Codeine Addiction
Though it is possible to use codeine safely-that is, as prescribed by a doctor-it is an opioid-based painkiller and therefore highly addictive. Many find themselves addicted to codeine unwittingly, especially when it is prescribed for chronic severe pain. Adults are prescribed anywhere from 15 milligrams to 60 milligrams every four hours. It's easy to overcompensate, taking an extra pill or two or shortening the time between doses. The longer you're on the drug, the more likely you'll build up a tolerance, a polite way of referring to codeine addiction.
What is Codeine Addiction?
Codeine addiction is medically defined by two characteristics: a psychological craving for more of the substance and physical withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking the drug. Recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA) as a chronic medical disease, opiate addiction like codeine is known to cause fundamental changes in the brain. It is a condition that needs medical attention in order to successfully go into remission. When combined with therapy or self-help techniques like 12-step meetings in-person or online to treat the psychological aspects if applicable, codeine addiction can be successfully treated with a minimum of difficulty and discomfort.
At Meditox, our specialty is opiate addiction. We can help you handle your addiction to codeine in as few as six weeks from your one and only in-person appointment.
What Causes Codeine Addiction?
Unfortunately, the cause of codeine addiction is usually an assortment of reasons. Genetics may play a part if your parents or grandparents have or had issues with addiction. If your dose was a little bit higher than it needed to be when you first began pain management, you had a push toward addiction from the beginning. If you tend toward addiction naturally, then that, too, would play a role.
Whatever your background, the way it works is this: codeine binds to receptors in your brain and stops your body from being able to handle pain on its own. It comes to depend upon a base level of codeine at all times. If that level drops-like in between doses or if you miss a dose or suddenly stop taking it-then you begin to experience withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings: the defining characteristics of codeine addiction.
What are the Signs and Symptoms of Codeine Addiction?
There are both physical and psychological signs and symptoms of codeine addiction. The physical symptoms include muscle and bone pain, inability to sleep or eat, diarrhea, cold chills and sweating. Emotional experiences include mood swings, depression, high anxiety and agitation, and an single-minded focus on getting more codeine.
Are you concerned that you or a loved one are addicted to codeine? A simple way to tell is this: When it is necessary to procure double prescriptions from different doctors, buy pills on the street or mix codeine with other pills or substances in order to get a break from your chronic pain, then you or your loved one have a codeine addiction.
How Does Meditox Treat Codeine Addiction?
Meditox treats those who are addicted to codeine in an outpatient treatment program that has at its crux a prescription for Subutex or Suboxone. Unavailable through your family doctor, Subutex and Suboxone treatments allow you to safely break your addiction to codeine with minimal withdrawal symptoms. No residential treatment, no daily trip to a clinic for your medication and no requirements of any kind beyond one initial appointment. Call toll-free if you think that Meditox will work for you.
If you feel that Meditox might be the right solution for you or your loved one, please call us for a toll-free and private consultation:
- Prescription Drug Addiction
- Suboxone Treatment
- Drug Rehab Alternative
- Drug Detox
- Opiate Detox
- Methadone Detox
- Heroin Detox
- Vicodin Detox
“Today is week #5! I have my life back, this morning my husband told me he hadn't seen me like this in three years! My daughter told me "your back Mom"! My Fybromyalgia is down to 2 to 3 percent of what it was, I am fully able to live with the Joy and Love and Laughter which has always been my way.”
Mother, Real Estate Agent, 49
August 11, 2006
- Strength in Opiate Addiction
- Suboxone is Keeping Me Strong
- Opiate Addiction Treatment in the United States
- Criminal Penalties for Drug Possession
- The First Drug Laws
