Looking for help with Maxidone addiction? Use this guide to answer all your questions.
1. What is Maxidone and How Is It Used?
2. How Maxidone Abuse Leads to Addiction
3. Maxidone Addiction Symptoms
4. Diagnosing Maxidone Addiction
5. The Dangers of Maxidone Overdose
6. Maxidone Withdrawal and Detox
7. Maxidone Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Services
8. Finding the Ideal Maxidone Rehab Facility for You
When Maxidone addiction develops, the results can be devastating for you and for your loved ones. Prescription drug dependency can be a difficult adversary to vanquish, and you will face immense challenges as you attempt to overcome your addiction to this potent painkiller.
But it is possible to put your Maxidone abuse behind you. High-quality Maxidone rehab centers can help you embrace sobriety as a permanent lifestyle, regardless of the depth of your addiction.
What is Maxidone and How Is It Used?
Maxidone is a prescription painkiller that contains hydrocodone, a powerful opioid given for moderate to severe pain. It also contains acetaminophen, an over-the-counter painkilling medication.
One Maxidone tablet contains 750 mg of acetaminophen, compared to just 10 mg of hydrocodone. But even at this ratio, hydrocodone has the greatest painkilling effect. The usual Maxidone dosage is one tablet every four to six hours, and patients are warned not to exceed this limit .
Hydrocodone can be highly addictive, and this is the reason why patients should consume it with caution. In addition to reducing pain, hydrocodone will make you feel calmer and more relaxed. It will also cause mild to moderate euphoria, which is a key reason why hydrocodone can be habit-forming.
Maxidone is effective against moderate to severe pain, and if you use it as prescribed you should be safe. But Maxidone abuse can rapidly lead to Maxidone addiction, catching you completely off guard.
How Maxidone Abuse Leads to Addiction
Opioid abuse is a significant problem. Medications like Maxidone are commonly prescribed and therefore widely available even for those who don’t have a legitimate medical need.
When sold on the black market, hydrocodone products like Maxidone may be referred to by a number of slang names.
Some of the more common slang terms include:
- Hydro
- Fluff
- Watsons
- Vikes
- Narco
- Maxi
- Scratch
- Tabs
There are three ways you can get into trouble with Maxidone. The first is to continue taking it after your prescription ends, or to take it in amounts that surpass prescribed doses. The second is to begin taking it on your own, without a prescription, as a way to get rid of pain. The third is to abuse it for its capacity to cause pleasurable feelings.
With each type of abuse, you’re setting yourself up for addiction.
The brain is programmed to respond strongly to opioids. It can actually produce its own opioids as a form of defense against pain.
These natural (endogenous) opioids bind with opioid receptors in the brain, and it is that action that triggers a painkilling response. The neurotransmitter dopamine is also released in greater quantities as a result of opioid receptor activity, and that is what causes feelings of euphoria.
Maxidone can bind with these same receptors, producing a powerful response. But with heavy, repeated use, the brain becomes tolerant to Maxidone. This means you’ll have to take more of it to achieve the same effects. Maxidone abuse weakens the painkilling response of the opioid receptors, and it also hinders their ability to produce enough dopamine to meet your escalating cravings.
Maxidone abuse will send you on a downward spiral into addiction. The changes it causes in brain activity leave you dependent on the drug’s effects, but tolerance for its presence makes those effects harder to achieve. So, your Maxidone use increases until you can no longer control it.
Maxidone Addiction Symptoms
Like any prescription medication, Maxidone can produce side effects. This is normal and usually not a cause for alarm.
However, when Maxidone side effects intensify, it means you’re using more of the medication than your brain and body can handle. Maxidone side effects can evolve into Maxidone addiction symptoms within a period of days.
The symptoms of a developing Maxidone addiction include:
- Constant drowsiness
- Excessive sleeping
- Muscle cramps
- Nausea and vomiting
- Fatigue or lethargy
- Slurred speech
- Low blood pressure
- Slow heart rate
- Constipation
- Restricted or painful urination
- Loss of memory
- Confusion, mental sluggishness
- Respiratory distress
Mood swings are also common with Maxidone dependence. When you become addicted to this medication you may feel depressed or anxious when you’re not under its influence.
Diagnosing Maxidone Addiction
You can be diagnosed with Maxidone addiction if you report two or more of the following symptoms:
- Use of Maxidone frequently exceeds plans or expectations.
- Cravings for Maxidone are experienced regularly.
- All previous attempts to stop using Maxidone have proven unsuccessful.
- Using, acquiring or recovering from the effects of Maxidone occupy inordinate amounts of time.
- Maxidone use is linked to social and interpersonal conflicts.
- Maxidone use and abuse has led to the abandonment of favorite hobbies or other pleasurable activities.
- Persistent physical, emotional or psychological health problems are caused or magnified by Maxidone use.
- Important personal, occupational, parental or educational duties have been neglected, thanks to the impact of Maxidone abuse.
- Maxidone abuse has caused impulsive and physically dangerous behaviors or actions.
- Growing tolerance for Maxidone side effects has led to increased consumption.
- The onset of Maxidone withdrawal symptoms is experienced when the drug is not used for a few hours.
If you report six or more of these symptoms, it means your Maxidone addiction is severe. After a diagnosis has been made, seeking Maxidone addiction treatment should be your next step.
Up to half of those who are diagnosed with substance use disorders will also have a history of mental health problems. This is well known to health professionals who evaluate people for Maxidone dependence, and they are prepared to diagnose mental disorders like depression, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, PTSD or schizophrenia if indications are found.
Should you end up in Maxidone addiction treatment, your rehabilitation plan will address all of your mental and behavioral health conditions. This type of intervention is referred to as a dual diagnosis treatment program, and the best Maxidone rehab centers always offer these services.
The Dangers of Maxidone Overdose
More than 70,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2017. About two-thirds of these men and women had opioids in their system at the time of their death, often in combination with other intoxicants like alcohol, benzodiazepines or cocaine. Drug mixing is common among people who misuse opioids, and that behavior only heightens the risk of overdose.
Maxidone overdose is a tragic but predictable outcome of addiction and abuse. Beyond a certain level of consumption, your body can no longer metabolize Maxidone or flush it from the system quickly enough to keep you safe.
When your Maxidone abuse reaches a critical stage, the chances of Maxidone overdose rise substantially. The early warning signs of an overdose should be interpreted as a medical emergency, because that’s exactly what they are.
Some common Maxidone overdose symptoms include:
- Heavy drowsiness
- Unresponsiveness
- Mental confusion
- Nausea and vomiting
- Dizziness
- Lack of coordination
- Blue color in the lips and fingernails
- Dilation of the pupils
- Sudden drop in pulse rate
- Respiratory distress
- Loss of consciousness
If action isn’t taken quickly, these symptoms may worsen. Respiratory collapse is what causes death following an opioid overdose, and without emergency intervention a Maxidone overdose could lead to a catastrophic result.
Paramedics and emergency room personnel can halt the progress of a Maxidone overdose by giving patients naloxone (sold under the brand name Narcan). This drug prevents opioids from binding with opioid receptors, blocking their most debilitating effects. If it is administered soon after Maxidone overdose symptoms are observed, Narcan can be a life-saver.
Maxidone Withdrawal and Detox
When you stop taking Maxidone, or reduce doses, you’ll likely begin to experience withdrawal symptoms within four to six hours. They will peak in intensity in three or four days, and can be quite strong if you try to quit cold turkey.
Typical Maxidone withdrawal symptoms include:
- Restlessness and anxiety
- Insomnia
- Rapid and uncontrollable thoughts
- Heavy sweating
- Nausea and vomiting
- Muscle aches or cramps
- Diarrhea
- Irritability
- Feverish chills
- Depression
Medically-supervised detox programs are a standard part of the treatment regimen at most Maxidone rehab centers. They can prevent you from experiencing the worst of Maxidone withdrawal symptoms, by providing you with a complete range of physical and mental health care services in a fully-staffed clinical facility. You will be monitored and cared for on a 24-hour basis, for a period of 7 to 10 days, until your condition is stabilized and you’re prepared to begin Maxidone addiction treatment.
For people in Maxidone detox, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) regimens are often applied. This usually involves the administration of an opioid medication called buprenorphine (sold under the brand names Suboxone or Subutex), which produces no euphoria and can be safely taken as a replacement for Maxidone.
Tapering off this drug, or off Maxidone if buprenorphine isn’t prescribed, will take a few weeks or months to complete. Nevertheless, the best way to ensure you make it through opioid withdrawal is gradually lowering doses until your need for opioids disappears. And since buprenorphine produces no euphoria, your cravings for its pleasurable effects will fade as you break the hold of Maxidone addiction.
Studies show that substituting buprenorphine for prescription opioids reduces relapse rates by 50 percent, which is why this medication is being introduced more often in detox programs.
Non-opioid medications like lofexidine and clonidine can also reduce the impact of Maxidone withdrawal side effects. You may be introduced to them during detox, in treatment or in aftercare programs, if Maxidone withdrawal symptoms are challenging your commitment to sobriety.
Ultimately, your time in detox will prepare you for addiction treatment. This is why all the top Maxidone rehab facilities offer detox services onsite.
Maxidone Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Services
The best Maxidone rehab centers will respect your unique needs as an individual. They will create a customized recovery plan that is designed for you specifically, comprised exclusively of evidence-based treatment methods that have helped others get healthy.
Inpatient treatment plans are generally recommended for men and women with Maxidone addiction. This is especially true if a co-occurring mental health disorder has been diagnosed. The immersive environment in residential rehab lets you focus entirely on your recovery, at a time when your sobriety is fresh and vulnerable.
If you have personal commitments that make it impossible for you to live full-time at a Maxidone rehab facility, you’ll have the option of choosing an outpatient rehabilitation program instead. Partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient plans are standard for people with serious substance use disorders, since these programs provide the most hours of treatment services for those who need a lot of assistance and attention.
Inpatient and outpatient Maxidone addiction treatment plans are each comprised of the same essential elements. In either, you’ll have an extensive menu of individual, group and family therapy sessions, in a combination designed to speed and facilitate your recovery. You’ll explore the deeper issues that may have increased your risk for substance abuse. You’ll also be taught effective strategies for managing difficult situations that might have triggered substance use in the past.
Complementary therapies may be a part of your treatment regimen as well. These may include life skills and/or relapse prevention courses, or lectures or seminars on topics of interest to men and women in recovery.
Alternative mind-body healing practices, such as meditation, massage therapy, arts therapy, yoga, Tai Chi and acupuncture, are often included in 21st century addiction recovery programs. These activities can help you reduce stress and increase your capacity for self-control and reflection.
After formal Maxidone treatment ends, you’ll have the opportunity to continue your therapy in an aftercare or continuing care program. This may last for a few months or longer, depending on the severity of your addiction and on how much professional or peer support you need to stay focused on your recovery.
Finding the Ideal Maxidone Rehab Facility for You
There are many excellent Maxidone rehab facilities in the United States. Any of them could help you strengthen your commitment to sobriety. Nevertheless, you will undoubtedly feel more comfortable and accepted in some places than in others. That makes it vital that you visit more than one facility before entering treatment.
The best Maxidone rehab centers are staffed by highly-trained and experienced professionals. They’re motivated by their compassion for your struggles and have the knowledge necessary to bring you back from the brink. Everyone on your recovery team should be on the same page as your treatment regimen unfolds, and you’ll be encouraged to offer your input to make sure you’re getting exactly what you need.
During your exploration visits, you and your loved ones should observe everything carefully, listen to what is said and ask any questions that come to your mind. Maxidone addiction treatment specialists should be completely forthcoming about what your rehabilitation plan will entail, and they should welcome your questions as a sign that you’re committed to healing.
Choosing a Maxidone rehab center may not be easy. You’ll likely find multiple treatment facilities that can meet your healthcare needs and that impress you with their professionalism.
In the end, your best choice will be the rehab center that leaves you feeling the most optimistic about your future. That positive attitude will empower your ongoing quest for lasting sobriety.
