Dilaudid Treatment and Rehab

Dilaudid Info

• Dilaudid Addiction and Abuse
• Dilaudid Symptoms and Warning Signs
• Dilaudid Treatment and Rehab
• Dilaudid Withdrawal and Detox

Hydromorphone was first synthesised in Germany by Knoll, who marketed it under the brand name Dilaudid. The habit-forming analgesia is listed as a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act and is mostly abused for pain-numbing and the ‘high’ effect the drug produces.

Dilaudid Abuse and Addiction Treatment

Hydromorphone is commonly used in hospitals as medication to manage post-surgery pain, relieve severe pain after an accident or for patients receiving palliative care. Dilaudid extended-release tablets (Exalgo) are prescribed for people who need round-the-clock pain treatment.

Dilaudid belongs to the family of opioid analgesics and works in similar to way to treat the same conditions not managed by other narcotic opioids. It reduces pain by targeting opioid receptors in your spinal cord and brain – the two areas that make up the central nervous system.

It’s easy to build up tolerance and substance dependence for Dilaudid when you take it all the time. After a while, the original dosage might not be enough to manage pain. Therefore, you increase the dose without your doctor’s knowledge to feel the pain-numbing effects. Drug dependence is dangerous, because you’re just one step from addiction. Dilaudid abuse is more potent than addiction to oxycodone or hydrocodone, as there is a higher risk of overdose.

What is Dilaudid Addiction?

Dilaudid is considered to be a narcotic painkiller, used as an alternative to morphine. The drug takes effect within 15 minutes and lasts up to six hours in the body. The legitimate use of the Schedule II drug is to manage moderate to severe pain in burn patients, soft tissue injuries, cancer and extremely painful situations.

Dilaudid latches onto opioid receptors in the central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract to numb the pain by stimulating production of dopamine in the part of the brain associated with feelings of euphoria and pleasure. It is for this reaction that recreational users abuse opioids and soon become tolerant to Dilaudid.

Substance abusers who develop tolerance for Dilaudid have to increase the dosage to feel the initial pain-relieving feeling and pleasurable ‘high’ from the drug. After tolerance, most people find it hard to quit and soon develop dependence on Dilaudid. Over time, frequent use of opioids leads to drug addiction. This is the stage where you’ve lost control of your drug habit and require professional help to quit without endangering your health or risking an overdose through relapse.

Dilaudid Addiction Treatment

Dilaudid is a versatile drug. It can be taken orally (as a tablet), injected or as a suppository. Opioids for treating moderate to severe pain are amongst the most abused drugs. Falling into addiction is so easy, you probably won’t realise you’re addicted until you attempt to quit.

Treating Dilaudid addiction requires professional medical care to effectively manage withdrawal symptoms and address psychological addiction. The first stage of treatment is detox, where your body rids itself of Dilaudid and other toxic chemicals. Most detox centres will taper you off gradually by reducing your dose of Dilaudid to reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms. You’ll also be given medication to prevent respiratory depression during withdrawal and manage any side effects of psychological dependence.

After detox, you’ll transition to a rehab facility, where a combination of psychotherapy and medication-assisted treatment is used to address addiction, reduce cravings for opioids, identify negative behaviour and emotions that enabled drug use and teach you how to live a drug-free life.

Psychological dependence causes withdrawal symptoms to manifest when you miss one dose. The severity of withdrawal symptoms depends on the dosage taken, length of usage and presence of any existing mental health issues or physical health conditions. Signs of withdrawal include panic, low blood pressure, anxiety, clammy skin and dilated pupils.

The best way to treat Dilaudid dependency is to enrol at a medically supervised detox clinic. This is a drug clinic where medical professionals and addiction specialists provide 24/7 care and medication treatment to ensure you safely wean yourself off drugs. Your body re-learns how to function without drugs, while high amounts of dopamine will return to their natural levels.

Warning Signs of Dilaudid Abuse and Addiction

Hydromorphone is one of the most powerful synthetic narcotics under opioid classification. Even people who have legitimate use for the drug often become addicted. Users develop tolerance within a few weeks and take the pills more frequently in higher doses to feel the desired effects. Warning signs of Dilaudid abuse include drowsiness, mood swings, muscle spasms, constricted pupils, slow breathing and loss of alertness.

Warning signs of addiction include:

• Obsession with your next dose
• Hiding your drug habit from your doctor and family
• Needing larger doses at increased frequency
• Spending a lot of money to feed your drug habit
• Neglecting social functions, work life and family responsibilities to use drugs

Purchasing drugs from underground buyers because you’re finishing your prescription too soon

Effects: Short and Long-Term

Dilaudid is usually taken in oral form, but most people who abuse the drug choose to inject it, because the effect is more potent than swallowing. Other recreational drug users crush the pill and snort it to achieve the intense sense of calmness and euphoria.

When the medicine enters your system, it changes the perception of pain by interacting with opioid receptors to release a surge of dopamine in the brain. Normal production occurs when you eat, exercise or engage in activities that generate feeling of pleasure and reward. The immediate effect of hydromorphone is the numbing of pain sensation in your body. You’ll next feel the euphoric ‘high’ that induces relaxation. Other short-term effects include drowsiness and decreased levels of anxiety and stress.

The long-term effects of abusing hydromorphone lead to severe psychological problems. These include:

Why You Should Seek Treatment and Rehab for Dilaudid Abuse and addiction

The reason why there’s a high risk for Dilaudid overdose compared to other opiate narcotics is because it’s hard to tell when you’ve had enough. For some users, the effect doesn’t take hold within the stipulated 15 minutes. They’ll subsequently increase the dosage to hasten the effect or combine Dilaudid with other opioids or illegal substances to enhance the desired ‘high’. With each dose, you’re closer to addiction – not just to Dilaudid, but other opiates as well.

Most opioid addicts have a polydrug use problem. This involves mixing your drug of choice with other substances or alcohol, until the drugs have taken control of your brain functions.

No matter your level of addiction, rehab always works to reverse all chemical changes, reduce cravings and manage withdrawal. Most importantly, it shows you how to change negative habits that encourage drug use for positive emotions, thoughts and actions that can lead to a happy and healthy life.

The best way to help a loved one is to stage an intervention with the help of your family. Understand that there is a possibility they’re not ready to hear what you have to say or might be in denial, but don’t let it deter you. When they don’t want to hear you speak, listen to them talk about their lives and struggles. This opens up a communication channel for future discussion that you’ll use to help work towards acknowledging their substance use disorder.

Why Seek Rehab at a Treatment Centre for Dilaudid Addiction?

Most addicts realise they’re addicted to Dilaudid when they’ve fully recovered from surgery or an accident that made them start taking Dilaudid initially, yet can’t seem to stop in spite of their best efforts. Many will try to quit ‘cold turkey’ but use drugs to reduce the pain and discomfort from withdrawal symptoms. This is dangerous and can lead to drug overdose, coma, seizures and in extreme cases, death.

Detox is not a holistic approach to treatment, because it only rids your body of toxins, but doesn’t address the main reasons why you felt the need to abuse drugs, nor show you how to identify triggers and cope with them positively. Rehab is the complete process, as most treatment centres have inpatient detox facilities to help manage physical signs of addiction and treat psychological addiction through therapy, counselling, medication and alternative care.

If you’ve tried to quit on your own, or are afraid of going through withdrawal symptoms, rehab makes the process less painful and as comfortable as possible. Addiction is a complicated disease and living a sober lifestyle is a choice you’ll have to continue making for the rest of your life. Rehab treatment is the only way to maintain abstinence from Dilaudid and live a healthy and happy life.

What’s Dilaudid Rehab Like?

If you’re battling addiction to opioids like Dilaudid, opioid rehab programmes provide the best inpatient and outpatient settings. At an inpatient facility, you’ll reside at the treatment centre, where you’ll receive 24/7 care from trained medical staff. Outpatient options include day programmes (partial hospitalisation programmes) and Intensive Outpatient Programmes (IOP), where you attend rehab early in the morning, at evenings or during the weekend.

The first part of rehab is detox, where a team of doctors, nurses and therapists help to cleanse your body of opiates. Before being admitted, you’ll be evaluated to ensure you’re a good match for the detox programme in question. Medical staff at the rehab centre will ask questions about your mental and physical health background, conduct a blood test, urine test and ask other personal questions that will be used to create a unique treatment plan for you.

After detoxification, you’ll transition to rehab that offers the best chance of staying sober. Therapy models that will be used include individual therapy, group counselling, family therapy and other alternative therapy models. Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) will be used to manage cravings, lingering withdrawal symptoms and mental health issues.

During the day, your time is planned for you. In the morning, you’ll start your day with yoga, have breakfast, attend a doctor’s appointment and therapy sessions, where you’ll understand how your past actions fuelled your drug usage. You will also identify changes you can make to stay sober after rehab.

Treatment and Therapy Options

A holistic approach for Dilaudid addiction combines medically supervised detox, medication-assisted treatment and psychotherapy to treat not just the disease, but the inherent problem of addiction.

Addiction experts always advise people with opiate use disorder to begin addiction treatment at a rehab facility that offers detoxification services. During detox, you rid your system of drugs and get ready for the hard work of drug counselling and therapy. Dilaudid stimulates opioid receptors in the central nervous system, so any medication to reverse the effect must target the same opioid neurotransmitters. Medications for acute withdrawal include methadone, buprenorphine and suboxone. These medications reduce cravings and discomfort associated with opiate withdrawal.

Rehab treatment focuses on psychological symptoms of addiction and teaches the patient to unlearn negative behaviours and absorb positive thoughts, emotions and actions that enable sober living. Therapy options include:

12-step programme: The 12-step programme was first used in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, but its efficacy led to it being adopted by other recovery groups. According to statistics from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA).

The premise of the programme is that recovering addicts can provide support to each other with a goal to maintain sobriety from addictive substances or behaviours. This goal is achieved through meetings, where participants share experiences, support each other and learn strategies they can use on their own recovery journey.

Types of Dilaudid Addiction Treatment

Types of addiction treatment include detoxification, inpatient treatment, outpatient treatment, sober houses and aftercare.

When to Choose: Inpatient vs. Outpatient

Residential rehab is a structured addiction treatment, where you receive round-the-clock-care from addiction specialists. The goal of residential treatment is to limit distractions that derail your recovery journey, and to provide a serene, private environment for you to focus on sobriety, as well as teach strategies that will help you live a long, sober life.

Inpatient care is recommended for long-term users who might experience acute or protracted withdrawal. It’s also for drug users with dual diagnosis, co-occurring disorders and other mental health issues.

Outpatient treatment is not as structured as residential treatment. It’s designed for recreational drug users and substance users who can’t afford to postpone work, school or other responsibilities for rehab. You’ll be able to perform daily functions and attend rehab either in the morning, evenings or weekends.

Intensive outpatient addiction treatment is suited to opioid users who function well enough to go to work, without any issues. If you’re a short-term drug user without a polydrug use problem or mental health issue, you can attend rehab as an outpatient.

Choosing the Best Dilaudid Rehab Centre

The decision to choose the right rehab programme should be made with advice from your loved ones. A few things to consider when choosing a dilaudid rehab centre include:

Location: this is the first choice to make. The farther away the rehab facility, the more expensive it will be to travel there. Rehab centres located in remote, island locations are always more expensive than standard rehabs. If you have a small budget, choose a location close to home that offers aftercare treatment.

The cost of rehab: Cost is a major influencer when looking for rehab treatment. Exclusive rehab with five-star amenities like private rooms, indoor gym, swimming pool, massage therapy and acupuncture cost more than standard rehabs.

The range of therapies on offer: The best addiction treatment combines a range of individual and group therapies, such as family therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing and contingency management therapy.

Specialised treatment: Every addict at a rehab clinic must receive an individualised treatment plan based on data collated during the initial assessment. The treatment plan should address any special issues or mental health problems diagnosed during evaluation.

Aftercare: Ensure the rehab facility you choose offers aftercare. It’s an integral part of the recovery journey that helps you maintain sobriety after rehab and build a network of sober friends who have the same goal as you. Addiction recovery is a lifelong journey and the rehab centre you choose must treat it as such.

Therapy options used in treatment include:

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): This is a therapy model based on the belief that there’s a psychological reason why people abuse drugs. CBT helps you become aware of negative habits and thought patterns in your past that enabled drug abuse. When you properly understand the role negative behaviour played, you’ll learn to alter your emotions and thought process in a way that influences positive behaviour.

Contingency management: this therapy model is founded on the principle that Dilaudid use is influenced by biological, environmental and social factors. CM targets the same reward areas of the brain that encourage you to keep using. This time, you’re rewarded for positive behaviour and reaching new milestones. Rewards could be in the form of cash, vouchers or gift items.

Withdrawal from Dilaudid

As you increase your dosage and build tolerance for the drug, it alters brain chemicals that lead to dependence. This means that the only time you’ll feel like yourself or function normally is when you’re under the influence of hydromorphone. When you try to quit, you’ll experience uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms.

You shouldn’t attempt to detox from Dilaudid on your own. Severity of withdrawal depends on your age, number of substances you’re mixing, mental and physical health issues, length and frequency of drug usage and measures of dosage.

Even short-term users who’ve not built up drug dependence are advised to detox under the watchful eyes of a doctor to manage unpredictable side effects. Common symptoms of Dilaudid withdrawal include: diarrhoea, tremors, muscle and bone pain, sweating, drug craving, nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure, insomnia, body cramps and low blood pressure. The withdrawal process takes up to seven days and might last two weeks in long-term users, with symptoms peaking 24-48 hours after your last dose.

Relapse Prevention

Drug rehabilitation is a process that continues for the rest of your life. Even people who’ve been sober for decades sometimes fall prey to temptation and relapse. The most important step in relapse prevention is to create an aftercare plan. Here are a few tips that should help.

Avoid triggers and temptations: in some instances, it’s very difficult to avoid temptation. Such scenarios can include: family gatherings where liquor is in plentiful supply, birthday parties where a friend unexpectedly turns up with drugs, a street corner where you used to take drugs, as well as other triggers. Remember the techniques you learnt in rehab and apply them.

Develop a support network: Addiction is a disease that isolates you from everyone else. Ditch old acquaintances that encouraged drug usage and make new friends from your community-based groups who have the same goal. You can all encourage each other and engage in activities that are healthy, positive and support a substance-free lifestyle.

Attend meetings: this is the most important part of any aftercare plan. Don’t get complacent. That’s a dangerous mistake that can lead to relapse. Attend NA meetings and 12-step programmes, as well as other support groups that motivate you to stay clean and alert.

What happens if you do relapse? You probably don’t want to think about this, but there is a 75% chance you’ll relapse within the first six months after rehab. However, the key is to remember that relapse is not a failure. Reach out to your therapist or sober partner immediately. Schedule a therapy session with your therapist and work with your drug counsellor to process emotions that led to your relapse and focus on a healthy recovery.

Dilaudid Treatment Costs and Payment Options

There are several factors that determine the cost of addiction treatment, including: location, amenities, type of rehab facilities, expertise of staff, the number of treatment options available and the size of the facility. If you’re afraid rehab is too expensive for you, don’t worry, as there’s something for every budget. Business executives, CEOs and wealthy people can all enrol at a luxury rehab centre that provides access to massage therapy, yoga, indoor gym, five-star rooms, delicious cuisine and swimming pools.

If you have health insurance, your policy might cover the full or partial cost of rehab treatment. Alternatively, you can take a loan from your bank, use your credit card, get funding from the NHIS, use your personal savings or seek help from family and friends.

FAQs

Sources

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