Leaving a drug addiction centre, an addict may feel ‘cured’ of addiction. But addiction is a chronic disease, and so not easily – or ever, really – rid from a person’s body and mind.
And like any other chronic illness, addiction may be spotted with intermittent illness: a cold, the flu or a bout of pneumonia. When seeing a general physician about a round of sickness, there are numerous reasons to communicate with your doctor about your addiction.
Prescription medication
Letting your general doctor know that you have gone through drug recovery, and that you struggle daily with addiction, can alert him or her to certain medications that could be potentially addictive or have been widely abused. This is usually a problem with pain medications.
Symptom of stress
If a doctor knows that you are working through addiction, he or she can factor this into a list of stressors. Since stress has various health hazards, your symptoms might be attributed to the stress you feel about trying to keep any addictive behaviour in check.
Informed watchdog
If your general physician knows about your struggle with addiction and your subsequent drug recovery, he or she can be on watch for any signs of relapse and abuse that relatives or friends less informed about addiction might miss.
It’s important that the man or woman in charge of your general health be given all the information about your addiction. It will help your doctor make more informed decisions, which equate to healthier decisions.
