Dilaudid: Heroin in a Pill

The abuse of the prescription drug Dilaudid is rapidly growing.

Dilaudid is a semi-synthetic drug and both an opiate and a true narcotic, similar to heroin and other opiates. It is used in medicine as an alternative to morphine.  A person who becomes addicted to Dilaudid most often begins for a legitimate ailment. They then unintentionally become addicted.

Prescription drug abuse is on the rise, according to DEA statistics, and The Atlanta Recovery Center Drug Rehab in GA issued a warning.

“Once addicted, and no longer able to get legitimate prescriptions for Dilaudid, they may resort to what is called doctor shopping,” comments Mary Rieser, Executive Director. “They will see many doctors, going to ‘pain management clinics,’ and pretend to be sick to obtain Dilaudid. Dilaudid addiction is common place in today’s society and can happen to anyone.”

Dilaudid is eight times strong than morphine and four time stronger than heroin.  It is a classified as Schedule II narcotic, meaning that it has extra potential for drug abuse and drug addiction.

In areas where heroin is not available, this drug is the next best substitute.  One recovering addict in The Atlanta Recovery Center Drug Rehab Program in GA even claimed that it was better than heroin. “It’s clean, and you never know what’s going to be in heroin.”

The user may think that it is safe, but it has a large range of side effects.  These include light-headedness, dizziness, sedation, constipation, nausea, vomiting, and sweating.  In severe cases people may suffer fatal respiratory depression and circulatory system depression or collapse, or cardiac arrest.

They stop breathing or have a heart attack.

Since withdrawal symptoms from Dilaudid can occur four to five hours after the last dose, and withdrawal symptoms usually last 7 to 10 days, users may respond to the pain of Dilaudid withdrawal by taking another dose, without realizing they have become addicted.

Ms. Rieser says, “We are seeing more and more people enter rehab for addiction to prescription drugs, and Dilaudid abuse is growing rapidly in the Southeastern Region.  In the last year, we have seen more and more people enter our rehab for addiction to Dilaudid.”

For more information on drug addiction rehabilitation or drug education, call The Atlanta Recovery Center of GA at 1- 877-236-3981.