Fentanyl is a synthetic drug doctors prescribe to alleviate severe pain. Because it is an opioid, there’s a high potential for abuse. Fentanyl addiction treatment involves providing the necessary support and treatment for maintaining lasting recovery.
What Is Fentanyl?
Although you shouldn’t take opioid pain relievers continuously, doctors approve fentanyl for long-term use, making it one of the most addictive painkillers.
Fentanyl comes in an injectable form that hospitals use to manage pain after surgery. Additionally, it also comes with a sublingual spray and quick-dissolve tablets. These forms provide immediate relief. The substance is also available as a patch and nasal spray.
This drug is more potent than morphine and heroin as well. Manufacturers often mix it with other narcotics or cocaine, which intensifies the effects. Sometimes, fentanyl is sold in a pill that looks like OxyContin. Unfortunately, if you purchase it on the street, you might never know the exact dose that you’re getting.
Doctors often prescribe fentanyl for people whose pain is not responding to other opioids. Because of its potency, there is a dangerous risk for overdose.
Even if you take the medication as a doctor prescribes, you can develop a tolerance. Over time, you may need higher or more frequent doses to get relief. As this happens, your body acclimates to obtaining its rewards from the drug.
If you try to decrease your use or stop altogether, you might feel more pain than you did before. This is one reason why fentanyl is so addictive.
Do You Have a Fentanyl Addiction?
Even though fentanyl produces a high, it comes with many uncomfortable side effects. If you’ve been using it for a significant period of time, you may experience:
- Twitching
- Intense itching
- Constipation and intestinal blockages
- Hallucinations
- Loss of consciousness
- Slow or difficult breathing
If you’re no longer taking the medication for pain management, you might have an addiction. Using the drug to feel normal or despite its negative side effects might indicate how much you could benefit from fentanyl addiction treatment.
What Type of Fentanyl Addiction Treatment Is Best?
Treatment plans are different for everyone. Addiction staff should create your’s based on history, experience with the drug, the length of time you’ve been using it, and your physical and mental health.
While some people can afford the cost and time of a residential rehab center, others do better if they can maintain their responsibilities and obligations at home. In addition, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs may be more convenient for many people.
No matter what type of treatment plan you choose, it should include addiction education, individual or family drug counseling, and psychotherapy. Learning how to live your life without abusing substances is important. You might need to reestablish healthy coping strategies for handling stress and temptation.
At Steps to Recovery, we give you the necessary tools for long-term sobriety. For example, we offer the following programs:
- Addiction interventions
- Dual diagnosis treatment
- Partial hospitalization program
- Intensive outpatient program
- Sober living and aftercare
In each of our programs, we use 12-step concepts gather support and community. Moreover, we work with you to develop the necessary life skills for taking for continued health. The staff-to-client ratio is 3:1, making Steps to Recovery a comfortable setting in which your needs always come first.
If you’re ready to conquer your fentanyl addiction, call us at 267.719.8528. Learn how our integrated services work toward overall health.