Hydromorphone is an opioid that can be used to alleviate pain, whether after surgery or to help with acute and chronic pain. Many prescription opioids, including hydromorphone, are abused in the UK. They are, nonetheless, among the most addictive substances.
Extended-release hydromorphone tablets are used to treat severe pain in persons who will need pain medication around the clock for an extended period and cannot be treated with other drugs.
Hydromorphone extended-release tablets should only be used to treat people who are tolerant (used to the effects of the medication) to opioid medications after taking them for at least one week. They should not be used to treat mild or moderate pain, short-term pain, pain following an operation or medical or dental procedure, or pain that can be controlled with as-needed medication.
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Hydromorphone is a class-A controlled substance (the most restricted category) in the United Kingdom, with severe penalties for illegal possession and distribution.
Hydromorphone administration can be through intramuscular, intravenous, subcutaneous, or oral routes. Intramuscular, intravenous, or subcutaneous: injected at a concentration up to 10 mg/ml.
Dilaudid is the most well-known brand name for hydromorphone. Hydal, Dimorphone, Sophidone LP, Hydrostat, Hydromorfan, Hydromorphan, Hymorphan, Laudicon, Opidol, Palladone, and Hydromorph Contin are some of the other brand names used around the world.
It’s also known as D, Dillies, dust, footballs, and juice as a recreational drug, as well as a variety of other names for heroin, including smack.
Hydromorphone is a “semi-synthetic -opioid agonist,” meaning it acts on opioid receptors in the brain, central nervous system, and gastrointestinal tract to generate depressive effects such as drowsiness and analgesia as euphoric properties.
Addiction is essentially a dysfunction of the brain’s reward system, which encourages people to engage in rewarding behaviour despite knowing the harmful repercussions. The more someone engages in the behaviour in question – in this case, consuming hydromorphone – the more the reward centres of the brain adjust to their production of chemicals such as dopamine, which produces a positive feeling when the behaviour is repeated – whilst decreased levels of such chemicals in the absence of such behaviour causes negative psychological responses.
The physical dependence on hydromorphone can develop as a result of regular use over time. When an individual’s system grows accustomed to the presence of specific quantities of a chemical, it becomes dependent on those levels to function normally. If a person who is dependent on a substance abruptly ceases using it, their brain and body may begin to malfunction – with a variety of symptoms that are collectively known as withdrawal syndrome – until the system has re-normalised after some time. The severity of these withdrawal symptoms is a significant factor in developing an opioid addiction.
Drug addiction and drug dependence are inextricably linked. This does not, however, imply that they are the same thing. You may be psychologically addicted to a drug or behaviour, but you may not be physiologically dependent on it. You can be physically addicted while being emotionally and psychologically unaffected.
Addiction is still not a fully understood phenomenon in terms of what causes a particular person to develop it. We still don’t know why one person develops an addiction while another does not, even in similar circumstances. Addiction development is thought to be influenced by both inherited and environmental factors.
The two leading causes of hydromorphone addiction are regular use of hydromorphone as a recreational substance and frequent use of hydromorphone due to being provided in a medical setting. Someone prescribed hydromorphone for medical reasons and then stops getting it after establishing an addiction and dependence may return to using it – or other opioids – illegally to avoid withdrawal.
Fundamentally, no one who never uses hydromorphone will get addicted to it, but the more – and the more frequently – someone takes it, the more likely they are to become addicted to it. With those cautions in mind, below are some of the most common risk factors for hydromorphone addiction:
The genetic roots of addiction are becoming more understood, and it is clear that genes have a substantial role in an individual’s propensity to addiction. A family history of substance abuse disorders is regarded to be a significant risk factor for hydromorphone addiction. Mental illnesses with a genetic component are also important predictors of the development of hydromorphone addiction.
A history of substance abuse, easy access to hydromorphone, peer group participation where hydromorphone abuse is frequent, and having a partner who abuses hydromorphone are all documented risk factors for hydromorphone addiction.
There are two primary reasons why hydromorphone is addictive. To begin with, the pleasant benefits of taking hydromorphone – including its euphoric “high” – motivate recurrent intake since the individual taking it desires to enjoy those sensations over and over, resulting in psychological addiction.
Second, like all opioids, hydromorphone has a substantial dependence risk: it can cause a severe physical dependence in users, causing them to take it repeatedly.
It’s challenging to rank opioids according to how addictive they are, partially because everyone’s reaction to a narcotic is different.
However, hydromorphone is thought to be five to eight times as potent as morphine per milligramme. While this does not necessarily translate into being five to eight times as addictive, it is undoubtedly one of the opioids with the most significant dependence potential.
If you or someone you love has been abusing hydromorphone or Dilaudid, you’ve probably observed some of the following signs and symptoms:
These symptoms will be most noticeable after a person has stopped using hydromorphone and will most likely fade away within a few hours. If you see the signs repeatedly, the person in question is likely misusing hydromorphone on a regular basis.
Despite the apparent health hazards, numerous people continue to abuse hydromorphone for its euphoric effects.
Many of these side effects might happen even if you take the medication exactly as prescribed. On the other hand, abusing the medicine will almost certainly hasten these side effects.
After stopping taking hydromorphone or other opioids for 12 hours or more (for example, if they are unable to get hold of opioids), someone addicted may experience withdrawal symptoms. The following are some of the most common withdrawal symptoms:
Because hydromorphone causes a massive release of dopamine in the brain, it’s easy to become addicted to the delightful sensation it produces and take it frequently to maintain it. However, the pleasures of using Hydromorphone come at a high price, as the substance also has several adverse side effects.
Depending on your physiology, the effects of hydromorphone can be felt within 30 minutes or less after injecting or taking it orally. Depending on the dose, the effects can last up to five hours or longer. The following are some of the short-term effects:
Polydrug usage, or the act of mixing medications in order to increase their strength, is very risky behaviour. This is because certain substances’ chemical components can combine in unexpected (and often lethal) ways. If you’ve been prescribed hydromorphone by a doctor, it’s crucial to tell them if you’re taking any other medications so they can tell you if it’s still safe to take Hydromorphone.
If you drink a lot of alcohol, consuming hydromorphone can cause serious drug interactions and health consequences. This is due to the fact that alcohol is a depressant that, when mixed with opioids such as hydromorphone, can enhance the risk of accidental overdose and mortality. There is a range of unpleasant short-term adverse effects that can occur.
Alcohol and hydromorphone together will affect your nervous system, causing sleepiness, light-headedness, dizziness, and poor judgement. Fainting, low blood pressure, difficulty breathing, and even coma are serious problems. Because both medications can impair cognition, taking more than you planned is feasible, which can result in a lethal overdose.
As a result, you should avoid mixing hydromorphone with alcohol or other related compounds. When you combine opioids with other substances, you risk worsening your addiction and experiencing more severe withdrawal symptoms if you decide to stop.
As previously indicated, the pleasurable short-term effects of hydromorphone abuse come at a price. Long-term use of the medicine can cause a plethora of serious adverse effects. For example, if drug use is sustained, anxiety symptoms will almost certainly grow with time, and self-medicating will merely mask underlying mental health issues.
High amounts of hydromorphone abuse can cause respiratory depression, resulting in less oxygen reaching the brain. Periods of oxygen deprivation in the brain can result in long-term brain damage or possibly a coma.
Abuse of hydromorphone has the potential to cause long-term impairment of:
Following the cessation of the medicine, these symptoms may be reversed over time.
The possibility of death brought on by accident is the most dangerous long-term effect.
If you’re taking hydromorphone, talk to your doctor about keeping naloxone, a life-saving medicine, on hand (e.g., at home, office). Naloxone is a medication that can be used to reverse the life-threatening symptoms of an opioid overdose. It relieves harmful symptoms induced by excessive amounts of opiates in the blood by neutralising their effects. If you live in a household with small children or someone who has abused street or prescription drugs, your doctor may also prescribe naloxone. You and your family members, caregivers, or anyone who spend time with you should know how to spot an overdose, how to use naloxone, and what to do until emergency medical aid arrives.
Your doctor or pharmacist will demonstrate how to use the drug to you and your family. If you show signs of an overdose, a friend or family member should administer the first dosage of naloxone, phone emergency right away, and stay with you and keep a close eye on you until emergency medical care arrives. After receiving naloxone, your symptoms may return within a few minutes. If your symptoms come back, the person should give you another naloxone dose. If symptoms reappear before medical aid comes, further dosages may be given every 2 to 3 minutes.
Overdosage symptoms include the following:
Substance abuse is frequently associated with other mental health issues. It can both be a result of these disorders, as a consequence of seeking to self-medicate, and it can also be the cause of them, with depression and anxiety being particularly common side effects of addiction. A dual diagnosis happens when a mental health issue coexists with a drug addiction illness. Dual diagnosis cases are typically more challenging to treat, requiring the use of a professional.
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Although withdrawal symptoms from hydromorphone are rarely harmful, they can be quite unpleasant. You’re more likely to relapse in an attempt to avoid opioid withdrawal symptoms if you’re going through withdrawal without medical help or supervision.
A medically assisted detoxification can help alleviate withdrawal symptoms while also reducing dangers and avoiding health or mental issues. Following your detoxification, you may receive additional therapy in the following ways:
There are other forms of treatment, and your doctor (or addiction specialist) will assess your circumstances and advise you about the best course of action.
It is suggested that you join as an inpatient for thorough therapy. This is a full-time rehab programme in which you live in a therapeutic community for the duration of your recovery. Specialists are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to ensure your safety and that you receive the assistance required. However, you must attend a treatment facility, which primarily benefits removing you from triggers and old habit-related sites and circumstances.
An outpatient programme may be an alternative if you are unable to commit to a full-time inpatient rehabilitation programme for any reason. You’ll have access to the same kind of treatments as an inpatient option, but outside of treatment hours, you’ll be able to return home and resume your daily routine.
As previously said, therapy is at the heart of addiction recovery. In the treatment of hydromorphone addiction, a variety of different therapy models and approaches are widely used, including:
CBT is a type of therapy that aims to help people change their negative thought habits. It is based on the idea that negative thinking and established behavioural patterns are linked to mental health issues. CBT is a solution-focused method for people who want to change their current habits.
The programme was created in the 1930s as a way for those who needed to get clean to avoid prison. Traditional 12-step programmes are widely used and are recognised as one of the most successful alcoholism treatments. Drugs and alcohol have similar physiological effects, and the 12-step method of addiction therapy has become widely used worldwide for addiction treatment.
IF you’re struggling with Hydromorphone abuse or addiction, take the first step and reach out for help. You don’t have to keep suffering alone, there is help available. Call us on 0800 999 1083 for confidential help and to discuss treatment options.
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