A Guide to the Symptoms of Opioid Addiction

Signs of Opioid Addiction

Opioids are a dangerous drug that nearly 2 million people across the United States are addicted to. This means that one in three people know someone who is addicted to opioids or are addicted to opioids themselves. They can be found as prescription medication, or as illegal street drugs such as heroin. Opioids are very deadly and overdose can happen very quickly within the first use, sometimes in just hours or days. With such staggering statistics, it is more important now than ever to know the symptoms of opioid addiction and how to get help as soon as possible Keep reading to learn the symptoms of opioid addiction and how to get help before it is too late.

Symptoms of Opioid Addiction: Physical Symptoms

Opioids can cause many physical changes to the body. Keep an eye out for the following physical symptoms of opioid addiction:

  • Excessive drowsiness. Opioids cause the body to slow down, which can cause excessive drowsiness. In fact, this is how overdoses happen, as opioids cause the body to slow down so much that the heart will stop beating and the lungs will stop working.
  • Slurred speech and confusion. Much like being under the influence of other drugs or alcohol, an intoxicated person will have slurred speech and confusion.
  • Weight loss. Opioids can interfere with the body signaling the brain with hunger pains, causing weight loss.
  • Mood swings. Opioid use can cause frequent mood swings, anywhere from euphoria to violent anger may be presented.
  • Disheveled appearance. Drug use causes individuals to shift priorities, even down to their appearance and hygiene. This also includes track marks if an individual is shooting drugs.

Behavioral Symptoms

In addition to physical changes, opioids will also cause a rapid change in behavior. These behavioral symptoms include:

  • Drug-seeking behavior. This can include having multiple prescriptions from multiple doctors and visiting multiple pharmacies, purchasing drugs from the black market, and going to great lengths to obtain opioids or money for opioids.
  • Inability to stop or slow use. If you find yourself unable to stop your use or cut back on your use, there is a great chance that your body is dependent on the drug. This makes becoming sober on your own extremely difficult and getting help is required for long-lasting recovery.
  • Isolation from family and friends. In an effort to hide your drug use or hangovers, you may find yourself isolating from family and friends and surrounding yourself with others who use. You may also stop going to important events that you wouldn’t normally miss.
  • Negative consequences caused by opioids. Suffering negative consequences due to drug use is very common with addiction, and this can include anything from marriage trouble to incarceration.

How to Get Help

There are many ways to get help for opioid addiction, whether it is for yourself or a loved one.

Help for Yourself

Reach out to a loved one. It can be difficult to admit you need help, but reaching out to a loved one can save your life. If you don’t want to have an in-person discussion, you can write a letter, send a text, or have a phone call.
Give us a call. Our admissions specialists are available 24 hours a day to help you. We can discuss logistics, your treatment, and much more in a confidential setting.

Help for a Loved One

  • Prepare as much as possible. By preparing, you will have all the answers you need once you’re ready to speak to your loved one. You can make sure you’re prepared by doing research on opioid addiction, possible treatment centers, and ways to support your loved one.
  • Gather a group. There is power in numbers, so gather other loved ones together to help the process along.
  • Hire an interventionist. If discussions with your loved one fall flat or turn volatile, it might be best to hire an interventionist. Sometimes, having an outside person can make the individual more comfortable in finally saying yes to treatment and Seasons offers this service to help get your loved one into our facility. As someone who knows the disease of addiction inside and out, as well as our facility, it can be the perfect combination to help get your loved one finally get the help they need.

About Seasons in Malibu

At Seasons In Malibu, we start from the premise that the treatment that is currently available to active addicts, even the supposedly high-end variety, is woefully inadequate, and our mission is to offer something better. Here we believe strongly in understanding your underlying issues and figuring out what’s motivating you to use drugs, and in order to accomplish that goal, we offer more individual therapy sessions in 30 days than any other drug rehabilitation or alcohol rehab center in the country.

While we do have groups as well, our primary focus is on you as an individual. This is why you will have a 12 person treatment team of Ph.D. and masters-level therapists dedicated to designing a customized and individually tailored treatment program for you. Your treatment plan will evolve over the course of your stay here and will be constantly revised and tweaked based on your progress, to ensure that you are getting exactly what you need.

We absolutely prefer to err on the side of too much treatment, rather than too little. We take an incredible amount of pride in having what we believe is the highest success rate in the industry of 85%. Most other rehabs in California do not publicize their success rates because they fear (and rightfully so) that it would drive people away from seeking treatment with them.

For more information, visit seasonsmalibu.com