Combating the Maine Painkiller Crisis
Painkillers serve an important medicinal purpose for people who undergo certain medical procedures or suffer from health conditions like chronic back pain. However, they also carry with them a heavy risk of dependency. 
Even more, people who are addicted to painkillers risk accidentally overdosing on them. Statistics show that more than 2,000 people in Maine overdosed on painkillers, like fentanyl, in 2022.
When you are addicted to painkillers like opioids, you do not have to struggle alone to regain your sobriety. You can turn to a painkiller addiction treatment in Maine for help. Painkiller recovery programs provide the physical, mental and emotional support you need to maintain your sobriety.
Types of Painkillers Abused
Commonly abused and highly addictive painkillers come in many forms today. They can even include those that you can buy over-the-counter at your local pharmacy or grocery store in Maine.
OTC Painkillers
Some of the most common OTC painkillers include ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. If you misuse any of these medicines, you could build up a resistance to them and develop an addiction.
Prescription Painkillers
You can also develop an addiction to prescription painkillers. In fact, prescription painkillers often carry a higher risk of dependency because of how potent they are. These medications include opioids like methadone, hydrocodone and oxycontin.
They also include medications like morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, Demerol and codeine, among many others. When taken as your doctors prescribe or used in certain medical procedures, they pose minimal risk of addiction. However, when you misuse them or use them for longer than recommended, you could easily become dependent on them.
Overcoming an addiction to any kind of painkiller, whether it’s sold over-the-counter or it’s via prescription only, can be tremendously challenging to endure alone. Your best option is to get help from a painkiller rehab in Maine. With professional painkiller addiction therapy, you can wean your body safely and effectively from these substances and learn how to avoid the temptation to use again in the future.
Understanding Painkiller Addiction Withdrawal Symptoms
When you stop taking painkillers to which you are addicted, you can expect to experience a wide range of withdrawal symptoms. Even more, the withdrawal symptoms you experience can vary in type and severity, depending on how long it has been since you last used painkillers.
For the first one to three days, you can expect to experience withdrawal symptoms like severe sweating, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and insomnia. You may also experience panic attacks as your body withdraws from painkillers.
On the fourth through sixth day, you may experience withdrawals like anxiety, goosebumps, shivering and stomach cramping. You may also have symptoms like restlessness and irritability or feel depressed and have intense drug cravings.
By the seventh day of your recovery, you may feel markedly better and experience a lessening of these symptoms. However, you may still feel despondent and anxious as you continue to withdraw from your addiction.
As challenging as these symptoms can be, they can be easier to cope with when you undergo a professional painkiller detoxification process. Painkiller rehabilitation centers offer programs that can ease your withdrawal symptoms and make the first week of detoxing from painkillers less distressing and painful. If you believe you suffer from an addiction to painkillers, get painkiller abuse help in Maine.
Painkiller Addiction Statistics in Maine
Many states, Maine included, experience high rates of painkiller abuse among their populations. In 2022, close to 800 people in Maine overdosed on painkillers. Approximately 53 people in the state died every month during that year from painkiller overdoses.
These painkiller addiction statistics were markedly higher than the previous year when approximately 600 people in Maine died from overdosing on painkillers. Fentanyl is the most abused painkiller in the state and contributes to the highest number of overdose deaths. Other commonly abused painkillers in Maine include cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines.
Moreover, painkiller addiction affects more than just the addicts themselves. It also significantly and detrimentally affects families of addicts in Maine. Addicts often are not above stealing from and lying to their own families and friends just to buy drugs and get high.
As painful as it can be for families to watch their loved ones devolve into painkiller addiction, there are treatment options available if and when addicts are ready to admit they need help. These programs are often helpful in reuniting and reconciling families affected by substance use disorder.
Liberty Bay Recovery: The Best Choice for Treatment
People who are ready to undergo professional treatment for their drug dependencies can find the best painkiller addiction treatment in Maine at Liberty Bay Recovery. We offer both comprehensive and individual treatment programs designed to help people overcome their painkiller addictions and work steadily and successfully toward sobriety.
Our programs include a drug and alcohol detox program as well as an inpatient residential treatment program. We also offer outpatient care to help clients maintain their sobriety as they return to their daily lives and encounter triggers that would tempt them to use again.
Even more, Liberty Bay Recovery in Maine boasts a completion rate of 90%. That is, 90% of our clients who check in and use our services complete their respective programs successfully.
Liberty Bay Recovery employs highly trained, empathetic and knowledgeable staff who help each client pursue the best path to recovery. Patients who undergo inpatient care likewise can wear their own clothing and are encouraged to bring items like MP3 players to help them relax and feel at home while at the facility.
Specialty Care for Painkiller Addiction
Clients who check into Liberty Bay Recovery can expect to receive specialized care for their painkiller addictions. Going proverbially cold turkey and stopping painkiller use at home can put addicts’ health at risk. They can suffer serious side effects, like heart palpitations and uncontrolled pain. Some addicts can even become so psychologically distressed that they can become suicidal.
At Liberty Bay Recovery, however, our staff work to make the withdrawal process as comfortable as possible. Clients benefit from 24/7 supervised care and can enjoy nutritious meals to make them feel more at home and at ease. They also take part in group therapy sessions and receive both individual counseling and medications to help them withdraw safely and effectively from painkillers.
They likewise undergo regular medical testing to ensure they remain healthy. These tests can include blood chemistry and liver function tests. They also include complete blood counts to monitor heart function and screenings for diseases like hepatitis C.
The Benefits of Choosing Liberty Bay Recovery
Clients who check into Liberty Bay Recovery receive specialized medical attention to ensure they remain healthy, safe and comfortable as they detox from painkillers. However, clients can also expect to receive tailored therapeutic care to address the mental and emotional impacts of detoxing from painkiller addictions.
One such program available at Liberty Bay Recovery is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This type of therapy aims to make psychological distress more tolerable and teach clients how to manage triggers, such as stress and physical pain.
Clients may also receive trauma therapy to help them confront triggers, like memories of abuse or a significant personal loss that contributed to their painkiller dependencies. They learn long-term coping mechanisms, such as meditation, to make it easier for them to resist the temptation to use painkillers once they leave our treatment facility. They also learn how to resolve personal challenges, such as difficult or abusive relationships with loved ones, so they no longer need or want to abuse substances like painkillers.
Once our clients leave Liberty Bay Recovery, they additionally can take part in our outpatient program. This program can help them maintain their sobriety and utilize skills they learned while receiving care at the facility.
Liberty Bay Recovery Testimonials and Success Stories
Liberty Bay Recovery receives high ratings from many current and former clients as well as families whose loved ones have received care here. One client, for example, reported that the facility had top-tier staff working there. Another client reported that he felt like he was treated like an individual and received the best care for his particular substance use disorder.
Yet another former client posted online that the facility itself is very clean and comfortable. He highly recommends it to anyone who contemplates or is ready to receive professional treatment for their substance addiction.
Finally, a female former client reported that she underwent care at eight other programs and did not achieve any meaningful success in recovering from her addiction. She checked into Liberty Bay Recovery, stayed three months and used its continued care programs. She reports now that she is sober and maintaining the results she worked toward in the rehab programs at Liberty Bay Recovery.
Likewise, Liberty Bay Recovery offers services for families who want to heal from the impact that painkiller addiction has had on them collectively. The staff here work with families individually and provide customized therapy to each family’s particular needs.
Aftercare and Continued Support
At Liberty Bay Recovery, we offer aftercare and continued support through our outpatient care program. This program offers clients real-world rehab services, allowing people to work, go to school and otherwise live their daily lives, all the while learning how to navigate and get past triggers that once compelled them to use.
Even more, clients in this program can receive counseling, either individually or in group sessions, on the weekends, as well as weekday evenings. Clients are additionally encouraged to make their families a part of their recovery journey. Together, families can learn how to build a new sense of normal and heal from the trauma that painkiller addiction inflicted on them.
Outpatient care also allows families to better understand painkiller addiction and how and why their loved ones became addicted to these substances. While outpatient care proves effective in preventing relapses for many painkiller addicts, it is only one resource available to our clients. Clients can always check into our residential inpatient care program if they need 24/7 medical and therapeutic support.
Empowering Painkiller Addiction Recovery
Painkillers are easy for many people to become addicted to and can pose a serious risk to addicts’ health. Going cold turkey and trying to stop using on your own can be risky and can put your mental, emotional and physical safety in peril.
However, a professional painkiller addiction treatment in Maine is one of the best options for people who need help here. They can take advantage of the numerous effective and innovative rehab programs at Liberty Bay Recovery. They can also include their families in their recovery efforts and build a new future with their loved ones through our individual, group and aftercare programs.
Learn how Liberty Bay Recovery can help you when you’re suffering from an addiction to painkillers. Reach out to our professional recovery program online or by phone to start your recovery journey
