• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

(216)417-6166

info@alliantrehab.com

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Phone
  • Twitter
Alliant

Alliant

  • Our Story
    • How We Do It
    • Cost of Service
    • Privacy Policy
  • Behavioral Health Services
    • Psychiatry
    • Mental Health Counsiling
    • Drug and Alcohol Treatment
    • Court-Ordered Substance Abuse Treatment
    • Medication Assisted Treatment
    • Supportive Housing
  • News
  • Our Locations
    • Euclid, Ohio
    • Shaker Heights, Ohio
Contact Us

Opioid Addiction

You are here: Home / Portfolio Items / Opioid Addiction

February 4, 2019 By Alliant Treatment Recovery Specialist

Opioid addiction is a long-lasting (chronic) disease that can cause major health, social, and economic problems. Opioids are a class of drugs that act in the nervous system to produce feelings of pleasure and pain relief. Some opioids are legally prescribed by healthcare providers to manage severe and chronic pain. Commonly prescribed opioids include oxycodone, fentanyl, buprenorphine, methadone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, codeine, and morphine. Some other opioids, such as heroin, are illegal drugs of abuse.

Opioid addiction is characterized by a powerful, compulsive urge to use opioid drugs, even when they are no longer required medically. Opioids have a high potential for causing addiction in some people, even when the medications are prescribed appropriately and taken as directed. Many prescription opioids are misused or diverted to others. Individuals who become addicted may prioritize getting and using these drugs over other activities in their lives, often negatively impacting their professional and personal relationships. It is unknown why some people are more likely to become addicted than others.

Opioids change the chemistry of the brain and lead to drug tolerance, which means that over time the dose needs to be increased to achieve the same effect. Taking opioids over a long period of time produces dependence, such that when people stop taking the drug, they have physical and psychological symptoms of withdrawal (such as muscle cramping, diarrhea, and anxiety). Dependence is not the same thing as addiction; although everyone who takes opioids for an extended period will become dependent, only a small percentage also experience the compulsive, continuing need for the drug that characterizes addiction.

Opioid addiction can cause life-threatening health problems, including the risk of overdose. Overdose occurs when high doses of opioids cause breathing to slow or stop, leading to unconsciousness and death if the overdose is not treated immediately. Both legal and illegal opioids carry a risk of overdose if a person takes too much of the drug, or if opioids are combined with other drugs (particularly tranquilizers called benzodiazepines).

Ready to begin the recovery process?

Start by doing what's necessary, then do what's possible.

Contact us

Footer

Alliant

Call today for more information and to schedule an appointment: No Waiting list. No Barriers.

Shaker Office: 3535 Lee Road, Shaker Heights, Ohio 44120

Euclid Office: 17608 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, Ohio 44112

(216) 417-6166

info@alliantrecovery.com

Click here for directions to our Shaker office.

Click here for directions to our Euclid office.

Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Monday – Friday)

After Hours: Call us at our number above.

Locations

  • Euclid, Ohio
  • Shaker Heights, Ohio

Behavioral Health Services

  • Psychiatry
  • Medication Assisted Treatment
  • Mental Health Counsiling
  • Supportive Housing
  • Drug and Alcohol Treatment

Newsletter

Get the latest news, events and announcements straight to your inbox.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Phone

Copyright © 2023 | Privacy Policy ·
Alliant · 3535 Lee Road, Shaker Heights, Ohio 44120 | (216) 417-6166 · Powered by BeSearched.com Return to top
A behavioral health company.