With over 25 years of experience as a clinical Psychiatrist, Wayne Macfadden, MD, is an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders associated with alcohol and opioid substance use.

1. What Is Opioid
Use Disorder?

2. Wayne Macfadden, MD, is a board-
certified Psychiatrist formerly based
in Fort Totten, North Dakota. With
over 25 years of experience as a
clinical Psychiatrist, Wayne
Macfadden, MD, is an expert in the
diagnosis and treatment of mental
health disorders associated with
alcohol and opioid substance use.

3. Someone likely suffers from opioid use
disorder (OPU) if they depend on
prescription medications like codeine,
methadone, morphine, or fentanyl or
illicit drugs like heroin to help them get
through their day. OPU is widespread,
with 5 percent of adult Americans
reporting abuse of or addiction to
opioids or prescribed painkillers.

4. One indicator that a person is abusing opioids is that they
continue taking painkillers even after they feel better. They
may also have a high tolerance to opioids and need increasing
dosages to relieve pain, experience social and professional
problems as a result of their continued opioid use, and have
such a strong yearning for opioids that they'll do almost
anything to obtain them.

5. For example, a person with OPU may steal
opioid-based drugs from friends or family
members and visit several doctors and
pharmacies to get pain medications prescribed
and the prescription filled. When obtaining
prescribed painkillers becomes challenging, a
large number of those abusing prescription
drugs start using heroin, since it is often
simpler to obtain. One study of heroin users
found that 80 percent had begun with
prescription opioids.

6. If untreated, opioid use disorder can result in numerous
relapses after stopping use, including disability and even
death. Without the right support, those who attempt to stop
misusing opioids encounter symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea,
insomnia, chills, and restlessness, which can lead them to
relapse. One of the most popular methods for treating OPU is
medication-assisted treatment (MAT), which combines
medicine, behavioral therapy, and counseling.