Dilaudid Abuse Help

Dilaudid Abuse Help

Dilaudid (Hydromorphone) is an opioid
pain medication, used in hospitals, but also available in pill form.
Like other opioid drugs, it has a high degree of potential for abuse
and addiction. This article is intended to give reads some insight
and Dilaudid abuse help to navigate the almost certain calamity ahead
if this drug is not taken exactly as prescribed.

Dilaudid is used effectively

When used in the hospital, Dilaudid is
an effective, short-term solution to control pain. Usually injected,
the drug is not intended for long-term use. For example, a patient
has had a knee replacement surgery and is recovering from the
post-surgical pain. The medical team may have the patient on the IV
form of dispensing the drug for a day, perhaps two, but as soon as
possible they will take the patient off the IV and put him/her on
oral medication.

I’ve told patients that we can
anesthetize a horse, but that really would defeat the purpose of
getting the patient up and around and ready for possible
rehabilitation, or even a return to home. If the goal was to keep
the patient completely pain free, that’s really rather easy to do,
but the risks are far and away greater than the rewards. Even if the
drug is prescribed for a while, the dosage is limited and not for the
long haul.

Dilaudid abuse help when addiction
starts

Dilaudid abuse help is needed when a
patient, for whatever reason, takes too much drug, too often and is
not following the doctor’s guidelines. It is human nature to press
the limits of any instruction. If you don’t believe that, tell a
three year-old not to put their hand near a hot stove.

Our nature is always challenging
limits. The patient is probably going to be the last person in the
room to recognize there is a need for help, but family and friends
can usually spot the warning signs of abuse, which lead to dependence
(addiction). In some circles, just abusing the drug, that is taking
it for the wrong reason, is addiction, so the two words can be
interchangeable.

Dilaudid is an opiate like heroin

An opioid pain medication is
designed to relieve pain, but a side effect can be a pleasurable,
euphoric sensation. The patient feels good, the pain is gone and
they’re relaxed. They want to repeat that feeling, so they may
take the drug more often than prescribed, and/or take more than the
prescribed amount.

The problem is, the brain gets used to
the drug, a tolerance is built up and it takes more and more drug
just to achieve the same effect. The user can develop not only a
physical dependence to Dilaudid, but a psychological dependence as
well.

This can be described as the brain
getting rewired to “think” it needs the drug to feel good or feel
normal. The original need for the drug, to control pain, is no
longer a medical reality, but now lies in the brain being tricked.

Dilaudid abusers often “doctor
shop”

Any responsible doctor is not going to
allow his/her patient to get too far out of control with this drug.
That’s why abusers will go “doctor shopping” to try to find
another doctor to fill out a prescription. Go to a hospital
emergency room and you see rather quickly that drug seekers come in
and abuse the staff trying to get their drug of choice.

Even if a person gets another
prescription, the cost of Dilaudid is prohibitive. So, they may go
to the streets and try to find something “cheaper” and all too
often that means they purchase heroin.

Unlike any medical heroin, which was
it’s original intent, street heroin may contain any number of
ingredients the buyer isn’t looking for, and there is not way of
telling the potency of the drug, or the amount needed to achieve the
effect, so the risks are very high.

They want the HIGH!

Abusers no longer want pain
relieve, but they enjoy the high. They need more drug to get high, so
over time they develop an addiction.

Even so, in most cases, they will deny
having any problem and will most likely say everybody else has the
problem. Friends and family need to unite and encourage the person
to get into treatment. Sheer will power isn’t going to be enough,
as abuse and addiction to opioids is serious business and
professional help is needed.

Must be kept in a safe place

There is one more caution to
share about Dilaudid and that is keeping it safe. If you are
prescribed Dilaudid, it is very important that you keep the medicine
in a safe place, away from children and curious teenagers, who have
no clue as to the impending damage that lies before them if they take
this drug, either by accident or for recreation.

Not only keep the drug away from
temptation, but also keep a very strict inventory of exactly how many
pills should be in the bottle. If the patient no longer needs the
drug, the best thing to do is take the remaining pills to a local
hospital or clinic and have medical professionals dispose of the
unneeded supply of drug.

Highly addictive

Dilaudid, taken as prescribed for the
right amount of time and in the right dosage, is a very effective
pain controlling drug. But you need to understand its highly
addictive nature and respect the instructions given by medical
professionals.

At the first sign that something is
not right, seek counsel and advice from professionals and make sure
the person who needs Dilaudid abuse help gets it.

Please return to Dilaudid abuse causes or to our home page for more information on Dilaudid abuse help.