Codeine Addiction Treatment

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As an effective pain-relief medication, doctors prescribe codeine frequently to treat conditions involving mild to moderate pain. Codeine has a fast-acting effect on pain symptoms as well as other pleasant effects, such as calmness and euphoria. When taken as prescribed, there’s a fairly low risk of addiction, but the risk is still there.

The addiction potential has to do with the way codeine interacts with pain receptors in the brain. When used for recreational purposes, the potential for codeine addiction increases considerably. Codeine addiction treatment focuses on undoing the physical and psychological damage caused by the misuse of codeine drugs.

Codeine Addiction

Even when taken as prescribed, codeine’s effects on the body can still develop into an addiction if not properly monitored. The longer a person takes codeine, the more the body adapts to prescribed dosage amounts. Codeine’s strong resemblance to the body’s natural pain-killing chemicals makes it easy for the body to develop a tolerance to the drug. This means the body gradually requires larger and larger doses of codeine to achieve the same desired results, whether for pain management or for getting “high.”

Because of the powerful reinforcing effects these drugs have on the brain and body, overcoming addiction can be extremely difficult without support. Individuals seeking to break a codeine addiction often benefit from professional treatment that provides structured care, medical guidance and ongoing support for long-term recovery.

Detoxification Treatment

Therapies and medication help patients get through the codeine detox stage.

Detoxification involves eliminating all traces of codeine from the body. As part of the codeine addiction treatment process, detoxification is an essential first step. Ongoing use of codeine causes the body to become dependent on the effects of the drug. When the body doesn’t get its regularly scheduled dose, a person will experience withdrawal symptoms, such as irritability, fatigue, depression and nausea. It’s the withdrawal experience that makes it so hard for a person to break a codeine addiction.

As part of the codeine addiction treatment process, medications are often prescribed to help ease a person’s withdrawal symptoms. This method gives recovering addicts a better chance of making it through the detoxification stage.

Medication Maintenance Therapy

Codeine withdrawal effects can last anywhere from one week to a year, depending on the severity of a person’s addiction. Most people will continue to experience residual withdrawal effects long after they stop taking the drug. These residual aftereffects can potentially drive a person to relapse. While residual effects may seem minimal compared to full-blown withdrawal, recovering addicts may feel fairly miserable for a while until the body’s chemical processes return to normal.

Codeine addiction treatment includes medication maintenance therapies to lessen the discomfort a person experiences as the body restores itself to normal.

Behavioral Treatment

While medications go a long way towards helping a person stop using, behavioral therapy is an equally important aspect of codeine addiction treatment. Even as the body loses its craving for the drug, the behavioral components of addiction continue to drive a person’s outlook and behaviors.

Codeine addiction treatment uses different therapy approaches to help a person develop a drug-free lifestyle. More often than not, a person’s abuse of codeine masks other emotional and psychological issues in his or her life. Behavioral therapies help recovering addicts work through underlying issues and develop a healthy outlook on life.

Codeine Addiction Treatment Options: Choosing the Program That’s Best for You

The right codeine addiction treatment program for you is dependent on your addiction severity, health status, and personal preferences.

Codeine Addiction Treatment Levels

Not everyone will enter treatment at the same stage of addiction. For this reason, drug programs are equipped to address a person’s needs by providing different levels of codeine addiction treatment. For people with long-term addiction, inpatient treatment programs provide a highly structured environment where recovering addicts can focus on getting well. Many inpatient programs also offer detoxification care as a prelude to inpatient treatment.

People who’ve completed inpatient treatment or those with mild to moderate addiction may benefit from outpatient treatment programs. Outpatient codeine addiction treatment offers counseling and medication services much like inpatient treatment.  The only difference is that participants live at home rather than in the treatment facility.

Codeine Treatment Centers

Codeine addiction treatment centers provide a wide range of services that vary from center to center. While curing addiction remains the overall goal of each program, finding the program that meets a person’s individual treatment needs offers the best chance of a successful recovery.

As some people may suffer from existing psychological conditions, such as anxiety and depression disorders, many centers also offer specialized treatment approaches designed to help those with dual-diagnosis conditions.

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