There are many patients with a past injury, cancer, or surgeries that now suffer with an addiction to prescription pain killers. They are not what most people think of when the term “drug addict” comes to mind, but it happens all the time as those patients gradually needed higher and higher doses of pain medication to make them feel better. The more time that goes by, those who have become addicted to the pain killers begin to realize that the addiction has spiraled into a much larger problem than the original pain they were dealing with. They may even find that the pain is more intense than before and the pain killers are controlling their lives.
Obviously, these prescriptions for pain killers were given by physicians with good intentions – to help patients manage their pain. It wasn’t intended to become a dependency. But what happens is that months – or sometimes even years later – patients are still taking the pain killers long after the injury healed and in much higher doses than what they were prescribed originally.
What alternatives do you have for pain management if you are addicted to pain killers?
The first thing you will need to do is detox. This should be done under the supervision of a medical professional or addiction specialist because of the dangers that come with detoxing from painkillers. Following detox, you should seek professional treatment for your addiction as well.
To manage your pain, you will have to take the time to try different things because not every therapy will work for every person. Some people can manage their pain through physical and psychological strengthening. Others may need to lose weight to help them manage their pain, as extra weight can often cause symptoms – from back pain to knee pain – to grow worse. Some patients do well with daily meditation and strengthening exercises in the areas that are affected. For those who are able, certain types of low impact exercise such as Yoga and Pilates can strengthen the body as a whole which can help with pain.
You may need to take anti-inflammatory medications to help manage your pain as well, but this is to be expected for some following certain types of injuries. There are alternative therapies you can try to help you manage your pain without narcotics. Look into mindfulness training and meditation, for example. Look into nutritional solutions as well. Just as many foods exacerbate inflammation, there are also foods that reduce inflammation. The bottom line is that you do have alternatives to alleviate pain besides using prescription pain killers. Your life doesn’t have to be controlled by a substance.
We Can Help! Call Us Today at (888) 842-3167 for your Free Confidential Assessment for Drug and Alcohol Treatment
The post What Can I Do for Pain Management If I am Addicted? appeared first on TreatmentUSA.
