During their military career, veterans had jobs that made intense demands and took a toll on their bodies and minds. Physical hardships of military service include a high risk of injuries, for example, from combat and carrying heavy equipment. Military service can lead to a great deal of acute or chronic pain both during and after service. Pain management is necessary, and about 25% of veterans are prescribed narcotics for pain. If you are a veteran with a painkiller addiction or care about someone who has served and is struggling with prescription opioid misuse, look into substance abuse treatment for veterans.
UpArmor Recovery provides painkiller addiction treatment in Mississippi for veterans. Find out how our professional, knowledgeable, and caring staff can help you begin recovery in our painkiller rehab program for veterans. Call us at 855.211.5537 today.
Painkiller Abuse and Addiction
When people talk about addictive prescription painkillers, they are referring to opioids—synthetic drugs created in labs to have the same analgesic effects as an opiate like morphine or heroin. They provide the same euphoric effects as well and are highly addictive.
Some people have never been prescribed painkillers but go immediately to street sources to use these drugs, such as heroin. However, among veterans, most painkiller abuse and addiction cases result from being prescribed these medications for severe pain and finding themselves addicted and struggling to stop using.
How does legitimate medical use lead to abuse and addiction?
- When the pain disappears, the brain is already dependent on the drug to deliver vital neurotransmitters like dopamine. Pleasure and well-being are no longer possible without the drug. The patient continues to use it beyond the source of pain and against the doctor’s directions. This is abuse.
- The pain is gone, but the patient realizes the drug also mitigates symptoms of anxiety, PTSD, or other mental health problems. Continuing to take the painkiller to address mental health outside medical supervision is abuse.
- The pain does not go away. It is chronic, but now the body requires more and more of the painkiller to alleviate it because it has become dependent. The patient needs increasing amounts of the drug to get the same pain-killing effects and begins to take more than prescribed more frequently, against medical advice. Use has become abuse.
If you realize you have a problem with Oxy or some other pain medication, get help at a painkiller rehab program for veterans.
Commonly Abused Painkillers
Prescription painkillers are essential in the management of severe or chronic pain. They block the pain signals in the body and shift, lessen, or eliminate the experience of pain. They are not problematic when used as prescribed for a limited period of time. Extended or improper use is an immediate red flag that you are now abusing them, which is a reason to seek a painkiller addiction treatment for veterans.
Their generic and trademarked names know some of the most commonly prescribed and abused narcotic painkillers. You may recognize some of those listed below:
- Oxycodone (OxyContin)
- Hydrocodone (Vicodin, Lortab)
- Meperidine (Demerol)
- Morphine
- Codeine
These medications, if you become addicted, will be increasingly difficult to acquire and may lead to seeking alternative drugs on the street, like fentanyl or heroin.
Painkiller Addiction Treatment for Veterans at UpArmor Recovery
Painkiller addiction is a serious matter, but there is help available. You can live a life in recovery. We believe in treating any co-occurring mental health challenges in coordination with addiction treatment. It isn’t easy to remain sober when there are underlying health conditions. That also includes pain. If you live with chronic pain and are addicted to painkillers, how will you get sober and still manage your pain? Addressing such challenges is possible when you are under the care of doctors and therapists whose mission is to help veterans get sober, be healthy, and live their best lives.
Our evidence-based therapies, as well as holistic treatments, address the whole person. As a veteran, you will be seen and understood by people who work with veterans daily and have vast wells of knowledge and compassion for you and the challenges you face.
Call 855.211.5537 or submit this form today to learn more about painkiller addiction treatment in Mississippi for veterans.