Is Someone You Love Abusing Prescription Drugs?

In many cases prescription drug abuse begins innocently enough. An accident, injury, or surgery requires that the person take pain medication. Maybe some life events have caused insomnia – you just want a good night’s sleep. The problem begins when the person continues to take the prescription drug for an extended period of time, and when the dosage must be increased to get the same effect. Thus begins a cycle of pain and addiction that can be impossible to overcome on your own.

Opiate Detox

Detox from opiate pain killers must be medically supervised. You should never attempt to detox on your own, especially if you are taking high doses of the drug or have taken it for an extended period of time.

Am I an Addict?

The word “addict” probably scares more people away from getting help than any other aspect of addiction. Partly this is due to societal misconceptions about addiction. Addiction is a powerful disease that eventually takes control of your life. The ultimate consequence of addiction is death. When people hear the word addict they imagine a crazy-eyed, wild-haired person you would cross the street to avoid. However, MOST addicts are normal people who can often manage to hide the problem for a long period of time.

What Makes a
Drug Addictive?

There are five aspects to addiction – the more addictive the drug, the more pronounced these issues are:

Withdrawal Symptoms: the more addictive a drug, the more severe the withdrawal symptoms

Reinforcement: this is also known as craving. The more addictive the drug, the most likely you are to crave taking it again and again.

Most Addicting
Prescription Drugs

Not surprising, the most addictive drugs are opiate pain killers. Abusers will sometimes crush pills and snort them for a more intense effect.

Fentanyl, Butorphanol or Stadol, OxyContin, Demerol, Hydrocodone/Vicodin