Location
Our Seattle Location
Northpoint Seattle’s outpatient treatment program is located in beautiful Seattle, Washington, and we work to help the surrounding communities.
- Seattle
2111 N Northgate Way Suite 101,
Seattle, WA 98133, United States
Demerol Addiction, Abuse and Options for Rehab in WA State
Demerol abuse and addiction is still happening in Washington State; even in the face of our current opioid epidemic. So many communities have been devastated as a result of this crisis, and yet, people still continue to use. The good news is that treatment options are available, but so few are willing to get help. Many may be unaware of where to turn to get assistance to stop using.
Demerol may not be as popular as drugs like Oxycontin, Vicodin or Percocet, but it does result in a euphoric high. This medication is unlikely to be given on an outpatient basis, but it can be purchased on the street and online. It may be surprising to learn that it is a favorite among medical personnel with addictions. They often have unfettered access.
It is not easy to recover from a Demerol addiction. But with it can be done with the proper support. First, we would like to discuss the dangers of this drug so that more people are aware of how risky it is to abuse it.
Do You Have Questions About Addiction? Call Our Recovery Experts Now.
Interesting Facts About Demerol
Even if you've been taking or abusing Demerol for quite some time, there's probably a lot you don't know.
Did you know that:
- Demerol goes by a few different names, including meperidine and pethidine?
- This medication is an opiate drug, which makes it quite risky to take?
- It is quite similar to morphine?
- It's possible to purchase this medication online, or even on the street?
- Demerol can result in both a physical and mental addiction when it is abused?
What is Demerol & What Is It Used For?
This drug is an opioid pain reliever. Only those with prescriptions should take this drug, and even then, instructions must be carefully followed. Demerol is very effective at treating moderate to severe pain.
Typical uses include:
- To relieve pain during labor for pregnant women
- For those who have serious back injuries or pain
- Prior to having surgery
- After surgery to relieve pain
- As a part of anesthesia to help induce sleep
It's possible to take this medication either as an injection or by taking a Demerol pill. Both are very effective, but there is a serious risk of addiction or dependence with either route.
Opioids like Demerol are commonly referred to as “narcotics.” These drugs tend to have a depressant effect on the body, leading to feelings of sedation, relaxation, and pain relief.
Other opioids include:
Opioids are particularly good at helping patients eliminate pain. That’s because they work on a cellular level to actually block pain signals at multiple levels. On top of that, opioids can also play a major role in combating the emotional changes that often come about as a natural response to pain (e.g., depression).
Have a look at the video below for a more in-depth discussion on how opioids work.
When opioids enter the body, they interact with specialized cells called opioid receptors. These receptors are located all over – in the brain, the spine, and even in the gut. And when these receptors are activated, they set off a cascade of reactions that lead to pain relief, sedation, and euphoria.
On the street, this medication goes by a number of additional names. It may be called:
- Demmies
- Dillies
- Smack
- Dust
- D
- Juice
No matter what you call it, this is a drug that should only be used under strict medical supervision. Most of the time, it's only given on an inpatient basis. However, it is possible to get a prescription to use it at home.
Crisis Spotlight: The Opioid Epidemic
The opioid epidemic is one of the most serious health crises the United States has ever faced. And as an opioid itself, Demerol has played a role in the unfathomable damage that this epidemic has caused.
Below are just a few statistics to put the massive scope of the opioid epidemic into perspective.
- From 1999 to 2017, more than 400,000 Americans have died from an opioid overdose.
- In 2017, the number of opioid overdoses was 6 times higher than in 1999.
- On average, about 130 Americans die every single day from an opioid overdose.
- As many as one in four patients receiving long-term opioid therapy involving drugs like Demerol end up struggling with addiction.
- More than 11.5 million Americans reported misusing prescription opioids this year.
- Between 2010 and 2017, the number of heroin-related deaths increased by nearly 400%.
- Overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl increased by almost 47% between 2016 and 2017 alone.
The opioid epidemic is out of control. And the problem is particularly bad in and around King County, WA. From 2008 to 2017, the number of heroin deaths alone increased from 23% of all overdose deaths to a whopping 59%.
In an effort to curb the spread of the epidemic, King County officials have taken numerous steps with resident health in mind. Training with and distribution of kits containing naloxone, an opioid overdose-reversing drug, have been at the front of the fight.
And on top of that, community education programs are helping to educate residents about the dangers of sharing needles and how to prevent an overdose.
Harm reduction proponents are also pointing to another step to reduce overdoses: safe injection sites.
Essentially, these stations are set up to provide areas where intravenous drug users can inject a drug without fear of a fatal overdose. Users are closely monitored by medically trained staff, and they will most likely provide clean needles to stop the spread of highly infectious bloodborne diseases.
And while this approach might seem like it would lead to worse outcomes, the science is behind it. Studies have shown that these injection sites reduce the risk of lethal overdose to practically zero, nearly eliminate transmission of diseases like HIV and hepatitis, and actually result in more drug usersseeking out professional help.
But despite the Emerald City’s obvious problem with injection drugs like heroin, the new U.S. Attorney in Seattle, Brian Moran, says that he will not allow safe injection sites in Seattle.
Who is at Fault for Washington’s Opioid Crisis?
More than 400,000 people have died from opioid overdoses nationwide. Another 2 million people have gotten addicted to these drugs who might not have, otherwise. These drugs have left so many victims in their wake, but a trial has been scheduled that may produce some answers.
A civil lawsuit has been filed in Ohio that claims that the makers of prescription painkillers knew of their addictive potential. It also accuses them of profiting from the epidemic that has claimed so many lives. Hundreds of companies have made false claims about opioid drugs. They have flooded the market with them, and made a lot of money while people died from them.
There are about 35,000 prosecutors in this case. There are also 348 defendants made up of individuals, pharmaceutical companies, drug stores and medical associations.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the opioid crisis was the direct result of false claims from pharmaceutical companies. In the late 90s, they reassured the medical community that their painkillers were non-addictive. Doctors were thrilled to finally have an option for pain relief that would actually work for their patients.
The diversion and misuse of these drugs happened before the medical community learned of their addictive nature. Hundreds of lives are lost every year as a result, and it is a war that is still ongoing today.
What is Pethidine Abuse?
Abusing Demerol is the foundation of addiction. What may start as a recreational habit can quickly lead to problems with money, health, self-control, and other consequences of a substance use disorder.
But many people tend to be confused about how pethidine is actually abused, especially because it’s technically a legal drug (with a proper prescription of course).
Ultimately, abusing this drug is defined as taking it in any way other than how it was prescribed.
This can include:
- Taking too much of the medication at one time
- Taking doses of pethidine that are too close to one another
- Taking a prescription that doesn't belong to you
- Ordering this drug online
- Purchasing this medication on the street
- Using pethidine along with other opiates, alcohol, or illicit drugs
- Taking it in a way that it wasn’t prescribed (e.g., injecting, snorting, smoking)
No matter how you abuse it, you need to know the risks involved. Pethidine abuse can result in serious adverse effects, many of which can be dangerous. And on top of that, abusing it continually can very easily lead to a serious problem with addiction.
Getting High on This Medication
The Demerol high can easily be compared to that of oxycodone. When Oxy is not available, Demerol may serve as a welcome substitute.
Online forums like Erowid, Bluelight and Reddit are filled with users' experiences with this medication. The high effect includes:
- A powerful euphoria
- Pain relief
- Relaxation
- Extreme sedation
- A numbness in the body and the senses
- Lack of coordination
One of the things that sets this drug apart from others is the fact that it can be energizing too. As the high evolves, users may feel inspired to create something or be active in some way.
Many Demerol abusers prefer to snort this drug or inject it. It's difficult to say how much of the medication it takes to get high. Everyone is different. Most people will begin with 25 to 50mg of Demerol at a time. They will then increase it, based on how they feel.
Do You Need Treatment if You are Abusing Meperidine?
You don't necessarily need treatment unless you have an addiction to meperidine. However, abusers of this medication should consider counseling. This is because there must be an underlying cause behind the abuse. Some people may use it because it makes them feel good, or it helps them forget their problems. Others may suffer from a mental health issue that needs to be addressed.
Counseling will help to uncover the reason for the abuse. Understanding what the problem is before an addiction occurs can prevent it successfully.
Can You Overdose On Meperidine?
You certainly can. As an opioid, Demerol can be especially dangerous when taken in high doses or alongside other drugs. This is particularly true when it’s used with other central nervous system depressants like benzodiazepines, alcohol, or other “downers.”
In case of an overdose, it’s critical to get expert help immediately by calling 9-1-1. The professionals on the other end of the line will be able to instruct you on how best to treat a Demerol overdose while also sending an ambulance to your location.
If you do have to leave the side of the victim, even for a minute, be sure to place them into what’s known as the “recovery position.” This simple yet effective step is the best way to prevent potentially fatal complications like vomiting or choking.
The first step to successfully treating an overdose is knowing how to spot one. And that means understanding some of the most common symptoms. These include:
- Slowed breathing
- Extreme sleepiness
- Coma
- Loose, floppy muscles
- Cold, clammy skin
- Slow heartbeat
- Nausea
- Blurred vision
- Dizziness
- Fainting
Naloxone, often marketed under the brand name Narcan, is a powerful opioid overdose-reversing drug.
It acts almost like a cure for the symptoms of an opioid overdose. And when administered quickly and properly, it can very easily save the life of an overdose victim.
It’s also freely available and cheap. Everywhere from hospitals and courthouses to campuses and even coffee shops may have a Narcan kit nearby, just in case.
While naloxone used to only be able to be administered via an injection, Narcan comes in the easy-to-use form of a nasal spray. And as a result, nearly anyone can successfully and properly use it to save someone’s life.
Will Demerol Abuse Eventually Become an Addiction?
Abusing Demerol is very likely to lead to an addiction if the drug is not stopped. It may be avoided with counseling to determine the cause of the abuse. It's not possible to say how long a person can misuse this drug without becoming an addict. It may take years for that to happen, or it could take only a few weeks.
What is a Pethidine Addiction?
“Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences. It is considered a brain disorder, because it involves functional changes to brain circuits involved in reward, stress, and self-control, and those changes may last a long time after a person has stopped taking drugs.”
– The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
A pethidine addiction is what occurs when you can't stop taking this drug. It involves a compulsion to use it regularly, and the inability to cut down as well. The addiction is the result of continued pethidine use. People tend to think that it's OK to use this drug, or even misuse it because it's prescribed. That simply is not true.
The longer pethidine is used, the higher the risk for addiction becomes. For this particular medication, the addiction potential is especially high because it's an opiate.
Like any other addictive substance, when the body becomes so used to the drug being in your system, it tends to make changes that require more of the drug to produce the same result. This is what’s known as tolerance.
And as that tolerance rises, users need to take more and more of the drug for a couple of reasons.
First, they will often want to feel the same pleasurable effects of the drug that they felt before. And in order to that, they’ll need higher doses.
And second, as the body changes to accommodate the higher levels of the drug in the system, it will actually depend on these higher levels in order to function normally. And without them, it will go through serious and uncomfortable symptoms known as withdrawals.
For many users, these withdrawals are so uncomfortable that they’ll often continue their substance abuse just to get relief from the symptoms.
Thus, a vicious cycle begins. Users take more of the drug to feel the same high as before and are unable to stop on their own because of the withdrawals.
Addiction also fundamentally alters the structure of the brain so that addicts cannot control themselves or their drug-seeking behaviors.
The Warnings and Effects of This Opiate Medication
Demerol comes with quite a long list of warnings. People should not take it who have:
- A past head injury
- A brain disorder
- A history of seizures
- Problems with breathing
- Kidney disease
- Liver disease
- A mental health condition, such as depression or past thoughts of suicide
If any of the above apply to you, and you're using this drug, you could be putting yourself at risk. The best thing you can do is to inquire about a Demerol rehab center that can help you stop.
This is a drug that begins affecting you right away; even after your first dose. It can produce short-term effects, such as:
- A low blood pressure
- A lower body temperature than normal
- Slurred speech
- A slower pulse
- Slower breathing rates
Of course, using Demerol along with alcohol or other drugs will intensify these effects.
The longer this medication is used, the more serious the effects are. Some of the long-term effects of Demerol include:
- Having hallucinations
- Difficulty with breathing
- The risk of losing consciousness
- The onset of seizures
- Urinary retention
- Skin rashes or hives
How to Stop an Addiction to Pethidine
At this point, you may be most concerned about how to recover from your addiction to pethidine. Treatment is available for anyone who wants to stop using this medication. This is the best, safest and most effective way for you to experience the healing you need.
Meperidine Detox Should be Your First Step
All opiate drugs are dangerous when they are misused or abused. When you form an addiction to an opiate drug, detox is needed to quit safely. The right drug detox program can help you in many different ways, including:
- Reducing the risk of potentially dangerous meperidine withdrawals
- Making you more comfortable as the drug leaves your body
- Helping you to improve your overall health
- Improving your chances for a successful outcome
- Assisting you with managing the physical part of your addiction
You should not attempt to go through pethidine detoxification on your own. It may seem simple for you to just take less and less of your medication over time. However, detoxing is so much more than that.
You need effective strategies that you can use to control your withdrawals from pethidine. Quitting on your own can also put you at risk for a relapse, which could be deadly.
The safest way to quit using pethidine is to do so in a facility where your progress can be monitored. Also, if you do have an emergency medical situation, you can get help right away.
Withdrawals from meperidine can be pretty difficult to deal with. They're even worse if you try to go cold turkey. Some of the more common symptoms of withdrawal from meperidine include:
- Restlessness
- Watery eyes
- Stuffy nose
- Yawning
- Sweating
- Chills
- Muscle pain
- Irritability
- Nervousness
- Stomach pain
- Upset stomach
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhea
- Fast breathing
- Fast heartbeat
- Back pain
These and other withdrawal symptoms are very difficult to handle by yourself. Even if you have gone without your medication in the past, you probably haven't experienced how severe withdrawal can be.
It's best to trust the experts to help you through this critical and challenging time. Doing so will give you the best chance of being successful in your recovery.
There certainly is. And it’s higher than most drugs.
According to the CDC, more than 218,000 people have suffered from fatal overdoses from prescribed opioids since 1999. Pethidine is included in that figure. There is a very high risk of Pethidine overdose. And a good portion of those deaths actually come from people who relapse after trying to quit Demerol.
What many individuals don't realize is how quickly their tolerance levels to drugs like this can change. In just a short time after quitting, Demerol addicts may quickly lose their tolerance to the drug. And that can be a serious problem during relapse.
They may attempt to quit using pethidine with the best of intentions. However, once the uncomfortable withdrawals set in, they often crave relief from the symptoms. And that often drives them to go back to using again.
When this happens, people tend to go back to taking the same amount they were taking previously when their tolerance was higher. This means that they're injecting, swallowing or snorting a higher dose of pethidine than their bodies can now handle. The result is an opioid overdose.
Fortunately, there are ways to help those who overdose on opioid drugs. Naloxone is a medication that has been approved for this purpose. However, there is always the risk that an overdose may occur, and no medical help is obtained.
Our Washington State Outpatient Rehab Program
At Northpoint Seattle, we know how important it is to find a quality drug rehab program. Our outpatient rehab is often celebrated as one of the best in the state. We offer high quality care in an environment that is serene, peaceful and modernized.
We know that every addiction is different. Likewise, people experience recovery in various ways. Every addict needs their own approach when it comes to recovering. That is why we have developed three levels of care. We have a partial hospitalization program, an intensive outpatient program, and traditional outpatient rehab. This allows us to tailor our care to our clients’ needs more accurately.
We have two locations. One is in Bellevue and one is in Seattle. We also participate in many health insurance plans. Being in network with so many insurance providers allows us to keep our clients’ out of pocket costs as low as possible. For many of them, the cost of outpatient treatment is covered in full with their insurance.
Northpoint Seattle: The Premier Demerol Addiction Treatment Center
At Northpoint Seattle, we understand how hard it can be to overcome a Demerol substance abuse problem alone. Not only is it incredibly difficult to tackle the constant cravings and unexpected triggers, but it’s also especially dangerous to go through withdrawal and recovery without the support of a professional program.
And we also know that putting your recovery in the hands of someone else takes an enormous amount of trust, both in the people behind the program and in the promise that you truly can kick this addiction for good.
That’s why we’re passionate about offering the highest quality Demerol addiction treatment services around Bellevue and in the Pacific Northwest. Our empirical intensive outpatient programs provide both an evidence-based approach to addiction treatment while also balancing flexibility and affordability.
We are proud to have one of the highest staff-to-patient ratios in the area. And we’re even nationally accredited by the Joint Commission – proof of our commitment to quality treatment.
An addiction to meperidine doesn’t have to be a lifelong struggle – for you or your family member. And at Northpoint Seattle, we’d love to be a part of your journey towards sobriety.
So get in touch with us today to get started.
This website and the information contained in it are for informational purposes only. Always consult a doctor before making choices that may affect your health. This site is not meant to replace medical advice from a qualified physician. If you are having a medical emergency, call 911 immediately. This website does not recommend any tests, physicians, products or procedures. Relying upon any information found on this website is done at your own risk.