In the United States, opioids are increasingly common with so many individuals being prescribed some form of opioid medication for treatment. Unfortunately, close to 30-percent of patients misuse them and nearly 12-percent develop an opioid use disorder as a result.
Why is this happening?
In the 1990s, pharmaceutical companies did everything they could to assure individuals that patients are not able to become addicted to opioid pain relievers. After this reassurance, doctors and health care providers began prescribing the medications at a drastically high rate.
As a result, more individuals began misusing opioid medications before it became clear that, contrary to popular belief, opioid drugs are extremely addictive. Now, individuals are suffering and dying at an alarming rate due to opioid use. The statistical reports from 2016 demonstrate:
- 11.5 million individuals misused opioid prescriptions
- 116 people died every day as the result of an opioid overdose
- Thousands of overdose-related deaths: 19,413 from synthetic opioids overdose, 17,087 from prescription opioids, and 15,469 from heroin overdoses
- Over 2.1 million people started using prescription opioids
- 948,000 individuals used heroin – 170,000 for the first time
Over 504 billion dollars was spent during 2016 to combat the opioid epidemic. In 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency against opioids. They developed a five-point strategy in hopes to combat the crisis.
Unfortunately, we have seen a drastic increase in the number of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) resulting from their mother’s use of opioids during pregnancy. In 2012, 21,732 babies were born with NAS – a number that increased fivefold since 2000. These babies averaged hospital stays close to 17 days and cost hospitals over $1.5 billion to manage the withdrawal symptoms these babies experienced. Sadly, statistics show that every 25-minutes a baby is born with opioid withdrawal.
From Medication to Heroin
A large percentage of individuals that begin using opioid pain medication begin to use heroin. This happens as the prescription drugs become harder to get, people find heroin is easy to find, cheaper, and provides some of the same effects as the medications. Unfortunately, heroin is made using harmful chemicals and is often laced into a lethal product. Users are unable to tell what is in the substance they have, creating the risk of an overdose at every use.
Heroin and opioid abuse are real and it is a devastating problem across the country. At Asana Recovery, we see patients daily battling this horrific addiction. We offer various treatments to help patients get off opioids and begin living a clean and healthy life of sobriety.
Opioid treatment often requires an individual to go through detox. This process rids the body of opioids often by using medications to reduce withdrawal symptoms. After detox, long-term inpatient treatment is often recommended as it is the most promising in terms of lasting sobriety. Group therapy and outpatient services are available afterward to ensure patients remain drug-free while out in the communities. Call us today at (949)438-4504 to get started on the right path.
