Prescription drug addiction is major problem affecting millions of individuals in North America growing the demandfor drug rehab, but there is not much awareness about the magnitude of the problem. Because the nation has a major problem with other illicit drugs (like cocaine, marijuana, crack), prescription drug abuse has not been a major priority for both the health and legal professionals.
The non-medical use or abuse of prescription drugs is an escalating and has become a major public health issue. Every single day, there are reports of deaths being reported from accidental overdose of prescription drugs. In most cases, the individual was abusing multiple prescription drugs.
Even though many of these prescription drugs have beneficial uses in clinical medicine, for some unknown reason(s), the abuse of a wide variety of prescription drugs will soon surpass smoking as the number one health problem in America. Hundreds of internet sites sell these drugs without a prescription. These drugs may relieve anxiety and pain, but when abused they can be lethal and just as addictive as other illicit drugs like cocaine.
The abuse of prescription drugs has increased exponentially over the past 2 decades and is just below marijuana, which is the most abused substance in North America. The prescription drug abuse has created problems at all levels of society and presents a major challenge to law enforcement, health professionals and families of those involved. Today there needs to be a legitimate strong willed approach to control the abuse of these drugs, because the problem will soon be out of control with devastating consequences to society.
Extent of Use
Data from the National Drug Threat Survey organization reveals that prescription drugs are illegally diverted and heavily abused in most states.
Data from the pharmaceutical agencies indicate that at least 50 million Americans report the use of at least one psychotherapeutic drug (tranquilizer, sedative, pain killer, stimulants) at some point in their lifetimes. Approximately 7 million Americans over the age of 12 report recent (past month) use of psychotherapeutic drugs for non-medical purposes.
Drug Availability
Obtaining prescription drugs for abuse is not difficult and there are various means of obtaining the drugs. This includes:
- multiple Doctor shopping
- forged prescriptions
- via Illegal online pharmacies
- Theft and burglary (from hospitals, residences, pharmacies)
- obtaining prescription from family and friends
- Over prescribing by physicians
- Unscrupulous physicians selling drugs
Prescription drug abuse is occurring at epidemic proportions in almost every state. Numerous government studies reveal that the majority of internet sites selling prescription drugs do not even require a formal doctor’s prescription. The drugs are bought directly from the pharmacy and there are never any questions asked and no IDs are required for purchase.
Commonly Abused Drugs
The four classes of prescription drugs that are most commonly abused are
- Opioids -prescribed to treat pain,—(codeine, oxycodone, oxycontin, Percocet, morphine, Lortab, Vicodin
- central nervous system (CNS) depressants -used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders—(barbiturates, Valium, Xanax, clonazepam)
- CNS stimulants- treat the sleep disorder narcolepsy, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and obesity—(dextroamphetamine, Ritalin, Phentermine).
- Non opioid pain killers (vioxx, oxycodone, oxycontin, Lortab, Vicodin
Abusers of prescription drugs tend to combine other prescription drugs for abuse. This leads to more adverse effects and the risk of overdose is common.
Symptoms of Drug Use
Because there are numerous prescription drugs that are abused, it is impossible to mention all the symptoms, but some features are common to all prescription drugs. These features include:
- alterations in mood
- erratic behavior
- mental cloudiness
- confusion
- inability/excess sleep
- anxiety
- hyperactive, increased alertness
- suicidal tendencies
- alterations in physical outlook
Medical Problem
Just like illicit drugs, prescription drugs also have numerous side effects and toxicity from these drugs is common. On a daily basis, individuals are admitted to the Emergency Rooms with overdose from the drugs, some of these overdoses are intentional, some not.
The majority of medical emergencies are related more to overdose. Once managed in the hospital, these individuals are stabilized and treated but the addiction problem is not catered to.
Like all individuals who abuse illicit drugs, individuals who abuse prescription drugs also deny that they have a problem. The majority of these individuals have premorbid conditions which are obvious but the prescription drug problem is hidden. The majority of these individuals may have social, emotional problems, stress, depression, anxiety, financial woes or familial problems.
A gradual change in these individuals may give a hint to their problem of prescription drug abuse. These changes include:
- a change in friends
- declining interest in health
- decreased interest in school
- isolation from family and old friends
- repeated lies, stealing
- withdraws from social activities
**taken from http://www.addictionsearch.com/treatment_articles/article/pr escription-drug-addiction-abuse-and-treatment_32.html
If you know ANYONE that might be abusing prescription pain medication, or any other medication please speak up. Tell someone close to them, or talk to the person yourself. It's never too late to help!
Merry Christmas!
That was a very interesting post. You always think because prescription drugs are medically supervised that people are under control but I guess it doesn't take much to get out of control, and a lot of abuse occurs. Thanks for raising awareness about this problem. so why is the name "levlarry" there?is this the same levlarry who cold filters his own codeine.........What Pammy? cold filers his own codeine? I must have missed something,lol. I just saw the name and thought...what the heck? http://arthritisinsight.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7609&a mp;KW=levlarryLev, what you are posting is not the full story! I know there are many knowledgeable people on the board who understand drugs and their indications and side effects. I myself teach pharmocotherapy classes at the college level and there are many studies in this area.Chronic pain suffered by 30 million Americans robs people of their dignity, personality, productivity and ability to enjoy life. It is the single most common reason people go to doctors, contributing to an overall cost to the economy of billions of dollars a year.
Yet chronic pain, whether caused by cancer or a host of nonmalignant conditions, is seriously undertreated, largely because doctors are reluctant to prescribe -- and patients are reluctant to take -- the drugs that are best able to relieve persistent, debilitating, disabling pain that fails to respond to the usual treatments.
These drugs are called opioids, which are natural and synthetic compounds related to morphine, generally known as narcotics. Many studies have indicated that ignorance and misunderstanding seriously impede their appropriate use.
Studies suggest that about half of patients with cancer-related pain and 80 percent of those with chronic noncancer pain are undertreated as a result. These patients suffer needlessly, as do their loved ones.
''Some patients who experience sustained unrelieved pain suffer because pain changes who they are,'' say Dr. C. Richard Chapman of the University of Utah School of Medicine and Dr. Jonathan Gavrin of the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Chronic pain, they wrote in The Lancet medical journal, results in ''an extended and destructive stress response'' characterized by brain hormone abnormalities, fatigue, mood disorders, muscle pain and impaired mental and physical performance.
Neurochemical changes caused by persistent pain perpetuate the pain cycle by increasing a person's sensitivity to pain and by causing pain in areas of the body that would not ordinarily hurt.
''This constellation of discomforts and functional limitations can foster negative thinking and create a vicious cycle of stress and disability,'' the researchers wrote. ''The idea that one's pain is uncontrollable in itself leads to stress. Patients suffer when this cycle renders them incapable of sustaining productive work, a normal family life and supportive social interactions.''
Dr. Jennifer
P. Schneider, a specialist in addiction medicine and pain management in
Tucson, Ariz., agrees. ''When patients feel hopeless and think they
will never get relief, it makes chronic pain and its effects that much
worse,'' she said in an interview.
Abundance of Misinformation
Far too little has been done to correct the misunderstandings of both patients and doctors that stand in the way of using opioids to control chronic pain. Nowadays, doctors are more inclined to use narcotics for pain relief in patients with advanced cancer, assuming erroneously that ''since they're dying anyway, it won't matter if they become addicts.'' But the reluctance to use opioids for noncancer-pain patients persists, and patients are equally likely to resist taking them should they be prescribed.
''Like most doctors, most patients are relatively uninformed about the safety of using narcotics for pain, thinking they're dangerous drugs that will do bad things to them,'' Dr. Schneider explained. ''They don't understand the difference between physical dependence and addiction, and as a result they're afraid they'll become addicts.''
As Dr. Henry McQuay, a pain specialist at the University of Oxford in England, put it: ''Opioids are our most powerful analgesics, but politics, prejudice and our continuing ignorance still impede optimum prescribing. What happens when opioids are given to someone in pain is different from what happens when they are given to someone not in pain. The medical use of opioids does not create drug addicts, and restrictions on this medical use hurt patients.''
In three studies involving nearly 25,000 patients treated with opioids who had no history of drug abuse, only seven cases of addiction resulted from the treatment.
Dr. Schneider was distressed last month by a segment of ''48 Hours'' on CBS depicting a woman who had been taking the sustained-release opioid OxyContin. The woman said that although the drug had relieved her chronic pain, she stopped taking it because she feared becoming an addict. But instead of tapering off gradually, she quit cold turkey. As any pain expert would predict, she suffered withdrawal symptoms typical of physical dependence on a narcotic: aches all over, tearing eyes, runny nose, abdominal cramps and diarrhea.
Physical dependence, whether to an opioid or to an immune-suppressing drug like prednisone, involves reversible changes in body tissues. To avert withdrawal symptoms, the medication must be stopped gradually. Addiction is mainly a psychological and behavioral disorder.
Dr. Schneider
described the hallmarks of addiction, whether to alcohol or narcotics,
as loss of control over use, continuing use despite adverse
consequences, and obsession or preoccupation with obtaining and using
the substance.
The Benefits of Relief
Unlike an addict, whose life becomes increasingly constricted by an obsession with drug use, a patient using the drug for pain experiences an expansion of life when relief comes from this life-inhibiting disorder, Dr. Schneider said. An addict gets high by taking the drug in a way that rapidly increases the dose reaching the brain. But opioids properly used for pain do not result in a ''rush'' or euphoria. When given for chronic pain, opioids are typically given in a form that provides a steady amount throughout the day.
Nor do pain patients require ever-increasing amounts of opioids to achieve pain control, because patients in pain do not become ''tolerant'' to properly prescribed opioids. Higher doses are needed only if an inadequate amount of the drug is given in the first place or if the pain itself worsens with time.
Tolerance does develop to some of the common side effects of opioids, including sedation, respiratory depression and nausea, although constipation tends to persist as long as the drug is taken. But an opioid taken to relieve chronic pain does not block acute pain sensations that might result, for example, from surgery or an injury. A broken arm or gallbladder surgery will hurt just as if no opioid were being taken and will require additional treatment with some other analgesic, Dr. Schneider said.
Of course, round-the-clock narcotics are only one aspect of proper treatment for chronic pain that fails to respond adequately to lesser drugs. As Dr. Schneider explained, chronic pain is ''a primary disorder'' that can itself cause disabling complications, including difficulty sleeping, muscle spasms and depression.
Thus, pain specialists commonly prescribe a low-dose antidepressant like Elavil to promote sounder sleep, muscle relaxants and anticonvulsants to relieve spasms, anti-inflammatory drugs, full-dose antidepressants to counter depression and an increase in physical activity to improve mood and reduce feelings of incapacity.
Patients may also be referred to psychologists for cognitive-behavioral therapy, physiatrists (for exercises and pain-relieving injections), physical therapists, hypnotists, biofeedback specialists and even acupuncturists, Dr. Schneider said.
To help reduce the risk of drug abuse, Dr. Schneider and many other pain specialists insist that before receiving opioids for chronic pain, patients sign a ''contract'' that, among other things, insists that only one doctor and one pharmacy be used to provide opioids and that no change in dose be made without prior consultation with the prescribing physician.
The contract also states that there will be ''no early refills,'' no matter what the excuse, and that patients must agree to undergo random urine drug tests if the doctor suspects the drug is being abused.I know that there are people in the world who abuse narcotics but there are people who cannot tolerate NSAIDS or Biologics or any of the other medications for AI disorders.
Maybe this person has yet to experience the extreme pain from a bad flare. The one that throbs and hurts no matter what you do. The one that keeps you awake at night? The one that keeps you from walking.
Just my opinion.
Boy, you guys are quicker than me. I was still sitting her trying to figure outBut who has LevLarry pissed of to the point of revenge?
Can anyone name anyone?
My doctor tried to give me addictive pain killers since my ultram only helped a little. I told him no. Getting off ultram when it's time causes me to feel sick with withdrawls even though i don't crave it. Body gets sick, but i dont' want to go through withdrawls from a drug i want to take forever.
So, i take the pain. It's a choice i have made and i know others can't make that choice. But i was addicted to drugs at a point and don't want to repeat again.
Bubba,
Vicodan is a pain killer also.