By Staff Writer

If you think you can use heroin once or swallow a few prescription drugs every day and avoid the pitfalls of addiction, think again. Opiates, a class of drugs that includes heroin and prescription drugs like oxycodone (brand names Oxycontin, Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin), fentanyl (Duragesic) and meperidine (Demerol), are some of the most addictive and widely used drugs. Just one use can lead to addiction. Once addicted, opiate users face the challenge of a lifetime to get sober and reclaim their lives.

What is it about opiates that make them so addictive? The answer lies in how they affect the brain.

Your Brain on Opiates

Opiate abuse causes major, long-lasting chemical changes in the brain. When an opiate is injected or taken in pill form, it travels to the brain's opiate receptors and releases endorphins - chemicals that produce happy, positive feelings and reduce pain - producing a "reward response” that causes the brain to crave more of the drug.

The healthy brain produces natural endorphins on it own. After prolonged use, opiates create a flood of artificial endorphins in the brain that signals the brain to stop producing the natural kind, leading to intense cravings and physical dependence. This type of use changes the way the brain functions and produces the opposite effects of those that draw most people to use opiates in the first place.

Over time, the only way for the user to feel normal, and avoid feeling sick and depressed from the loss of natural endorphins, is by using higher and higher doses of the drug or graduating to a more dangerous drug (e.g., prescription drug users begin injecting heroin). Getting high is no longer about feeling the euphoria from the drug but simply trying to function. This process in the brain is the primary reason why opiates are so addictive.

If the opiate addict stops using, severe withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, suicidal thoughts, depression, nausea, diarrhea, heart palpitations and restlessness can occur almost immediately. In most cases, withdrawal lasts 2-4 days, though withdrawal from heroin can last 1-2 weeks.

The agony of opiate withdrawal and frightening journey back to normal functioning are why so many opiate addicts go back to using over and over again. It is also why professional opiate detox and drug treatment are a necessity in order to overcome the addiction.

Winning the Battle

Research shows that at least one half of all people who use opiates recreationally will need formal substance abuse treatment. If the bad news is that opiates have a high potential for abuse, the good news is that a number of treatments have proven safe and highly effective for treating opiate addiction.

As with most types of addiction, a multi-tiered approach is best. Individual and group counseling, AA/NA and relapse prevention work are often useful in combination with medically assisted drug treatment using naltrexone, buprenorphine (Suboxone) or methadone. Because of the chemical changes in the brain, most opiate addicts require drug replacement therapies in order to return to normal functioning. These drugs have been proven safe as registered methadone maintenance clinics are regulated by federal and state governments and buprenorphine is available only through doctors specially trained and licensed by the DEA.

Medically assisted drug treatment has been used for decades to help individuals addicted to prescription drugs, heroin and other opiates get back to living. To learn more about overcoming opiate addiction or find a methadone clinic or other treatment facility, call the National Resource Center at (877) 637-6237.