On a typical day, millions of Americans take medication for some form of pain. Minor pain is commonly addressed with an over-the-counter medication. However, you may need a prescription painkiller for moderate or severe symptoms. Unfortunately, these prescription medications typically come with a risk for diagnosable substance problems. If you use too much of them, you may end up in need of painkiller addiction treatment. How can you tell when such a need arises? You can start by looking for some of the common signs of painkiller addiction.
For more information about painkiller addiction or to access effective treatment, contact us today. Call Northpoint Colorado at 888.231.1281 or reach out to us online.
Why Are Some Painkillers Addictive?
What makes a painkiller addictive? The key issue is the impact a medication has on your normal brain chemistry. Some medications are powerful enough to significantly alter this chemistry. If you only take them every once in a while, your brain will adjust and return to its normal state. But if you take them frequently, your brain may not adjust back. Instead, it may come to rely on the changes produced by a painkiller. This reliance is commonly known as painkiller dependence.
Are you addicted when dependence first appears? Not when it comes to painkillers. With help from your doctor, you can control dependence and avoid any decline in your ability to function. But you may also lose control over your painkiller use. Addiction begins when this loss of control starts to damage your daily function.
Typical Signs of Painkiller Addiction
The effects of addiction roughly fall into two categories. In the first category are outward changes, or signs, that reveal the presence of a problem. What are some of the signs of painkiller use that has turned into addiction? Top examples include:
- A decline in everyday appearance and/or typical level of personal hygiene
- Withdrawal from social or family contact
- Unexplained daytime drowsiness
Other common signs include:
- Frequent bouts of what appears to be the flu
- Unusual involvement in theft
- Altered sleep habits
You may also notice an unexplained loss of libido in an intimate partner. In addition, people affected by addiction may act like nothing’s wrong with them. That’s true even when you’re pretty sure that indications of a problem are present.
Common Symptoms of Painkiller Addiction
As a rule, the outward signs of painkiller use are just part of the picture. That’s true because addiction has additional internal effects on a person’s well-being. These internal effects are often referred to as symptoms to distinguish them from visible addiction signs. However, the term symptom can also equally apply to addiction’s inner and outer aspects.
What are some of the most likely inner symptoms of painkiller addiction? You or your affected loved one may:
- Feel unable to control the way you use a painkiller
- Finding yourself actively craving your painkiller between doses
- Deny addiction’s physical and mental effects, even to yourself
Addiction is just one of the problems you may have with painkillers. In addition, you may seriously abuse them without becoming addicted to them. Both of these issues are indicators of a condition called opioid use disorder (OUD).
Contact Northpoint Colorado Today for More on the Signs of Painkiller Addiction
Signs reveal the outer impact of painkiller addiction. In this way, they can alert you to a problem with a friend or loved one. Symptoms reveal addiction’s inner impact. You may not be aware of them, but they all have their effect.
Want to know more about the inner and outer effects of painkiller addiction? Northpoint Colorado’s staff of specialists is standing by to assist you. We can also help you or your loved one recover from any form of opioid use disorder. Just call us today at 888.231.1281 or fill out our online contact form.