One of the reasons that opioids, which include heroin and prescription pain pills like OxyContin or Vicodin, are so addictive is that when a person stops after consistently using, he or she begins to experience painful withdrawal symptoms.
“I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” said Mike, a 24-year-old Naltrexone (Vivitrol) patient committed to recovery. “It’s the worst thing you could think of.”
Because of learned responses in your loved one’s brain that come from opioid use, once he or she has “detoxed” — meaning that the body is free of the drug — he or she is still highly susceptible to relapse.
Experts Adam Bisaga, MD, a Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, and Alicia Murray, DO, a Board Certified Addiction Psychiatrist, explain the symptoms of opioid withdrawal and why the pain and dependence makes it so difficult to stop using these substances.