Opiate Addiction in South Texas, TX
When you are suffering from an opiate addiction in South Texas, you may find yourself feeling as if you are the only one dealing with such an extreme and difficult situation. However, in Southern Texas, there are many other people struggling to manage and overcome opiate addictions. In fact, because South Texas is situated along the border with Mexico, the drug trafficking that occurs on the border greatly increases the opiate addiction rates in the area. However, this does not mean that there is no hope for you or your opiate addiction struggles. In fact, this means that there are many drug rehab options and opiate addiction treatment center options available to you to help you recover from your opiate addiction in South Texas.
What Is Opiate Addiction?
Of course, before you can be sure that going to opiate addiction treatment in South Texas is the right choice for you, you may need to better understand what it is that opiate addiction entails. An opiate addiction is a chronic and progressive disease. It can be medically diagnosed and has both physical and mental health components to it.
You will want to keep in mind that having an opiate addiction has nothing to do with having any deficiencies in your character and is not any kind of mental weakness. In fact, an opiate addiction is a biochemical reaction that occurs in the body, meaning the person's body and their physical brain becomes dependent upon the chemicals in the drug. Anybody can develop an addiction to opiate drugs including people from all economic statuses, genders, ages, intelligence levels, and races. All different types of people suffer from an opiate addiction in South Texas and there is much diversity to be found in drug rehab treatment program patients.
Opiate Effects: Why are Opiates So Addictive?
Opiates are quite possibly the most addictive substances in the world. There are many reasons for this. Firstly, there are the general effects that opiates have when they are consumed or used. These effects include potent pain relief, extreme relaxation and calm, euphoria, and drowsiness or sleepiness. Many people become addicted to opiates because they want to continue feeling these effects.
As they become reliant on opiate drugs for these effects, there are hidden processes going on inside of their body as well. When an opiate drug enters the body, it quickly gets into the bloodstream and heads to the brain. Once there, it sends signals to the neurons in the brain and attaches itself to various receptors in the brain. This is the reason that a person experiences the effects of opiates when they consume them.
The brain will quickly begin to adapt the way it functions to accommodate the presence of the opiate drugs in the body. It will not, for example, release the hormone known as dopamine which causes the feelings of pleasure and euphoria until the drug is present to instruct it to do so. And this is why opiates are so addictive. They are so powerful that a physical addiction and dependence can occur very quickly.
How Are Opiates Used?
There are many different opiate drugs in the world and because of that, there are a variety of ways that a person may use opiates. Heroin is the most well-known opiates and heroin addiction is a common opiate addiction is South Texas and is seen most often in the opiate addiction treatment center facilities in the area. Because heroin is illegal, there are varying types and qualities of the drug.
Pure heroin is often snorted, injected, or smoked. The less high-quality, tarry forms of heroin are generally just injected. Prescription opiate drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin are often consumed in their provided pill forms. However, some drug users crush the pills and snort them as well.
Opiate Addiction Signs and Symptoms
When a person develops an addiction to any opiate drug, they will begin to experience numerous physical, mental, and behavioral changed. Many friends and family members of people with opiate addictions seek out the advice of drug rehab centers to learn some of the signs and symptoms of opiate addictions because they are unsure if this is the condition that is truly affecting their loved one. Some of the signs and symptoms of opiate addiction include:
- Extreme lethargy
- Slow or labored breathing
- Mental confusion
- Cognitive deficits
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Heart arrhythmias
- Drowsiness
- Lack of interest in previous activities
- Track marks
- Slow heartbeat
- Cardiac arrest
- Stroke
- Slow movements
Now that you better understand what it means to have an opiate addiction in South Texas, you can be sure that you seek out the help of a drug rehab program in an opiate addiction treatment center so you can get the care and treatment you need to successfully overcome you opiate addiction once and for all. Call South Texas Alcohol Rehab Centers for help now (877) 804-1531.