How Will My Life Change When I Stop Using Prescription Opioids?

Prescription opioids—like oxycodone, codeine, and morphine—have a medical value and can be wonderfully helpful if you follow your doctor’s orders and use the medication as prescribed. They are, however, also a Schedule 2 drugs, which means they have been identified as drugs with a high potential for abuse, which can lead to may lead to extreme psychological and/or physical dependence.

If you have transitioned for the prescribed use of your prescription painkillers and into a dependence upon them or addiction to them, you may not be able to imagine life without that medication. You are probably depending on it to do things like regulate your mood, stop your pain, and help with your sleep. You might also continue using it because you fear the effects of withdrawal, which can be extremely uncomfortable, but generally are not life threatening.

However, focusing on what you fear isn’t the right attitude. You need to look toward the future with hope. When you stop using your prescription meds recreationally, your life will change in a number of positive ways.

When you are ready to take advantage of the positives that recovery has to offer, Centers.com can help. Our staff of experts can answer questions, connect you to resources, and help you to find a treatment program that meets your needs. For help, call us at 800-256-3490.

Your sleep will improve

Your sleep will eventually improve after you stop using opioids.

Heroin users go “on the nod” to a sleepy dram state. Prescription opioids are another member of the opiate family and they too make users tired and sluggish. With time, users can come to depend on the drugs to manage their sleep. Throughout your recovery, your normal circadian rhythms will assert themselves and you will be able to properly rest and sleep, without the need for narcotics.

Your sex life will improve

Sexual dysfunction is, for many people, a natural side effect of prescription opioids. You may face sexual dysfunction, sexual desire disorder, orgasm disorder, sexual pain disorder or another negative impediment to a normal, healthy sex life. When opioid use exceeds that prescribed by a doctor, the risk of developing one of these conditions increases. By ceasing your use of prescription painkillers, you can reverse these situations.

You will have more comfortable bowel movements

Even opioid painkiller users following a doctor’s instructions face opioid-induced constipation. Users who exceed the recommended dosages and engage in chronic or habitual use increase their chances of developing this uncomfortable condition, which even diet changes and laxatives cannot completely treat.

When you engage in treatment and recovery, you may have to take a prescription to deal with the constipation, but with time, your body will right itself and going to the bathroom will no longer be a painful endeavor.

Your depression will ease up

A 2014 study asserts the longer a person uses opioid painkillers, the more likely they are to develop depression. In addition, they urge that patients beginning opioid rehabilitation treatment be monitored for depression. The more your opioid use is recreational, the more likely you are to have depression and treatment can help regulate that condition or even help alleviate it completely.

Why is Goal Setting an Important Part of Recovery?

You won’t die because of your drug use

In 2012, the CDC reported the prescription drug abuse epidemic—the fastest growing drug problem in the US— was driving up the number of unintentional deaths by overdose. In fact, 2003 had more prescription opioid painkiller deaths than those caused by heroin and cocaine combined. The more you depend upon recreational use of opioid painkillers, the more you risk an overdose and possible death. Recovering from your addiction erases that risk entirely.

You won’t become a heroin user

The National Institute on Drug Abuse alerts readers approximately 50 percent of young people currently injecting heroin were reported in three separate studies to have abuse prescription painkillers first. Because heroin is cheaper and more easily attainable, people with opioid addictions can switch to using heroin in order to feed their opiate dependence.

You may be tempted to return to using drugs while you are in recovery, but focusing on the positive changes in your life can work as an incentive to continue maintaining your sobriety. If you are looking for more motivation, call 800-256-3490 and connect with an expert.