Seniors aged 60 years and up have often been overlooked during the opioid epidemic. But that has started to change. Recent research shows that seniors are also highly prone to opioid use disorder. This is especially true of seniors grappling with chronic illness, loneliness, and other stressors. In California, a study from 2011 to 2017 found that the highest rates of overdose deaths are among 55 to 59-year-olds, with the second highest group ages 60 to 64. People in both age groups are most likely misusing prescriptions they got from a doctor.
In 2021, there were 6,843 overdose deaths in California, with over 84% involving fentanyl.
Why Do Older People Use Fentanyl?
The research shows that most seniors who take drugs use them because they have been prescribed. For many, it is something like surgery or acute pain from a bad accident that may require Oxycontin or Fentanyl for the short term. However, people with chronic pain often have trouble finding a drug that relieves it. Neurological pain, arthritis, and lifelong conditions like lupus often cause people to have chronic pain that can be difficult to treat. Sometimes a person will become tolerant to one drug and graduate to a more potent drug. Often, this leaves them dependent on opioids.
Why Do Seniors Develop Opioid Use Disorder?
People usually take drugs as prescribed, but medications like Oxycontin and Fentanyl can change the users’ brains. While opioids can dull pain, they can temporarily alleviate emotional distress, boredom, or depression and give the users euphoria. This is high that people with opioid use disorder try to maintain.
As the person uses a drug or more of the drug, their body adapts to the change. They will build a tolerance to the drug. This means the user still needs more drugs to get the same effects. A doctor may titrate the dosage to help with symptoms.
People with spine troubles and other chronic pain often take high pain pills. However, modern pain medicine recommends using more than one type of pain relief. Therefore, a doctor that prescribes opioids alone without discussion of other pain management methods may be a part of the problem.
Seniors develop opioid use disorder for the same reason others do. It’s a disease of the brain, and they happen to have developed it. Fentanyl and other drugs like Norco or Oxy are potent, and it’s not easy to stop using them due to their withdrawal effects.
Helping Seniors Get Sober
Working with a senior’s doctors and families can help them wean or detox from opioids. This is an essential step toward healing.
Other professionals specializing in addiction medicine and pain medicine can help create a plan to minimize harm. Of course, pain is still a valid concern, but many ways exist to address it without causing further harm. For example, some people with chronic pain benefit greatly from Medication-Assisted Treatment.
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