Prescription Drug Addictions
Posted by Rehab Help | Filed under Rehab Helpline
An example of a person who gets addicted to drugs seen in the corner of the streets. These drug addicts are always looking cautiously around, doing anxiety-related behaviors, yet very discrete with these behaviors. These individuals are most of the time being avoided by people passing by. They are also being seen as an outcast in the society they belong. It is a common fact that the acquiring of drugs are done secretly.
If we think about it, those we call addicts came from our society who participates with it normally. These people could be your own babysitter, the newspaperman, the bagel man, or even taxi driver who drives you everyday to work. Like almost everyone, these people are those who buy prescribed drugs in pharmacies. Yes. Prescription drugs could be as hazardous as any prohibited drugs. People who buy drugs at the pharmacy could be as addicted to certain drugs as to those who discretely buy illegal drugs from drug dealers in the corners of every street.
Prescription drug serves its function when it is prescribed by the doctor to the patient in order to treat any health-related problems. But, what we did not perceive coming was that these prescription drugs have the potential to cause dependency and addiction. In 2007, about 7 million Americans abuse prescription drugs. In addition, it has been known that prescription drug addiction do not only exist in America but also in other parts of the world.
We might think that nobody is safe from addiction, even someone who has been prescribed with a drug by a medical professional. On the other hand, we should identify that if taken properly, these drugs need not be addictive. It is when we take more than what is prescribed that we are more likely to be a candidate for prescription drug addiction.
Opioids, depressants, and stimulants are the three types of commonly abused prescription drugs. This is according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Opioids are given to individuals who suffer chronic pain. But besides alleviating pain, these drugs could also cause feelings of euphoria. This substance works by binding to opioid receptors found in the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract.
Central nervous system depressants are used to take care anxiety problems, acute stress, and sleep disorders. As depressants, they make the brain to function slowly. Long terms and large doses of depressants could lead to tolerance and thus, the body would need larger doses to attain the “relaxing” feeling caused by the drug. These results to addiction.
Stimulants, on the other hand, do the opposite of depressants. These drugs increase brain activities, increasing energy, awareness, and alertness, and are used to treat attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and narcolepsy. Stimulants make the heart rate to increase as well as respiration which can be interpreted by the user as euphoria.
An individual is said to be an addict to the drug when he or she needs larger amount of the drug to attain certain effects. Most likely, when their physicians stop prescribing the drug, they go “doctor shopping”, asking friends to get drugs for them. Now, that patient becomes an addict. Most of the time, elder people are the ones vulnerable to prescription drug abuse. They did not will it. Regrettably, they just tend to be prescribed with more medications than the younger ones. The main cause of the increase in the incidence of prescription drug abuse is still not known. However, it cannot be denied that accessibility of the drug could be a causative factor.
Top treat prescription drug addiction will depend upon the substance being addicted to The needs of the person should also be taken into account. The two main courses of drug addiction treatment are behavioral and pharmacological. Behavioral treatment supports patient to discontinue drug use and teach them how to function normally even without the drug. Counseling should go hand in hand so as to guide and follow up the patient for any improvement. Medication could also be of great help most especially with opioid addiction.
Any drug is not free from addiction
. To treat this addiction, one needs a good combination of behavioral and pharmacological treatment.
