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Dr. Alberto Sola is one of the world’s leading experts in medically-based ibogaine treatment; he has more clinical experience with safe and effective ibogaine administration than any other M.D. in the world today.
Last Updated on June 7, 2024 by Dr. Alberto Solà
You’ve probably heard of Demerol. This drug is a synthetic opioid pain medication that is rather common. It’s also known as meperidine or pethidine; Demerol is the brand name under which this medication is most frequently prescribed and sold. If you’ve ever been hospitalized for pain or have received opioid pain relief during child labor, chances are that you’ve been given Demerol at some point along the way. It was first synthesized in 1938 and was approved for use in 1943, making it one of the oldest opioid prescription medications out there.
As with all opioid medications, there’s a high risk of abuse, dependency, and addiction to Demerol. In the United States, the opioid epidemic was declared a public health emergency in 2017, and although there have been some improvements and successes in reducing its impact, it continues to rage on. As a result, doctors in recent years have been much more careful about prescribing opioid pain medications and about keeping their use under control. However, there are still many people who become addicted to opioids today, and Demerol is one of them. The use of this drug recreationally is very risky. Read on to learn more.
What is Demerol?
Demerol is a Schedule II controlled substance due to the fact it’s an opioid. This means that it has medical applications and uses, but that it also as a high potential for abuse. Continued use of this drug can lead to psychological and physical dependence. With this in mind, doctors today will use it to help patients suffering from acute pain in a hospital setting but will likely be hesitant to send those patients home with more of the drug. In some cases, though, Demerol is prescribed for people suffering from chronic pain. It can offer relief, but patients taking it for relief of chronic pain can quickly become dependent on it and addicted to it.
Demerol works by acting on the central nervous system, and it’s extremely effective in reducing pain for patients for whom other medications have not worked. Further, when it was first synthesized, it was a huge step forward in pain treatment. Before the development of meperidine, the most commonly used drug for pain was morphine, which was only available in tablets that had to be dissolved and then injected. Meperidine, on the other hand, was available in liquid form, which was easy to measure and administer without additional steps. When it came to Demerol vs morphine, the easier and wiser choice was obvious for most doctors. Like morphine, Demerol works as an agonist at one’s opioid receptors, so it did the same work for the patient while creating less work for medical professionals. Prescribing Demerol for pain and Demerol use became very common.
Over the next several decades, the popularity of meperidine grew and grew. By the late 1980s, as many as 60% of doctors were prescribing it for acute pain situations, and 22% were prescribing it for chronic pain. In the 1990s, other opioids were developed and heavily marketed – leading to the opioid epidemic – and the frequency of prescriptions for Demerol decreased to some degree. Today, it’s not nearly as popular or heavily prescribed in the United States as it once was, although it’s still quite common in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
Uses of Demerol
What is Demerol used for? Again, the primary and intended use of Demerol is to relieve acute or chronic pain, and it’s quite effective in this area. In the past, it was often prescribed to women in labor to help reduce the pain of childbirth. It’s also a common medication for people suffering from diverticulitis as it helps to decrease internal intestinal pressure.
However, as with all opioids, there is a high potential for abuse, dependency, and addiction. This drug offers intense feelings of relaxation and euphoria – two things that many recreational drug users seek out. It’s no surprise that this drug can become highly addictive after a very short time of continued use. People can become psychologically dependent on the effects quickly and can also develop a physical dependency on it rapidly as well.
Demerol Side Effects
Demerol side effects are numerous and are the same as the side effects for other opioids. People using meperidine or Demerol, specifically under a doctor’s supervision or recreationally, may experience nausea, vomiting, dizziness, sweating, urinary retention, and constipation.
Demerol overdose is extremely dangerous and can lead to death. Common Demerol overdose symptoms include respiratory distress, muscle weakness, and vastly reduced reaction time. Overdose can also lead to psychosis, low heart rate and low blood pressure, coma, and death.
Demerol Addiction
Demerol abuse is very common due to its addictive qualities, and abuse of this drug can quickly lead to Demerol addiction. Again, this drug has helped thousands if not millions of people in managing pain, but it has also led to addiction for many others. Long-term use is not only unhealthy but dangerous as well. Not only can someone quickly become psychologically addicted to Demerol, but a physical addiction can develop extremely quickly as well.
Signs of Demerol addiction can be as simple as ongoing use beyond what is prescribed by a doctor. Today, doctors are much more careful about prescribing opioids of any kind on an ongoing basis. If someone who was prescribed Demerol continues to seek it out after their prescription runs out, there’s a good chance that they are already experiencing dependency to it. In almost all cases, this is not a drug that should be taken long-term.
Treatment for Demerol Addiction
Treatment for Demerol addiction is available. Sadly, opioids are perhaps the most addictive class of drugs out there, and Demerol is no exception. However, because of the fact that many people struggle with addiction to opioids, there has been much research into addiction to them, and there are many programs offering treatment specifically for this type of addiction.
Clear Sky Recovery is one of them. We are dedicated to helping people break free from any type of addiction, but we are highly experienced in treating addiction to opioids. Our innovative ibogaine therapy treatment helps our clients to take the first steps toward a clean sober and healthy lifestyle moving forward. Ibogaine gives people the opportunity to go deep within themselves to discover the root cause of their addiction and can help them to avoid painful withdrawals while doing so. When clients visit our facility in Cancun, Mexico, they will work with our experienced staff to move forward in their lives in a positive way that is free from Demerol and other drugs. Give us a call today. We can’t wait to hear from you.