Fentanyl Addiction Treatment

Treatment for fentanyl use disorder

How fentanyl treatment starts at Catalina

Catalina does not provide standalone medical detox. For eligible residential adults, Catalina can provide limited onsite withdrawal management for fentanyl or other opioids under physician direction. Admissions can help coordinate outside care when alcohol or benzodiazepine detox or more intensive withdrawal care is needed.

Tell Admissions when you last used fentanyl or another opioid, what withdrawal symptoms you are experiencing, and whether you take medication for opioid use disorder. The clinical team can help determine the right setting for withdrawal care and ongoing treatment.

A treatment plan can include medication for opioid use disorder and therapy. If you already take medication, ask the team how it can coordinate continued care with your prescriber.

CATALINA BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

Three questions to discuss before admission

• What support do I need now?Share recent fentanyl use and current symptoms with Admissions.
• Where can withdrawal care happen?The clinical team assesses whether limited onsite support or outside care is appropriate.
• How will care continue?Ask about treatment and continuity of medication for opioid use disorder.

Call Admissions now to ask whether Catalina’s program fits your needs.

Fentanyl belongs to the class of opioid drugs, a synthetic administered according to a doctor’s prescription for severe pain, injury, or post-surgical pain treatment. However, it’s typically reserved for cancer patients, because it acts swiftly and eliminates the impression of pain.

However, many people misuse fentanyl because it produces such a powerful high for them. Because fentanyl is so much more powerful than morphine, this poses a number of serious risks. It has also increased the number of people who require effective fentanyl addiction treatment.

Keep reading to learn more about fentanyl addiction and withdrawal, and about addiction treatment at Catalina.

The Power of Fentanyl

Doctors give fentanyl as patches, lollipops, a dissolving tongue film and dissolving tablets. There’s even a fentanyl nasal spray that was developed specifically for cancer patients undergoing radiation and other cancer treatment. In addition, fentanyl is given to surgical patients undergoing life altering procedures to relieve severe pain.

Fentanyl addiction is common even among people who take the drug as prescribed. Even without intentional drug abuse, the risk of fentanyl overdose is very real, regardless of who is using the drug.

Potent Prescription Drugs Hit the Streets

Street sellers or wholesale distributors blend fentanyl with cocaine, heroin, and other substances for an intense, more addictive high. Some people actively seek the substance out for its effects, while being aware of the dangers of fentanyl overdose and fentanyl addiction.

Many health problems can arise from fentanyl usage or overuse, especially when it is mixed with other medications.

In reality, fentanyl addiction is a serious problem. Tolerance and dependence on fentanyl hover heavily over anyone misusing the medication, even while utilizing the prescription according to the doctor’s directions. Once tolerance builds up, you need more and more of the medicine with each dose to feel its effects. When you no longer have a supply of the drug on hand, you begin experiencing what’s known as fentanyl withdrawal.

This is one of the worst forms of withdrawal in those with substance use disorder, and one that often calls for fentanyl addiction treatment options.

The Realities of Fentanyl Addiction

Opioids have risen to prominence as a source of fentanyl addiction and fatal overdoses due to widespread substance use disorders.

Fentanyl is widely used and is one of the most widely distributed synthetic opioids. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl are almost twice as commonly involved in overdose deaths in the United States from 2010 to 2017, surpassing prescription opioids.

According to statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the overdose deaths associated with these medicines climbed by a staggering 1,125% between 2011 and 2017. In spite of the fact that the opioid and fentanyl crisis is a countrywide problem, certain regions of the country were hit far worse than others as fentanyl addiction reached peak highs.

In fact, in 2017, 1,300 people in North Carolina died from overdoses using fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. That implies that out of the roughly 28,000 overdose deaths that happened nationwide, over 22% of them came only from North Carolina.

But now – fentanyl addiction has crept into every corner of the United States, with no state, city, or town, unaffected by the damage left in its wake.

The official numbers for 2021 were 107,622 overdose deaths total, with 71,238 of those attributed to fentanyl. This was a total increase of 15% – up from the total of 93,655 deaths in 2020.

The Negative Effects of Fentanyl Addiction

Fentanyl addiction can cause mental and physical impairments such as disorientation, sadness, trouble walking, slurred speech, muscular stiffness, a slower heart rate, hard breathing, and weakness. You’re also feel itchy and nauseous or dizzy and shaky. You might endure vomiting, weight loss, visual hallucinations, and pinpoint pupils as well. Abuse of fentanyl also carries the danger of sedation, respiratory depression, and ultimately death.

Fentanyl addiction treatment is an integral part of any successful rehab program. Psychotherapy gives the chance for sustainable recovery via your comprehension of why you abuse fentanyl in the first place. When you treat fentanyl addiction, it helps you understand what triggers you to engage in your substance use disorder, helping to prevent future abuse.

Long Term Effects of an Opioid Substance Use Disorder

Over time, fentanyl abuse causes a variety of undesirable outcomes. These go beyond the obvious signs and symptoms of drug usage and encompass both the mind and the body.

Fentanyl addiction can cause serious digestive issues such as constipation, intestinal blockage, and ripping of the colon. Additionally, your immune system declines, leaving you more susceptible to illness and infection. There’s also a marked personality change during active fentanyl abuse.

Combining fentanyl with other drugs, including heroin and cocaine, makes drug misuse more deadly. Using heroin or any depressant increases your risk of experiencing an overdose.

Combatting Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms

Withdrawal care can help someone begin treatment. Ongoing care, including medications for opioid use disorder when appropriate, can support recovery beyond withdrawal.

Fentanyl withdrawal may cause muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea, sweating, restlessness, sleep problems or cravings. Symptoms and timing vary. A clinician can help assess what support is appropriate, especially when other substances or health concerns are involved.

Fentanyl withdrawal care in Tucson

If you are seeking fentanyl detox in Tucson, tell Admissions when you last used fentanyl or other opioids, what symptoms you have and whether you take medication for opioid use disorder. Our clinical team reviews your needs before recommending where care should begin.

Catalina does not offer standalone medical detox. Eligible residential adults using fentanyl or other opioids may receive limited, physician-directed onsite withdrawal support. Admissions can help coordinate outside care for alcohol or benzodiazepine detox or when more intensive withdrawal care is needed. Learn what happens during withdrawal care before admission.

If you already take buprenorphine or receive methadone through an outside opioid treatment program, tell the team so it can discuss continuity with your prescriber. Learn how medication-assisted treatment can fit with ongoing addiction care.

How Does Addiction Treatment Help?

A clinician can assess withdrawal needs and discuss ongoing treatment for opioid use disorder.

Counseling is employed in the treatment process to retrain the brain so that the individual no longer feels the need to use drugs or alcohol. The client’s drug-use expectations and behaviors can be modified with the aid of cognitive behavioral therapy, and stress and triggers can be better managed.

A qualified clinician can discuss medications for opioid use disorder and explain how they fit with ongoing care. See SAMHSA’s guide to medications for opioid use disorder.

What to Expect at a Fentanyl Treatment Center

An important first step toward a brighter future is the decision to stop taking drugs. When it comes to fentanyl, a fentanyl addiction treatment program may be your last opportunity for a normal future.

Consider your goals for therapy in order to choose an appropriate rehabilitation center. Addiction therapy is essential for those who abuse fentanyl-laced heroin, cocaine, painkillers, or even fentanyl on purpose. In these programs, you require numerous forms of treatment to get the most thorough recovery from your addiction.

When comparing providers, ask what withdrawal care they offer, how they manage medication continuity and what follow-up they arrange.

What is a Dual Diagnosis Addiction Treatment Program?

Many people start misusing drugs or alcohol because they suffer from mental illness, such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD. Many mental diseases occur, thus they require expert diagnosis by a psychiatrist or other medical practitioner. Two or more mental health disorders are considered a “dual diagnosis.”

A primary prerequisite is the existence of addiction. There’s also the underlying mental disorder that served as a catalyst for your drug usage. Self-medication using drugs or alcohol regularly happens, even when you don’t recognize it.

Substance misuse can also lead to mental health problems for certain people. However, it does not matter which of your co-occurring disorders originated first. What counts is the means by which you acquire therapy, with both being dependent on it simultaneously. Both of your illnesses will recur if you neglect to treat either one of them.

Detoxification from Fentanyl and Medication-Assisted Therapy

A qualified clinician can explain which medications may be appropriate and when to start them.

The withdrawal from fentanyl can cause a wide variety of symptoms. This condition is exceedingly acute and can be very unpleasant, painful, even hazardous. Fentanyl is a powerful opioid, and its withdrawal symptoms prompt many former users to return to drug abuse. Some of the possible symptoms are:

• Watery eyes and runny nose
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Discomfort
• Goosebumps on the skin, chills, or sweating
• Stomach pain
• Intestinal distress, nausea, and/or vomiting

It is common for fentanyl addicts to have severe pain in their muscles, joints, and bones when they go through withdrawal. Some people may also have severe psychological symptoms, such as panic, sadness, or irritability.

At any time, these symptoms may become quite severe. Medical supervision in a detox center or drug treatment facility can make the process of withdrawal from fentanyl far more tolerable and less harmful.

The Benefits of Medication Assisted Treatment

Buprenorphine and methadone can be used to treat opioid use disorder. Naltrexone is another treatment option for some people after an opioid-free period. Ask a qualified prescriber which option fits.

• Having effective medical help
• Nursing care is available around the clock
• Medication can help alleviate some of the discomfort
• In addition to education, you also have access to peer support for your addiction.
• The counseling and therapy services available to you.
• A plan for your care following hospital discharge will be made, and you will get follow-up treatment.
• You’ll develop relapse prevention techniques.

Ask Admissions about the right setting for withdrawal support and what treatment can follow.

What Preparations Must Be Made Prior to Fentanyl Rehab?

Before admission, ask the clinical team what the assessment covers, what kind of withdrawal support is appropriate and how ongoing medication and treatment will be coordinated.

• What the rules are regarding items you can and can’t bring
• How long is the entire process of detox and and rehab combined
• How intense will withdrawal symptoms be during detox?
• What methods are used to increase my comfort?
• If I do require medicine, what exactly do I need to take?
• What are the meal plans?
• Can I have a phone or can family visit?

Ask what to bring, how to share your medication information and who to contact if your symptoms change before arrival.

Specific Types of Therapy Offered During Treatment

• Cognitive-behavioral treatment
• Dialectical behavior treatment
• Holistic treatment
• Group therapy
• Family therapy

These take place within one of the following levels of care:

Inpatient

You live at the facility and have 24-hour access to medical professionals in addition to counselors, and participate in group therapy.

Outpatient

Outpatient care can include weekly group therapy, individual therapy or both, depending on your plan. You live outside the program.

Intensive Outpatient Program

Intensive outpatient care offers structured group and individual support while you live in the community. Ask about available schedules and Arizona telehealth.

Partial Hospitalization

This is the most intense besides inpatient. In a partial hospitalization setting you are allowed to live at home – however, you’re normally required to remain at the facility for the duration of the day – normally, 8-10 hours.

Catalina Behavioral Health Offers These Options and More

If you or someone you know is suffering from fentanyl dependence, you don’t have to continue to fight the battle alone. At Catalina Behavioral, we understand that fighting substance use is one of the most difficult battles you’ll ever face throughout your entire life.

Failure to have a proper support structure and recovery team, unfortunately, leaves you in a revolving state of recovery and relapse. To obtain the treatment you need, contact Catalina Behavioral Health and speak with our admissions team today!

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