Opioid and Opiate Treatment in Los Angeles

What Are Opioids and Opiates?

Opioids are a class of drugs that affect your nervous system and block pain.[1] They’re often prescribed for severe pain, such as pain from cancer or recovery from invasive surgery. However, these drugs also cause powerful euphoria, making the line between appropriate, prescribed use and problematic use razor-thin.

Opiates like morphine are derived from the opium poppy.[2] Opioids, like fentanyl and oxycodone, are lab-made or modified, but they cause similar effects. Both stimulate feel-good signals in the brain and body. While short-lived, the euphoria that happens with opioid and opiate use can drive a cycle of craving, using, and chasing the high.

The common opioids and opiates, both illicit and prescription, include:[3]

• Morphine: A potent opiate that delivers hospital-grade pain relief and high addiction potential.
• Fentanyl: The main culprit in the opioid epidemic, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that’s 50-100 times stronger than morphine and often added to other drugs, sometimes without the person knowing.
• Hydrocodone: Commonly known as Vicodin, hydrocodone is a prescription painkiller that’s often combined with acetaminophen.
• Oxycodone: Known as brands like OxyContin and Percocet, oxycodone is a powerful and widely abused prescription opioid.
• Codeine: Often found in cough syrups, codeine is a less-potent opioid but far from harmless.
• Hydromorphone: Commonly known as the brand Dilaudid, hydromorphone is a potent painkiller that’s often abused.
• Heroin: Perhaps the best-known illicit opioid, heroin is the “cheap” and accessible version of prescription opioids.
• Methadone: Used in MAT, methadone can help with opioid withdrawal but has some potential for misuse.

Opioid and Opiate Addiction and Abuse

Opioids and opiates may help for a while, but then there’s a tipping point. The first rush of relief and calm seeds the addiction until you need more and more just to feel the same relief. Eventually, you may feel you need opioids or opiates just to function on a day-to-day basis, giving the drug control over your body, your mind, and ultimately, your life.

In the beginning, opioids offer relief, calm, and euphoria that make the world go quiet. You have no pain, deep relaxation, and an intense high, but with that comes effects like drowsiness, slowed breathing, nausea, itching, flushed skin, and confusion.[4] Over time, the bad outweighs the good, leaving you with physical dependence, crushing withdrawal symptoms, gastrointestinal problems, depression, and anxiety.[5] You can no longer sleep well, you’re always tired, your sex drive has fizzled out, but you still want to keep using opioids.

Even people with legitimate prescriptions can fall into addiction without realizing it. That’s how dangerous opioids can be, and if you abuse or misuse them, the risk is significantly higher. The brain begins to recognize opioids as a reward, seeking the drug as the only source of pleasure.[6] What starts as relief for pain can end in desperation and deadly overdose.

Recovery with options like MAT can help. Beyond easing symptoms, MAT can break the physical and mental cycle of addiction to provide stability and build a foundation for long-term recovery.

Signs of Opiate and Opioid Abuse and Addiction

Addiction isn’t always the severe rock bottom we picture. Sometimes, it hides in plain sight. It could be frequent flu-like symptoms without being sick, excessive drowsiness with no apparent cause, or poor personal hygiene and weight changes.[7] People on opioids may seem “off,” paranoid, emotionally distant, or isolated. They may lie to get drugs, visit multiple doctors for prescriptions, and hide their behaviors.

If you or someone you know is struggling with opioid abuse or addiction, it’s time to explore Los Angeles opiate addiction treatment options that offer behavioral therapies, counseling, MAT, and other evidence-based modalities.

The Opioid Epidemic by the Numbers

Opioid addiction isn’t a fringe issue. With opioid-involved overdoses spiking in recent years, many jurisdictions consider the opioid crisis a full-blown public health emergency. Over 16 million people worldwide suffer from opioid use disorder.[8]

Roughly 2.1 million Americans are currently living with opioid addiction.[9] In 2022, 3.7% of U.S. adults needed help, but only about 1 in 4 sought professional addiction treatment.[10] There are many barriers to access, including cost, stigma, and location. The situation is urgent, and every delay risks more lives.

Therapies at Los Angeles Opioid and Opiate Treatment Centers

Kicking opioids takes more than just a detox program. True recovery digs deep, uncovering the root causes of your substance abuse and replacing dangerous behaviors with healthy stress management. At iRely Recovery, our treatment isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s customized to your needs. Here are some evidence-based and experiential therapies designed to get you where you want to be during outpatient or inpatient treatment:

• Individual therapy: One-on-one sessions cut through the noise and focus on you, your challenges, your goals, and your struggles.
• Group therapy: Real talk with others who are living the same struggles, providing opportunities to share stories and find strength in community.
• Medication-assisted treatment (MAT): MAT combines medications to curb withdrawal symptoms with counseling and behavioral therapies to help you focus on recovery.
• Family therapy: Heal the ripple effects addiction has at home by rebuilding trust and connection with your loved ones and creating healthier dynamics.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT helps you change your thoughts, your habits, and your life through targeted therapy.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): DBT teaches you to manage intense emotions, reduce self-destructive behaviors, and achieve balance in your life.
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): Stop fighting your pain and learn to move forward with it, fully committed to your outcome.
• Somatic experiencing therapy: Release trauma that’s stored in your body to let go of the need to escape, to numb, just to feel something.
• Mindfulness-based therapy: Mindfulness is essential for staying grounded and present, regardless of what life throws your way.
• Trauma-informed care: Our goal with treatment is to avoid retraumatizing you, ensuring you have a safe, judgment-free space to heal at your own pace.
• Recovery-oriented treatment: Long-term support focused on relapse prevention and real-world success.
• Motivational interviewing (MI): Resolve ambivalence toward therapy by understanding your “why” and finding your path to recovery.
• Experiential therapy: Express what words can’t with healing based on art, movement, and action.
• Adventure therapy: Get out of your head and into the outdoors with hiking, nature walks, and relaxation in wide open spaces.