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Prescription drugs are typically strong medications. That’s why you need a prescription to buy them. There are three types of abused prescription drugs. These are:
Abused prescription drugs have become a big public health problem. Misuse and abuse of prescription drugs can lead to addiction and potentially overdose deaths.
Drug misuse, abuse, and addiction are all genuine public health problems that deal with the use of illegal drugs and the inappropriate use of legal drugs. People frequently use these terms interchangeably, but the treatments for each issue are different, so it’s necessary to correctly identify a person’s drug problem.
The main difference between drug misuse and abuse is the intent. People who misuse drugs do so accidentally while treating a certain ailment. Those who abuse drugs do it intentionally to cause a certain feeling. Addiction is a severe form of drug abuse that has an effect on most, if not all, parts of a person’s life.
Drug misuse is typically associated with prescription drugs. This is because prescription drugs can cause negative side effects.
Prescription medications are meant to be taken as directed by doctors. Misuse happens when these medications are taken for a purpose that doesn’t conform to legal or medical guidelines.
Examples of drug misuse include:
Taking another person’s prescription medication, even if it’s for a medical reason such as to relieve pain. Instead, taking your own prescription medicine in a way other than the way it was prescribed is misused. For example:
Drug abuse happens when drugs are misused to get high or to cause self-harm. Drugs that are commonly abused include:
Drug abuse may continue and become compulsive, even when there are negative consequences.
Abuse of prescription drugs usually begins in teens or young adults, but it can happen at any age. Risk factors for prescription drug abuse include:
Prescription drug abuse is a growing problem in the older adult population. This is especially true when they combine drugs with alcohol. Taking multiple drugs for multiple health problems can put seniors at risk of misusing drugs and becoming addicted.
Since commonly abused prescription drugs activate the reward center of your brain, it’s possible to develop a physical dependence and addiction.
Physical dependence is also called tolerance and it’s the body’s reaction to long-term use. Individuals who are physically dependent on a drug need higher or more frequent doses to get the same results. They also may experience withdrawal when they cut down on their use of the drug or suddenly stop.
Drug addiction is also known as a severe substance use disorder (SUD). People who are addicted to a drug also have a physical and/or psychological dependence on that drug. They also seek the drug compulsively and keep using it even when it causes significant problems in their lives. Addicts often:
There are numerous negative effects of prescription drug abuse. These effects can vary depending on the type of prescription drug that a person is using. Some negative effects of prescription drug abuse that are based on the type of prescription drug being abused are described below.
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Abusing opioids can cause low blood pressure and a slowed breathing rate. This has the potential for breathing to stop or a coma to occur. An opioid overdose has a high risk of death.
These medications can cause memory problems, slowed breathing, and low blood pressure. Stopping the medication suddenly can cause withdrawal symptoms that can include seizures and nervous system hyperactivity.
Abuse of stimulants can cause:
Additional potential consequences of abusing prescription drugs include:
Neurotransmitters in the brain, such as dopamine, send messages by attaching to receptors on
nearby cells. The actions of these transmitters and receptors cause the effects of prescription drug abuse. Each type of prescription drug works a little differently in the brain and can cause actions that are harmful to the body.
Adults and teens abuse prescription drugs for many reasons including:
You can. More than half of the drug overdose deaths in the U.S. each year are caused by prescription drug misuse. Deaths each year from abuse of pain relievers, benzodiazepines, and antidepressants steadily increased throughout the 1990s. It then peaked in 2017, decreased in 2018 and 2019, and rose again in 2020.
Increases in deaths due to prescription drug abuse were connected to a rise in the misuse of prescription opioid pain relievers and the presence of fentanyl (a powerful opioid) in the drug supply. In fact, in 2013 only 9% of deaths from prescription drugs involved fentanyl.
By 2019, more than 46% of deaths from prescription drugs involved fentanyl. However, amongst people aged 15 – 24, prescription drug abuse rates remain fairly steady over the last decade.
Mixing different types of prescription drugs can be especially dangerous. For example, opioids interact with benzodiazepines and increase the risk of overdose. Combining opioids with alcohol can worsen breathing problems and lead to death.
If you’re taking commonly abused prescription drugs, here are some ways to reduce your risk of developing an addiction.
Options for treating prescription drug abuse vary depending on the type of drug used and your individual needs. Psychotherapy or counseling is usually the main component of prescription drug addiction treatment. Medically supervised withdrawal due to detoxification (detoxification) might also be required as well as withdrawal medication and recovery support.
Depending on the drug and how often it’s used, detox might be needed as part of prescription drug addiction treatment. Withdrawal from prescription drugs can be dangerous and should be done with medical monitoring.
Opioid tapering means slowly decreasing the dose of opioids you take until it’s not used anymore. Medications such as clonidine can help manage opioid withdrawal symptoms. Buprenorphine, Suboxone, or methadone might be used under specific legally regulated conditions to ease symptoms of withdrawal.
If you’ve used sedatives of anti-anxiety drugs for a long time, it might take weeks to slowly taper off from them. You may also need other medications to stabilize your mood, manage the final days of tapering, or help with anxiety. You need to work closely with medical supervision.
Unfortunately, there aren’t any FDA-approved drugs for treating stimulant withdrawal. Typically, treatment focuses on tapering and relieving withdrawal symptoms like sleep problems, tiredness, and depression.
A licensed drug and alcohol counselor or addiction specialist can provide group, individual, and family counseling. In addition, therapists can provide you with different behavioral therapies which have been shown to be highly effective in treating SUD.
These treatment methods can help you:
Of course, the length and type of treatment program depend on your needs and requirements. Treatment facilities frequently offer several levels of care including:
Talk to your healthcare provider if you think you’ve abused prescription drugs and now suffer from dependency or addiction. Don’t be embarrassed to talk about it. Medical professionals are trained to help you, not judge you. And it’s easier to tackle a problem early on before it becomes an addiction and causes more serious problems.
If you or someone close to you has developed a problem with prescription drug abuse or addiction, there is a prescription drug addiction treatment program for you here in Manchester, NH.
Live Free Recovery Services in Manchester, NH can provide you with a comprehensive program designed specifically for your issues. Our staff is compassionate, experienced, professionally trained, and dedicated to helping people just like you. Contact us today and live your life free of addiction.
References:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/prescription-drug