Managing chronic pain with opioids can increase your risk for addiction. In fact, more than two million people in the United States misuse opioids each year, leading to chronic health issues and premature death.
If you need help managing chronic pain, but don’t want to rely on potentially addictive medications, board-certified pain management specialist Jose De La Torre, MD, and our team at New Tampa Interventional Pain and Sports Medicine, offer non-narcotic solutions. We can also help you overcome an addiction to opioids.
Opioids are a class of drugs that can effectively treat chronic pain from a number of conditions because of the way they interact with your nervous system. Opioids interfere with pain signals that travel to your brain and also produce pleasurable feelings.
Common type of opioids used in chronic pain management include:
Heroin is also an illegal type of opioid that people abuse for the euphoric sensations the drug provides.
The use of opioids changes the chemistry of your brain. When you take more opioids than you need to manage your pain, your body builds up a tolerance to the drug. This means you will need to take more opioids to produce the same pain-relieving effects, which increases your risk for opioid addiction.
Continued use of opioids causes your brain to produce less endorphins – the feel-good hormones. Such a loss of endorphins diminishes your natural capability to feel happy, so you continue misusing opioids to get that same happy feeling.
When you try to stop taking the medications, there’s a risk you’ll develop withdrawal symptoms that affect you physically and psychologically. For this reason, many people continue to use opioids to prevent severe withdrawals.
To help you overcome an addiction to opioids, Dr. De La Torre offers customized therapy plans that use Suboxone®.
Suboxone is a medication in the opioid family that provides pain relief without the pleasurable or euphoric feelings that other opioids do. You can also use Suboxone without the increased risk for physical dependency or severe withdrawal symptoms.
Dr. De La Torre can prescribe Suboxone to block the effects of other opioids and help you recover from your addiction. He also has extensive experience in ensuring stability in your mental health throughout treatment, further reducing your urge to misuse opioids to treat depression and other conditions.
As part of your treatment plan with Suboxone, we offer a multi-pronged approach to care, including other medications, psychotherapy (talk therapy), and medication management services that help you control your pain without increasing your risk for further addiction.
We provide a variety of non-narcotic pain solutions for all types of chronic pain, including pain from herniated discs, migraines, and plantar fasciitis. These treatments might include trigger point injections, epidural steroid injections, and physical therapy.
If you’re dealing with an addiction to opioids, it can be difficult to admit to others. Our team at New Tampa Interventional Pain and Sports Medicine offers compassionate, discreet care to help you find success in recovery and reduce your risk for long-term health complications.
Taking the first step to overcome an opioid addiction is all you need to do. Call New Tampa Interventional Pain and Sports Medicine today to request a consultation, or schedule one through the online booking feature.
