Becoming opiate dependent can change your life, in a bad way! There is no question that many people start taking opioids when they don’t need too. Some of the reasons may be a cautious prescription to treat someone’s pain, another reason may be that an athlete may want to deal with the pain they currently have from an injury and get back in the game as quick as possible. Whatever the reason for the drug use, there are too many people that are using opioids that shouldn’t. These drugs are legal; however, they are highly addictive to the user. This is why people can become very dependent on them. Building a dependence for these drugs can be just as lethal as using a drug such as ecstasy or cocaine. In fact, heroin is actually in the same class as these legal drugs. This gives you an idea for just how strong they are and what degree of effect they can have on the user’s body. I want to educate people on the many dangers of using opioids and help suggest other alternatives to overcome the pain and get back to feeling well in no time!

Can opioids kill you?

Just because your friendly neighborhood doctor prescribed you with opioids doesn’t mean these drugs are immune from doing heavy damage to your body. Many people think the drug is safe because it is legal. However, it is just the opposite. The comfort that addicted people get from using legal opioids hurts them in the long run until they are no safer than any other street drugs. Overdoses can happen and are a regular occurrence for opioid abusers. On top of this, they are just as addictive as any other drug. Fighting your addiction to these drugs can be very tough and an uphill battle. I would recommend that anyone who was thinking about using these very strong pain relievers search for any other type of method first before resorting to these drugs. They should be used as a last resort and only out of necessity if the situation calls for it.

Alternatives of opioid use

There are many alternatives people can use to get through whatever they are suffering from without giving into opioid use. Some of these alternatives encompass natural methods as a means to replace the need for addictive substances.

One obvious substitute for strong opioids are other drugs such as Advil, Aleve, etc. These are also pain killers but have a lesser effect. They are nowhere near as addictive as legally prescribed opioids such as OxyContin. Therefore, these choices are a great alternative so that people do not build up an addiction and tolerance level for the stronger drugs.

Another option is to find more natural methods to deal with the pain. These could be such things as herbal medications and any other type of pain relief method. Using herbal medicines is a very natural way to restore order to the body without disturbing the balance of what is chemically going on inside us. It is one of the safer ones to bring health to our bodies.

One final option is to ride out the pain and let it happen. Many people don’t want to do this and sometimes can’t, however if this is a possibility, it is definitely not worth taking the risk of ingesting highly addictive drugs to curb minimal amounts of pain. The risk reward factor of doing that does not make sense and should not be done. There definitely should be a more cautious air around doctors that prescribe opioid drugs so easily. Just be careful and if they can be avoided ,they should be at all costs.

How to overcome an opioid addiction

Once someone has started to take the prescribed drug, there is no point in finding an alternative. The best choice is to ride it out for the length of time the doctor prescribed it to them. This is definitely a dangerous choice as we know how addictive these drugs are, however once started, you really should do as your doctor says and not deter from it. At this point a family member should consistently monitor the person’s mood and make sure they are taking the right amount every time and staying consistent with it. They should not be sneaking around and taking more of it than they should at times. This is a huge red flag if that is occurring and help should be sought out right away. After their prescription ends, continue to monitor their behavior and try to notice any irregularities in their mood or patterns. These are tell-tale signs that someone is having withdrawal symptoms and has likely become addicted to the opioids. It is never easy to face a drug addiction, but standing up to it is way better than letting it take over your life one day at a time.