Alcohol Addiction
For over a thousand years, people have been drinking alcohol. It has become a part of many cultures and is integrated into many aspects of our society. Alcohol use is a very normal activity for many people but for some alcohol use disorder can become a problem. Alcohol abuse is also one of the most experienced substance abuse issues that we see in society. Alcohol effects may include:
- Changes in the nervous system
- Impair judgment
- Changes in blood pressure
- Slowed breathing and heart rate
Your own personal data will likely unlock the answers to questions you might have about your own concerns regarding addiction. Make no mistake about it, alcohol is a powerful drug and abuse has been a part of society for some time.
Some seek help with addiction treatment and treatment of withdrawal symptoms is managed with professional medical advice. Every national institute that deals with health must deal with addiction. Some people are suffering and have experienced memory loss due to the drugs they used. Professionals have training from a national institute that gives them the skills needed to help. There are a growing number of support groups for alcohol addiction and substance abuse problems.
Because alcohol affects the central nervous system, there are dangerous consequences when combining alcohol with prescription medications. Mixing alcohol with opioid painkillers (as well as other drugs) is on the rise and causing problems. Addiction centers are concerned about the combination of oxycodone and alcohol in society and the effect it is having.
Drug Abuse and the Emergence of Oxycontin
Oxycodone was first developed in 1917 as a safer alternative to other opioid-based pain medications. Every national institute concerned with health understood the dangers of opioid use and abuse. The formulation was still based on heroin and used the same method of connecting with opioid receptors that will still lead to substance abuse.
Prescription opioids were well known for their ability to deal with severe pain, but they were also a source of drug abuse that affected patients. Prescription opioids were a wonderful medication for pain relief, so their use continued, and these new drugs were prescribed to help those who suffered from chronic and short-term pain.
Purdue Pharma, a leading national institute, released Oxycontin, (Oxycodone) in the 1990s and the medication became extremely popular as a prescription medication but there were concerns about physical dependence. Some suspected that medical professionals were encouraged to use these new prescription painkillers for relief from pain in an expanding number of disease control procedures. The drugs became wildly popular with medical professionals. The slow release of the drug was thought to reduce the issues with addiction. This has not turned out to be accurate.
The popularity of the drug today, and an increase in opioid overdose have raised concerns. Local treatment facilities are seeing a growing number of individuals seeking substance abuse treatment from drugs. In peer-reviewed studies, and a growing opioid overdose epidemic caused trustworthy health information to be released about the dangers of these opioid painkillers. Mixing oxycontin with alcohol greatly increases the risk of slow breathing and heart rate eventually causing death, even in low doses.
Mental Health Services Administration Raises Alarms
Oxycodone and alcohol are both depressants. Depressants will cause respiratory depression or slow breathing. Reduced heart rates are also noticed when the drugs are combined. Both alcohol and oxycodone affect the central nervous system. Blood pressure changes are noted as well. When they are combined, it is a potentially lethal combination. Both oxycodone and alcohol, are a dangerous combination that severely impaired judgment, and even death becomes a possibility. The National Library of Medicine contains articles that reference the dangers that researchers and health care professionals were finding.
What Can Happen if you Mix Alcohol and Drugs?
Any time two or more substances are combined, the effects can be compounded. When you drink alcohol and combine oxycodone the effects of the substance use are greater than the effects of the individual components. Community-based organizations raised the alarm when local human services and outpatient program attendance started to note a significant increase in the number of people who had combined these two substances.
Which Medicine is Dangerous with Alcohol?
There have been studies that show dangerous respiratory complications results when even small amounts of alcohol are combined with oxycontin. Extremely shallow breathing and even individuals who have stopped breathing have been noted. There has been a significant increase in deaths connected to the combination of these two drugs: alcohol and Oxycontin.
Alcohol Abuse Combined with Oxycontin – Co-occurring
Disorders
Drinking alcohol is a normal part of many peoples’ lives but a number of people will develop issues with substance abuse. Our impaired judgment might result in mixing alcohol with other drugs. Oxycodone and alcohol are a dangerous combination, even in small doses. A certain percentage of the population will experience alcohol dependence during their lives. Some people will seek addiction treatment when they find they abuse alcohol. The withdrawal process is exceedingly difficult from alcohol. Addiction treatment, or inpatient treatment programs are opportunities to improve our mental health. Addiction treatment is widely available today and more people are likely to seek help. Those who seek help are often dealing with other issues. The National Library of Medicine can offer articles that will help you in your research.
Some people have an alcohol abuse history but little experience with other drugs. Some people rarely drink but have become dependent on opioids for several reasons, including chronic issues with pain. People with mental health issues can be influenced by peer pressure into lives that involve drug and/or alcohol use. Many of these people may end up seeking help.
Combining alcohol with Oxycodone is particularly dangerous when a person has a substance abuse disorder. The withdrawal symptoms of oxycodone and alcohol can be dangerous and alcohol research has linked slowed breathing to death due to the combination. The treatment process for alcohol poisoning is complicated when drugs are present.
Mental Illness and Drug Abuse
Mental illness can be caused by drug addiction. When you are mixing alcohol with prescription painkillers it will impair judgment and influence your decisions. Having the help of medical professionals to provide medical advice can assist you in understanding these risks. American addiction centers are finding more and more people with alcohol poisoning having complicated medical detox due to mixing oxycodone with alcohol consumption.
Organizations are working on informing the public of the dangers of oxycodone and alcohol. Mixing opioids with alcohol has caused a rise in overdose deaths. Substance use is on the rise. Some organizations are now using alternatives that bind with the same receptors as other opioids but without the high.
Alcohol is still the number one source of addiction. Some see our increasingly complex society as a source of the rising reliance on alcohol and the eventual dependences that result. Mixing oxycodone with alcohol is a deadly cocktail. Alcohol when combining oxycodone is a serious concern to public health.
Addiction Treatment at Inland Detox
Inland Detox is a leading drug and alcohol addiction treatment center that offers treatment for all types of addiction including alcohol use disorder. Our highly educated clinicians and treatment staff work diligently with each individual client to develop a treatment plan focusing on lifelong recovery.
Some of our specific treatment modalities include individual, group, and family counseling, detox care, nutrition, life counseling, and many other holistic methods. The goal in treating our clients is always the same and that is to work towards a life free from drugs and/or alcohol.
If you or someone you know is suffering from a substance use disorder, please do not hesitate to contact our team. We would be happy to discuss our specific treatment philosophies with you or your loved ones.