions from their doctor or they are doctor shopping. Not being able to hold down employment causes financial turmoil. Marriages divorce or are on the edge because of all the arguing and sneaking around. It is hard to fix one’s problems when a person is spending their time looking for narcotics and codeien. One danger: Codeine and opioids can found and taken by children. Family learns to distrust you. People want buprenorphine treatment to stop all these issues.

Is Buprenorphine Treatment an Inconvenience?

Buprenorphine treatment is much less of an inconvenience and easier to follow than methadone maintenance treatment. The assessment is done in a doctors clinic. Getting stabilized on buprenorphine can be done within a week for most. The nice thing about buprenorphine treatment, it that when one is stable on the medication, they only need to go to their physician’s office once per month to get the prescription. Methadone maintenance may require going to the clinic daily.

Buprenorphine treatment is less intrusive than methadone maintenance. They see their own physician and are not around other addicted individuals. It is easier to get in and see a buprenorphine physician than to get seen at a methadone clinic. During treatment, patients will go to their own counselor or to step meetings for therapy. In most cases, they get to say who they will see for counseling. Buprenorphine is a tablet and is taken sublingually (under the tongue).

In summary, buprenorphine treatment is another alternative for codeine dependence and opioid dependence. Although not all individuals talking methadone for addiction treatment will successfully be able to convert to buprenorphine, many can. Now methadone is not the only medication that will work for opioid addiction and codeine addiction. Be aware the generic name for suboxone is buprenorphine.

Buprenorphine Clinic Directory Find a Buprenorphine Physician Near You

Dr. Rich Senyszyn is a Board Certified Psychiatrist with licenses in Texas and Hawaii. He specializes in the treatment of opioid addiction with buprenorphine and runs a FREE locator service to find help with Oxycontin including Suboxone treatment of oxycontin addiction. Suboxone Clinic in your area.
Dr. Rich has written more articles on the cost of oxycontin, buprenorphine (Suboxone) including frequently asked questions and a recent post : How do I find a Buprenorphine Doctor?

Initial Psychiatric Assessment : Addiction, Codeine Withdrawal, and Suboxone Treatment 

Psychiatric Assessment For Hydrocodone Withdrawl

If you want more information about addiction, Codeine withdrawal treatment, or suboxone treatment, this is what you need to know for the  initial psychiatric assessment . When you go your physician, your initial psychiatric assessment will take an hour or two. The more time you prepare before a visit with your doctor, the better things will go for you.

Be honest about your past and precent problems during the initial interview. I see people lying to their physicians all the time and I actually expect it to happen. The  initial psychiatric assessment for addiction covers topics people don’t like discussing. The law has severe fines and strict rules for not observing patient confidentiality and proper medical record release. The mental health staff are aware of the financial consequences for breaking confidentiality.  I would rather my patients to tell me if they do not want to discuss a something right now rather than not telling the truth to me. Dishonesty can lead to wasted sessions, an incorrect diagnosis and treatment, and more cost.

We all wish physicians could ask all the questions during the initial psychiatric assessment… Physicians are rushed with the time allowed to see patients. For many patients, this means only the highlights of the initial psychiatric assessment are covered. Many questions are simply put off to another day. Sometimes important questions don’t get asked. A complete  initial psychatric assessment could take several hours. Ninety minutes with a patient who thought about what they need to say should be enough time. Anything under 45 minutes, and questions will probably be skipped. There is just too much information to cover in this period of time. You can help with by preparing a little. By becoming familiar with the contents of an initial psychiatric assessment before seeing your doctor, you can help be sure there will be time for the things you find important.

Initial Psychiatric Assessment : The Vital Part

An accurate chronological history of your use of drugs, your addiction, and your problems and symptoms is the most vital item of an initial psychiatric assessment . We call it getting a good history. The diagnosis becomes easy to see with a good chronological history. Many patients have trouble providing a good history without prior thought. Then, if time runs short in the session, the doctor will have to ask more questions which will limit the time to get to other important things. The patient may become upset and may feel the MD doesn’t care. This is not necessarily the case because if the patient continues to talk without being interrupted, the doctor will not get all the information.

You can assist by reviewing your history of problems prior to going to the  initial psychiatric assessment. You would be surprised that patients really need to concentrate to answer the many questions. Asking these questions to help prepare you:

1. When was the start of the problem?
2. When were you previously doing well?
3. What symptoms and problems came first?
4. What was the chronological sequence of symptoms: what came next?
5. What improved of made the symptoms worse?

Psychiatric Assessment : How to Set Goals

Patients just “want to get better.” But this is not a very specific statement. One needs to be more clear by what they mean by “getting better.” It could mean feeling happy. It could mean being able to hold keeping a job. How about not going back to jail? It is important to set goals that are important to you before so you can see improvement and keep you involved in your treatment.

Once YOU decide you goals, you will be more likely to benefit from treatment. I’ve heard patients say that what they want is not what their physician wants. This is usually a communication problem. Be very specific about your goals during the initial psychiatric assessment and though out treatment. Tell your doctor your wishes and look at the goals every week. Change the goals that don’t fit what you are looking to accomplish.

After the initial psychiatric assessment make sure you and your doctor are in agreement with the goals you have set. Set goals and then measure them by reviewing them. Here are a examples of specific initial psychiatric assessment goals.

1. I will not drink coffee in the morning at least 5 days per week for the next month.
2. I will call my best friend each time I have suicidal thoughts during the next two days.
3. I will not cut on myself for the next for 10 days
4. I will not use any form of alcohol during the next 30 days.
5. I will keep my current job for 6 months6. When I feel the urge to argue with someone, I will walk away from the argument and count to 100.

These goals are measurable. They can be checked by anyone when they are achieved. Setting goals is takes a little practice. Just think ahead about what exactly you will have to do to check off a goal. However, not setting any goals will lead to aimless treatment. You may end up frustrated and not doing better.

In part 2 of  the Initial Psychiatric Assessment : Addiction, Codeine Withdrawal, and Suboxone Treatment I will go over more items your doctor will cover.. You will become more aware of how to be prepared for you doctor visit. Being ready for your visit helps you spend quality time going over what you think is most important.

Suboxone Treatment Directory For Help With Opioid Addiction and Hydrocodone Withdrawal

Dr. Rich is a Board Certified Psychiatrist with licenses in Texas and Hawaii. He specializes in the treatment of opioid addiction with buprenorphine and runs a FREE locator service to find Addiction Treament Clinic including Suboxone treatment, methadone treatment, and codeine withdrawal addiction treatment. Find a  Suboxone Physician in your area.
Dr. Rich has written more articles on the cost of oxycontin, buprenorphine (Suboxone) including frequently asked questions and a recent post : How Do I Find An  Addiction Doctor?

Here are more resources for psychiatric assessment for addiction and suboxone treatment :

• Practice parameter for the psychiatric assessment and management of – Psychiatry 2009 Feb;48(2):213-33. This is the current release of the guideline.
• Psychiatric assessment – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – A psychiatric assessment,
• The Psychiatric view of ME/CFS. What is it? – The psychiatric assessment should be systematic..