If you are using prescription drugs in a way that has not been prescribed by your doctor or using it without a prescription, you are abusing drugs. This includes using prescription medication in potentially dangerous ways, such as crushing up pills and injecting or snorting them.
If you’re misusing drugs for non-medical reasons you can easily become addicted, as they activate the reward center of your brain. The great danger of abusing this type of medication is that it can change the way your brain works overtime. Your decision-making abilities and self-control will be negatively affected, and you may experience intense cravings to use more. Richard Clayton explains.
While you may be able to function well as an addict at first, you will find yourself in a dangerous downward spiral that could lead to you losing your family, job, and everything else that is important to you. Organizations such as Ranch Creek Recovery offer hope and support to people who want to break free from this self-destructive cycle.
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Why Do People Abuse Prescription Drugs?
People have many different reasons for misusing prescription drugs. Some people like to experiment with the different effects, while others use it to relieve their stress or even to increase their alertness for their work and studies. Others abuse drugs to reduce their appetites or to help them sleep.
Prescription drugs are more widely available than ever before. Teenagers often mix prescription drugs with alcohol and illicit drugs, as they’re not fully aware of the potentially lethal effects.
Some may think the medication is “safe” since it’s prescription. Some young people may also abuse prescription drugs to get acceptance from their peers.
Many people have valid medical reasons for using prescription drugs, but they may begin misusing their medication to achieve better or faster results, or if they feel they understand how to better manage their symptoms.
High-Functioning Addicts
Prescription drug addicts can be successful, high-functioning people. They can be prominent professionals, involved parents, or community leaders. In the early days, their drug abuse seemed to make them perform better in their various roles.
Drug-addicted ER nurse Jackie Peyton from Showtime’s Nurse Jackie is a perfect example. A smart and competent nurse, she used Oxycontin, Percocet, and Vicodin to get through her stressful days in the emergency room, to help her stay alert and focused. She seems in control at first, but her situation soon spirals out of control.
Types Of Drugs That Are Abused
The most commonly abused prescription drugs are pain relievers, tranquilizers and sedatives, and stimulants.
Prescription Pain Medication
Opioid painkillers such as oxycodone (OxyContin), codeine, fentanyl, and hydrocodone (Vicodin) are among the most abused pain relievers. These drugs are used to treat serious pain conditions such as skeletal pain, pain from surgery, cancer-related pain, and physical trauma.
Painkillers work by blocking pain signals to the brain. While they are very effective, there is a high risk of becoming addicted to them. There are multiple risks associated with being addicted to these drugs, including impaired thinking, and an increased risk of injuries and accidents, as your coordination can be affected.
Withdrawal is difficult once you’ve become physically dependent on these drugs.
Tranquilizers and Sedatives
Benzodiazepines like Halcion and Xanax or sedatives like Ambien are also commonly abused prescription drugs.
Tranquilizers and sedatives can help with panic attacks, anxiety, insomnia, and other sleeping disorders. They slow your brain function until you feel calm or drowsy. Medications like Valium, Ativan, Xanax, and Ambien carry a high risk for dependence. When they are taken in large doses and taken together with alcohol or other sedatives, they can cause a fatal overdose.
These drugs will impair your cognitive functioning and will affect your ability to make decisions. Your coordination and motor functioning can also be affected, which causes a risk of injury. Once you are addicted, withdrawal is difficult and could even be fatal, as a result of seizures.
Stimulants
Stimulants such as Dexedrine, Adderall, or Ritalin can be prescribed to people with ADHD, ADD, or narcolepsy. They can also be the main component in weight loss medication. They release dopamine in the brain, which can affect your mood and alertness. If they are taken in high doses they can cause euphoria.
Stimulants carry a high risk for addiction and can cause high blood pressure and heart issues. These drugs could also cause paranoia and psychosis. During withdrawal, addicts often suffer from irritability, fatigue, and depression.
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Using Prescription Drugs With Alcohol
You could experience dangerous side effects when you mix alcohol and prescription drugs together. Your medication could become ineffective or even toxic.
Alcohol also increases the side effects of medication, so you could become extremely light-headed and drowsy. Your work environment and activities such as driving could become dangerous to you, or make you a danger to other people. Common side effects when you use alcohol and prescription drugs together could include drowsiness, dizziness, loss of coordination, nausea, and vomiting, as well as several other unpleasant effects. Life-threatening or severe complications could include seizures, heart issues, breathing problems, internal bleeding, and even death from an overdose.
Symptoms Of Abuse
The symptoms of drug abuse will depend on the drug that is being abused, but could include any or all of the following:
- People who abuse pain relievers may be drowsy and confused, with constricted pupils. When they sleep, their breathing could be unnaturally slow.
- A person who abuses tranquilizers and sleeping medication can be drowsy, and unnaturally relaxed. Their speech might be slurred at times, and they can have poor memory. They can also complain of headaches and dizziness.
- People who abuse stimulants can have more energy than usual, and talk very fast. They could eat and sleep less than usual and even lose weight.
- General symptoms can include mood swings and poor decision-making.
- Addicts often “lose” their prescriptions, so that they can request new ones. They also try to get prescriptions from more than one doctor.
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Treatment
Psychotherapy forms a big part of the treatment for prescription drug addiction. This therapy, also known as talk therapy, usually addresses the issues that lead to the addiction, such as mental health problems and relationship difficulties.
Behavioral treatment, in the form of individual, group, or family counseling, helps patients learn how to stop unhealthy thinking patterns and behaviors, and teaches them strategies to manage their cravings. These sessions can also help people improve their relationships and their ability to function at work and in their families.
Your doctor may also recommend that you join a support group for addicts. Support from family and friends is also essential, as well as employee assistance programs. Never stop taking medication on your own, speak to your doctor first. Side effects from withdrawal could be serious, and potentially lethal. Your doctor can also make sure that you’re getting enough sleep and proper nutrition during this challenging time.
It is sometimes possible to use medication to lessen your withdrawal symptoms. For example, sometimes Buprenorphine is used to treat withdrawal from opiates. It is also sometimes used along with the drug Naloxone to prevent a potential relapse. Counseling is the best treatment after detoxing under a doctor’s care, for people who are addicted to stimulants.
Depression can be a side effect of prescription drug withdrawal
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How Can You Help Someone Who’s Addicted To Prescription Drugs?
Talk to your doctor. If you think a family member or friend may be addicted to drugs or alcohol, a medical professional will refer you to a drug treatment program for more information. Talk to your loved ones, so that they know you are aware of the problem and that you are concerned, but be prepared for resistance. Be there to support the person if they do decide to get help to overcome their addiction.
Preventing Addiction and Misuse
It’s possible to become addicted to prescription drugs without being entirely aware of it at first. For example, if you suffer from a serious condition with chronic pain, you might start increasing your dosage in the hopes that you will be able to control your symptoms better.
To prevent misusing medication, it’s important that you follow the usage directions and your doctor’s prescription. Make sure that you understand the side effects of your medicine. You must never use another person’s medicine, even if that person suffers from a similar condition.
If your doctor prescribes medication, and you are already taking drugs for other conditions, make sure that you inform them.
If you have a problem with addiction, it might also be best to look at alternative treatments for certain conditions, e.g. for anxiety, consider therapy and counseling rather than medication. You can also try natural remedies for certain conditions, such as insomnia.
Education In Childhood
One way of preventing prescription drug abuse is to start educating children about it before they even reach their teenage years. They must understand from an early age that they must never share their medicine with other people, and the dangers of abusing the medication.
At some stage, most children will be exposed to people using drugs or drinking. Help them develop the self-confidence and knowledge to remove themselves from those environments. It’s vital that children understand the damage that drug abuse causes, and that the end of this vicious cycle is often death from an overdose. Prescription drug abuse is especially dangerous for children, as their brains are still developing, and areas of their brains could be damaged that are important for learning, memory, motivation, judgment, and behavior control.
Parents must also set an example by staying sober and not abusing prescription drugs, otherwise, it will undermine their efforts to keep their children safe and sober.
If parents are addicted to illegal or prescription drugs, it’s even more important to get help. Children can learn destructive behaviors from their parents, even if the parents believe they are hiding it well. If you’ve recovered from addiction, share your journey with your children at an appropriate age, and educate them about the dangers of abuse.
Prevention Programs For Young People
Prevention is the best strategy, as many children have already tried drugs by the age of 12. Programs aimed at educating children about the dangers of drugs have been shown to significantly reduce drug addiction and alcohol abuse, as well as the use of tobacco.
The programs can be used in individual or group settings, and they are designed for various ages, with different risk profiles:
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- Indicated programs target youth who are already using drugs.
- Universal programs are for children in a setting like a school or community.
- Selective programs are usually targeted at groups, and for children who have certain risk factors that put them at increased risk of developing a drug addiction.
Final Thoughts
Prescription drug abuse is an extremely serious health condition that could end in death. If you know someone with an addiction problem, it’s essential that you help them find help as soon as possible.
Even though the situation might appear bleak, it’s entirely possible to recover from drug addiction and lead a long and healthy life.
This is a LongevityLive guest post.
