Have you ever had so much trouble falling asleep or staying asleep that you would do anything to simply close your eyes for a few hours and rest? Many people have, and unfortunately, many people have turned to the use of prescription drugs to help them along the way. Granted, with proper use and monitoring, sleep medications can be safe to use. Unfortunately, it is a slippery slope before the use of these powerful types of drugs becomes unhealthy.
Imovane contains the active ingredient zopiclone, which is a central nervous system depressant.1Typically, sleep medications such as Imovane, Lunesta, Ambien, and Restoril are only used responsibly for a short time because they can lose their effectiveness rather quickly and lead to dependence and addiction.
This drug can be misused easily, even when a person simply hopes to get a good night’s sleep. It is easy to become dependent on Imovane and other prescription sleep aids because the body quickly adjusts to their presence and requires more and more to simply fall asleep at all. Without the right information from medical professionals, many people simply increase their dosage in order to achieve the desired effects.
Tolerance can lead to addiction once a person begins to rely heavily on Imovane in order to sleep, or even to function in his or her daily life. Addiction can have disastrous effects on one’s personal and professional life, and it can lead to serious physical illness over time.
Residential Treatment Can Benefit Imovane Abuse and Addiction
You may want to consider in-depth treatment if you or someone you care about has become dependent on Imovane. Residential treatment offers patients a comfortable place to sleep at night, in their chosen treatment facility, to help each person re-train their brain to sleep properly and safely.
There are two distinct types of facilities and programs for drug use treatment: inpatient (residential) and outpatient. Outpatient treatment allows patients to receive treatment during the day while they live at home or some other safe environment. They can continue going to work each day, caring for their children or family, and still meet the daily requirements of their everyday lives.
For some, the temptation to return to Imovane may be too powerful, and even just a short period of time in a supervised and intensive residential treatment can be more beneficial.
- Around-the-clock availability of counselors and medical professionals
- Intensive individual therapies
- Supportive group therapies
- Family therapy programming
- Focused attention on living in sobriety without distractions of daily life
- Access to education about addiction and healthy living
- Life skills training to learn how to deal with stress and other outside influences
Receiving treatment, particularly if it is one’s first treatment program, can be a little frightening. Understanding what to expect during treatment for Imovane abuse can lessen the anxiety involved for some individuals.
Detox Is the First Step
The regular use of drugs, such as Imovane or other sleep-related medications, can cause the medications to build up in the body. Removing these chemicals is known as detoxification. During the detox process, a person may experience withdrawal symptoms, including cravings for the drugs of choice. Because there is often a mixture of toxins in the body, such as Imovane and alcohol, detox can be different for everyone.2
Some drugs can cause serious medical problems during the detox period, while others are easier to stop using. The length of time that an individual might expect to stay in a detox center will depend upon several factors, including how long they have been using a specific substance, how well they respond to the withdrawal symptoms, and the types of drugs that were used. Once detox has been completed, the treatment program can begin in earnest.
Quality Treatment Plans Are Tailored to the Needs of the Individual
A treatment program may consist of very similar elements from one person to another. A facility may offer individual therapy, family therapy, and group counseling together with support groups, education and specialty programs such as adventure therapy. This does not mean that every person who recovers in the facility will have the same experience.
Upon arrival at a treatment center, you may undergo a caring but thorough medical and psychological examination. This examination is crucially important to determine the best course of action for treatment. The elements of the program can then be structured around the specific needs of the individual. Perhaps he or she will respond better to more individual therapy and fewer groups, or vice versa. Even more importantly, this comprehensive exam will reveal if there are any other conditions present that need to be addressed on both a physical, emotional or psychological level.
Mental health care may be an important part of treatment. Studies show that individuals who suffer from mental health problems are more than twice as likely to also suffer from addiction.3 In order to treat the addiction effectively, all conditions must be treated at the same time. If the co-occurring problems are not treated together, any untreated conditions can cause a relapse.
For example, people may suffer from anxiety or depression that keeps them awake at night. They know they are sad, but they don’t believe they have an actual disorder. They think they need a little something to help them sleep. They may obtain Imovane from a friend or coworker or they may even obtain it through their doctor without letting the doctor know about how sad they are feeling. When they seek treatment for their Imovane addiction later, but ignore the depression, they are setting themselves up for failure when they return home because the depression will still be there. It will still be undiagnosed and untreated. As their mood disorder escalates, so will their likelihood to abuse Imovane or another drug in the future.
There are many conditions that can be treated in a co-occurring treatment facility, such as Michael’s House, including:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Panic disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Bipolar disorder
- Personality disorder
What to Expect After Treatment
Addiction due to Imovane abuse is a chronic disease. Like other chronic conditions, such as diabetes, care should continue on a lifelong basis.4 Sometimes, people who struggle with sleep aid dependence will suffer a relapse. When a diabetic suffers a relapse, family members may have concerns about their diet or adherence to medications, but there is generally no feeling that the individual is somehow morally or ethically to blame. It’s important to remember that addiction is also a disease and not a matter of moral weakness.
Once the recovering person returns home, he or she will need support and help from family and friends to maintain sobriety and continue with outpatient care. A relapse into substance use does not mean that the treatment program has failed; it simply means that the treatment plan needs to be adjusted to meet the needs of the new environment.
The main focus, of course, is to avoid relapse as much as possible in every situation. Choosing a facility that offers an ongoing alumni program can benefit those who are concerned about relapse. An alumni group can offer support during times of stress as well as give a recovering addict others who depend on them for their own successes.
If you’d like more information on recovery from Imovane abuse, please contact us today at 760.548.4032.
Sources
1 Sanofi Pharmaceuticals. Imnovane Product Information. N.d. Web. Accessed 15 Feb 2018.
2 National Institute on Drug Abuse. Frequently Asked Questions. Mar 2017.
3 National Institute on Drug Abuse. Common Physical and Mental Health Comorbidities with Substance Use Disorders. Mar 2017.
4 National Institute on Drug Abuse. Drug Abuse and Addiction. Jul 2014.