Drug Rehab Blog

Prescription Drug Abuse: A Global Concern

3.31.2010
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Lindsey Root

The United Nations Global Drugs Watchdog stated that the abuse of prescription drug abuse is growing rapidly. There are more people abusing prescription drugs than heroin, cocaine and ecstasy combined.

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Prescription Drug Abuse: A Doctor’s Responsibility?

3.30.2010
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Lindsey Root

It seems like every time you turn on the television there is another celebrity that has died from an accidental overdose. All these celebs like Anna Nicole Smith, Heath Ledger and the most provocative, Michael Jackson, were prescribed prescription drugs by their physicians. It brings to question if doctors are responsible for their addictions and tragic deaths?

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Prevention of Prescription Drug Abuse

3.26.2010
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Lindsey Root

Since teenage prescription drug abuse is on the rise, it is important to reduce the availability of these drugs. Adults should secure these meds in a locked cabinet. Unused pill bottles should be disposed of properly. Flushing pills down the toilet are highly recommended by the Federal Government.

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Tests and Diagnosis for Prescription Drug Abuse

3.24.2010
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Lindsey Root

Doctors sometimes like to help track the progress of a patient undergoing treatment of an addiction. It is certainly not easy for a person to stop abusing drugs. If it were, no one would become addicted. Do not feel embarrassed and do not hesitate to seek help in triumphing over your addiction. Your doctor may also suggest a residential facility that can provide a specialized program for your specific problem.

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What Are The Complications with Prescription Drug Abuse?

3.22.2010
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Lindsey Root

Prescription drugs activate the brain's reward centre; therefore it is easy to become addicted to them. Even when an addict’s life becomes worse due to their addiction, they still continue to use. There are many other complications that arise from prescription drug abuse in addition to the addiction itself.

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What Are The Symptoms and Risk Factors Of Prescription Drug Abuse?

3.19.2010
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Lindsey Root

There are many patients that abuse prescription drugs. The most commonly abused prescription drugs are opioid painkillers, such as oxycodone (Oxycontin), and those containing hydrocodone (Vicodin). Sedatives and tranquilizers, such as diazepam (Valium) and lorazopam (Ativan). Stimulants are also abused, such as, methylphenidate (Ritalin). Ritalin is commonly used to treat Attention-Deficit Disorder (ADHD).

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What is Prescription Drug Abuse?

3.17.2010
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Lindsey Root

Prescription drug abuse is the use of prescription drugs in ways not intended by the prescribing doctor. Most commonly this is the use of painkillers, sedatives and stimulants. However, prescription drug abuse includes everything from snorting ground up pills to taking a friend’s prescription painkillers to get high.

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The Dangers of Demerol

3.15.2010
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Lindsey Root

Demerol is prescribed as a pain killer, and it does a great job of reducing severe pain. The problem is, Demerol is also highly addictive. It can be so easy to find yourself hooked on this powerful drug and needing more and more of it to keep yourself comfortable. Things will be fine until your body calls out for higher dosages – then the problems start.

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Teenage Depression and Drug Abuse

3.12.2010
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Lindsey Root

Depression and drug abuse are a double-edged sword: depression can lead to drug abuse, and drug abuse can lead to depression. Many people in the United States today are clinically depressed and have not been diagnosed. There is a tendency to try to self-medicate undiagnosed depression through drugs and alcohol. Adolescents in particular will turn to medication as a way to ease their discomfort.

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Recovering from Oxycontin Abuse

3.10.2010
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Lindsey Root

The popular painkiller Oxycontin has become one of the most abused prescription medications in the United States. In some areas it has even passed heroin in popularity. Some of the reasons for its popularity include the quick high that you get when you crush it into powder and ingest or snort it. Initially created as a time release pain medication, crushing the tablets negates the time release mechanism and delivers the powerful drug directly to your system all at once.

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Addicted to Pain Medication

3.08.2010
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Lindsey Root

If you’ve suffered from chronic pain due to illness or injury, you’ve probably been prescribed a painkiller before. When you take your prescription exactly as your doctor instructs, you run very little risk of becoming addicted. If, however, you begin to take more than your doctor prescribed, or you find that you need to take the medicine more frequently than you were told to, the danger for addiction becomes very real very quickly.

Pain medicines such as Oxycodone, Vicodin, Demerol, and Morphine carry powerful opiates that your body can become dependent upon very quickly. It is normal for someone who takes a pain medication for a very long period of time to build up a resistance to the drug, which means your doctor will need to prescribe higher doses to give you the same pain relief. If you follow your doctor’s advice you should be fine. If you begin to alter your regimen on your own, however, you may find that you begin a spiral of taking more and more medicine to achieve the relief you desire.

Pain medications can be very difficult to stop taking once you become addicted. You have to slowly reduce the amount of medication you take carefully to avoid uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. Sometimes it may seem that the detoxification process is more painful than your initial reason for taking the medication. Detox can be accomplished with the proper care and supervision of a trained health professional.