For every person who joins this country’s armed forces, it is hoped that in whatever capacity they serve, they will avoid harm at all costs and be able to live healthy lives once their commitment to the Marine Corps, Navy, Army, Air Force, or National Guard is complete. However, for those brave men and women who willingly placed themselves at risk for injury, the wounds of combat are now not the only thing that they need to heal from once they return home.
“Treatment” Became The Problem, Not The Solution
Whether experienced during training, while in combat, following surgery, or as a result of the physical strain that military servicemen and women endure during their time in the military, many active, inactive, and veteran military members struggle with pain. For years, military personnel were given prescription painkillers as a means of alleviating their discomfort so that they could either continue fulfilling their commitment to the armed forces, or go about their day-to-day lives without interruption. However, what is now known is that many military servicemen and women haven’t been overprescribed opioid pain medications, which has left these individuals grappling with addiction and the residual effects of this issue.
According to reports, doctors were not keeping as close an eye as they should have on the men and women they were prescribing these medications to. In fact, some military members have said that they were encouraged to refill their prescriptions every thirty days as opposed to every ninety days like most physicians typically recommend. Over time, this sort of neglect and lack of medical supervision has cost numerous individuals their military careers, quality of life, and even their lives.
Furthermore, because there are new regulations imposed upon prescription medications, those who were/are addicted to opioid medications are turning to abuse of heroin and other illicit substances as a means of getting their fix to get high. As a result, the number of veterans, especially in the San Diego area, who are now suffering from chemical dependency is staggering.
For communities near military bases like Camp Pendleton in Southern California, there has been a huge influx of veterans who are in need of addiction treatment, yet are not able to receive it because of a lack of room for all of the people who require this sort of care. Given this compounding issue, individuals who were once on the frontlines of actual war are fighting a battle against a seemingly inescapable cycle of substance abuse.
Hope and Help Are Available for Opioid-addicted Veterans
What is crucial for military veterans to know, however, is that there are resources available that can help them heal and recover from the pain of opioid addiction. For those who need more intensive and structured care, there are residential treatment programs all across the country that offer specialized treatment for former military members. In fact, these program also typically provide supplemental care for trauma-related concerns and mental health issues that could also be present at the same time. Additionally, there are numerous outpatient treatment options that veterans can access that do not require them to completely put their lives on hold to overcome an addiction to prescription painkillers.
Medication management services are one of the most effective outpatient forms of addiction treatment available today. Within this level of care, a person may or may not be required to attend therapeutic services while receiving certain medications that can help with the physical side of addiction. Methadone, Suboxone, Subutex, and/or Vivitrol are non-opioid prescription medications that alleviate withdrawal, ward off cravings, and prevent further damage caused by prescription painkillers.
As time goes on, an individual is safely weaned from these sort of medications so that they can overcome their dependence upon opioid medications. Lastly, the therapeutic services offered in medication assisted treatment programs help people understand what led to the development of the addiction and form the skills needed to remain sober for the long-term.
San Diego Comprehensive Treatment Centers, which are located in four convenient locations in San Marcos, El Cajon, San Diego, and Chula Vista, offer high quality and life-changing medication assisted treatment that has helped countless men and women overcome addictions to opioids. Each location features qualified addiction treatment professionals, individual therapy sessions, group therapy opportunities, and medically supervised care that includes the previously mentioned medications that are designed to bring about lasting recovery. In choosing to come to a San Diego Comprehensive Treatment Center, each individual will be given the personalized services needed to break free from the vicious cycle of opioid abuse once and for all. Furthermore, each location is pleased to provide these transformative services to veterans of the armed forces so that they, too, can reclaim their lives once more.
