Drug Fentanyl in Petersburg Virginia

The drug fentanyl belongs to the most powerful opioid painkiller group in the world. It is also about 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Doctors prescribe fentanyl to treat patients experiencing severe pain or to cope with pain after surgery.

Fentanyl comes in different types like nasal spray, lozenges, tablets and transdermal patches. During operation, doctors use the IV form of fentanyl to eleviate pain.

Branded Market Names

Market brand names of fentanyl sold as Actiq®, Duragesic®, and Sublimaze®.

Street names For Fentanyl

Apache
China girl,
Dance Fever,
Goodfella,
Jackpot
Murder 8.

History of Fentanyl

In 1959, Paul Janssen first developed fentanyl from the structural analogs of pethidine or Demerol. The drug was patented under Janssen’s pharmaceutical company, Janssen Pharmaceutica.

A combination of fentanyl and citric acid called Sublimaze made its way during the 1960s. Sublimaze is the intravenous anesthetic form of fentanyl. Soon after, pharmaceutical companies created several drugs patterned from fentanyl analogs like alfentanil, lofentanil, remifentanil and sufentanil.

How Fentanyl is abused

Because of the powerful effects of fentanyl, it becomes as the most abused prescription in the US. Fentanyl is included to the list of recreational drugs, which caused deaths to thousands of people from 2000 to 2017 because of overdose. Fentanyl deaths amount to 1,000 deaths in the US for the years 2005 to 2007, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration of DEA.

The availability and the cheap cost of fentanyl make it accessible to abuse the drug. Also, the effect of fentanyl to the user is shorter than heroin. Uncontrolled medication and the effects of fentanyl created a deeper craving for the user.

Opioids such as fentanyl affect the body’s receptor that controls emotion and pain, based on the study of NIH. The drug offers relaxation and a state of euphoria which makes it susceptible to abuse. Users seek this experience time and again.

Furthermore, the hospital uses fentanyl regularly and people have can easily buy the drug. In a study of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Journal or AANA, nurses and anesthesiologist develop an increased chance of the substance abuse. One main reason is that these medical practitioners have an easier access to the drug. Patients can also develop a dependency on fentanyl because doctors prescribed the drug easily.

Signs of fentanyl addiction:

Depression

Dry mouth

Fainting

Headache

Hallucinations

Itching, scratching or hives

Loss of appetite

Muscle Stiffness

Nausea and vomiting

Severe constipation

Shaking

Sleepiness

Strain breathing

Slurred speech

Suppressed breathing

Sweating

Troubled walking

Weight loss

Long term abuse of fentanyl can cause severe complication in both physical and mental health. The signs and symptoms include:

Physical effects of fentanyl

weakened immune system

severe gastrointestinal problems (bowel obstruction and perforation)

seizures

Effects of fentanyl on the mental well-being

lack of motivation/ decreased pleasure in activities

personality changes

socially isolated

paranoia

In serious cases, fentanyl addiction can cause respiratory problems, coma, and death. Substance abuse needs to be addressed immediately.

Treatment for Fentanyl

Detox

Detox is the first step of a long-term treatment and usual take several days. Detoxification process involves the flushing out of all fentanyl traces from the body. Patients who undergo detox may experience withdrawal symptoms. Fentanyl, as a powerful opioid affects several body systems and detox process can be difficult. Call us to get help for fentanyl detox and rehab.

Since withdrawal symptoms can cause severe distress to the patient, health care center may prescribe medication to ease the discomfort. The medication can also shorten the time for the detox process.

As a powerful opioid fentanyl withdrawal symptoms may include:

abdominal pain

anxiety

diarrhea

insomnia

muscle cramps/pain

excessive sweating

Rehabilitation

Health care specialist will assess the source of the substance abuse and the patient’s physical and mental health issues. They can also identify the best course of treatment. Honesty plays a vital role in the assessment as well as in the recovery.

After the initial assessment and detox process, the patient will begin the proper addiction treatment for fentanyl. The treatment program can last for 30, 60, 90 and in some instances 180 days. Health care specialist may also recommend longer treatment process because of the powerful opioid properties of fentanyl. This treatment will make the most of the support and care the patient need for their overall recovery.

About Petersburg

Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority black American. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Dinwiddie County for statistical purposes. The city is 21 miles (34 km) south of the commonwealth (state) capital city of Richmond. It is located at the fall line (the head of navigation of rivers on the U.S. East Coast) of the Appomattox River (a tributary of the longer larger James River which flows east to meet the southern mouth of the Chesapeake Bay at the Hampton Roads harbor and the Atlantic Ocean). In 1645, the Virginia House of Burgesses ordered Fort Henry built, which attracted both traders and settlers to the area. The Town of Petersburg, chartered by the Virginia legislature in 1748, incorporated three early settlements, and in 1850 the legislature elevated it to city status. Petersburg grew as a transportation hub and also developed industry. It was the final destination on the Upper Appomattox Canal Navigation System, which opened in 1816, to a city mostly rebuilt after a devastating 1815 fire. When its Appomattox River port silted up, investors built an 8-mile railroad to City Point on the James River, which opened in 1838 (and was acquired by the city and renamed the Appomattox Railroad in 1847). As discussed below, that became one of four railroads built (some with government subsidies) constructed (with separated terminals to the advantage of local freight haulers) before the American Civil War. In 1860, the city's industries and transportation combined to make it the state's second largest city (after Richmond). It connected commerce as far inland as Farmville, Virginia at the foothills of the Blue Ridge and the Appalachian Mountains chain, to shipping further east into the Chesapeake Bay and North Atlantic Ocean. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), because of this railroad network, Petersburg became critical to Union plans to capture the Confederate States national capital established early in the war at Richmond. The 1864–65 Siege of Petersburg, which included the Battle of the Crater and nine months of trench warfare devastated the city. Battlefield sites are partly preserved as Petersburg National Battlefield by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Petersburg rebuilt its railroads, including a connecting terminal by 1866, although it never quite regained its economic position because much shipping traffic would continue to the Norfolk seaport. After the consolidations of smaller railroads, both the CSX and Norfolk Southern railway networks serve Petersburg. Petersburg has the oldest free black settlements in the state at Pocahontas Island. Two Baptist churches in the city, whose congregations were founded in the late 18th century, are among the oldest black congregations and churches in the United States. In the post-bellum period, a historically black college which later developed as the Virginia State University was established nearby in Ettrick in Chesterfield County. In the 20th century, these and other black churches were leaders in the national Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s-1960s. Richard Bland College, now a junior college, was originally established here as a branch of Williamsburg's famed College of William and Mary. Petersburg remains a transportation hub. Area highways include Interstate Highways 85, 95, and U.S. Route highways with 1, 301, and 460. Both CSX and Norfolk Southern rail systems maintain transportation centers at Petersburg. Amtrak serves the city with daily Northeast Regional passenger trains to Norfolk, Virginia, and long-distance routes from states to the South. In the early 21st century, Petersburg civic leaders promote the city's historical attractions for heritage tourism, as well as industrial sites reachable by the transportation infrastructure. The federal government is also a major employer, with nearby Fort Gregg-Adams, as home of the United States Army's Sustainment Center of Excellence, and the Army's Logistics Branch, Ordnance, Quartermaster, and Transportation Corps.

Source Wikipedia

Rehab Treatments In Petersburg Virginia

About Virginia

Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The state's capital is Richmond and its most populous city is Virginia Beach, though its most populous subdivision is Fairfax County, part of Northern Virginia, where slightly over a third of Virginia's population of 8.72 million live as of 2023. The Blue Ridge Mountains cross the western and southwestern parts of the state. The state's central region lies predominantly in the Piedmont. Eastern Virginia is part of the Atlantic Plain, and the Middle Peninsula forms the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The fertile Shenandoah Valley fosters the state's most productive agricultural counties, while the economy in Northern Virginia is driven by technology companies and U.S. federal government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency. Hampton Roads is also the site of the region's main seaport and Naval Station Norfolk, the world's largest naval base. Virginia's history begins with several Indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607, the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent English colony in the New World. Virginia's state nickname, the Old Dominion, is a reference to this status. Slaves from Africa and land from displaced native tribes fueled the growing plantation economy, but also fueled conflicts both inside and outside the colony. Virginia was one of the original Thirteen Colonies in the American Revolution and several key battles were fought there during that war. More major battles were fought in Virginia during the American Civil War, which split the state as the government in Richmond joined the Confederacy, but many northwestern counties remained loyal to the Union, which led to the separation of West Virginia in 1863. Although the state was under one-party rule for nearly a century following the Reconstruction era, both major political parties have been competitive in Virginia since the repeal of Jim Crow laws in the 1970s. Virginia's state legislature is the Virginia General Assembly, which was established in July 1619, making it the oldest current law-making body in North America. It is made up of a 40-member Senate and a 100-member House of Delegates. Unlike other states, cities and counties in Virginia function as equals, but the state government manages most local roads inside each. It is the only state where governors are prohibited from serving consecutive terms.