What Do the Early Stages of Opioid Addiction Look Like?
If you take prescription opioids or have a history of using them recreationally, you may worry about developing an addiction. Opioids are known for their incredible risk of addiction. However, like any disease, opioid addiction has an effective treatment. The earlier you can get help, the sooner you can manage your symptoms. Learn more about […]
What Is an Opioid Antagonist?
Your body has an opioid system made up of receptors that interact with naturally made opioid compounds (endogenous opioids). Opioids activate the receptors, which then influence your mood and the ways you process pain. Opioid antagonists reverse the effects of opioids by blocking the opioid receptors. This guide will explain how opioid antagonists work and their […]
What Do Opioid Receptors Do?
Simply put: opioids affect the mind and body through a person’s opioid system. The human body produces its own endogenous opioids, which act like hormones that activate the opioid receptors in the brain as part of our natural response to pain or other stimuli. When someone gets exogenous opioids (from outside the body), the drugs […]
Fentanyl is the New Heroin
What is Fentanyl? It sounds like something found in the produce section of the local grocery store, stuck somewhere between arugula and radicchio. But its not. Fentanyl is a synthetic, or manufactured opioid, similar to morphine, except that it’s up to 100 times more potent and deadly. When prescribed in a hospital setting for post-surgical […]
Signs of Pill Addiction
Physicians prescribe pills for a wide variety of reasons. There are medications to lower blood pressure, relieve pain, control symptoms of diseases, and much more. However, not all pills are safe to take over the long term — even when prescribed by a doctor. Pill abuse and addiction are real issues and can be frightening […]
Join the Voices for Recovery: TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER
September, the traditional end of summer. Football kicks off, kids go back to school, and the promise of cooler weather is suddenly within reach. Plenty of things to celebrate, right? Well, there’s one more reason to kick up your heels, and that is the onset of SAMHSA’s National Recovery Month. You have heard of it, […]
Can You Get High From Naloxone®?
If you follow news about the opioid addiction epidemic, you might hear about naloxone often known by the brand name Narcan. This medicine helps first responders, EMTs and police officers address opioid overdoses. However, you may not understand how this medication works compared to opioids, with one question at the front of your mind. Does […]
Steps to Help an Opioid Addiction
More than 130 Americans die from an opioid overdose every day, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). You might know someone who has an opioid addiction or experienced an overdose. With opioid use disorder so widespread across the United States, everyone has a part to play in its reduction. Discover how you can help […]
What Is the Difference Between SUBOXONE® and Buprenorphine?
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) uses two main types of medication to help patients manage opioid addiction — methadone and buprenorphine. Buprenorphine increases access to treatment by allowing some patients to take medicine at home and offering different medication options to meet the varying needs of patients struggling with opioid addiction. It can come in the generic […]
What Is Oxycodone?
It’s almost impossible to go through life without hearing about oxycodone, but most people don’t know what it is. Whether you’ve had a friend who got an oxycodone prescription after getting their wisdom teeth out, know someone who is struggling with an addiction to this medication or wonder why you’ve been hearing so much about […]
