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Prescription Drug Addiction
Prescription
drug addiction is often misunderstood. You may
be addicted and not even know it. For example,
what may have started as a prescription of
painkillers for a minor back injury two years
ago has turned into a full blown addiction that
you can’t stop even though the injury is healed.
Careful consideration should go into whether or
not a person is addicted to prescription drugs.
There is usually a good reason of why a doctor
would prescribe you or anyone else a medication.
The question isn’t whether or not the drug is
legal, the question is: Are you abusing it?
Usually an
addicted person doesn’t realize they are
addicted until the dosage is reduced. Sometimes
they will go to any length to increase their
dosage so they can feel normal again or get the
desired high. Many people justify their
prescription drug abuse by realizing the
differences between a street drug addict, who
uses hard drugs like cocaine or heroin, and
themselves who are only taking medications that
the doctor has legally approved and prescribed.
As with any addiction, it takes an honest look
into ones own life to see if there really is a
problem.
Other than
the obvious extreme behaviors of prescription
drug addiction like falsifying prescriptions or
stealing other people’s medications, sometimes
our addictions are obvious to other people but
may not be so obvious to us. Asking a close
friend or family member their thoughts on the
matter may give us some insight, but not always.
The only
true test is whether or not you can take it as
it is exactly prescribed without craving more.
Thinking about it honestly, do you find yourself
taking extra because what worked before may not
be working now? If you are telling your doctor
half-truths about discomforts or pain levels, or
lying to get more medication, you may have a
serious problem. Maybe you are shopping around
to various doctors to get more of the same
prescription because a single doctor just won’t
do it for you. If you are over medicating
yourself frequently and refilling the
prescription earlier than prescribed, you may
have a problem. Maybe you have noticed periods
of time or events that are hard to remember or
you may not remember them at all. Maybe you find
it hard to leave the prescription completely
alone when its purpose has been served and is no
longer needed. Yet, you find yourself refilling
the prescription and taking the medication again
and again. These are behaviors of an addicted
person.
The
addictive qualities of many pain killers are
very high. Doctors are aware of this, making it
harder for the general population to
overmedicate itself. Physical tolerance can
quickly build against many of the prescription
drugs on the market today. Possibly the levels
that may have worked for you in the past aren’t
working now and you are taking higher doses than
required to get the same effect.
Trade names like Valium and Xanax
are familiar to most people and are two of the
most abused prescription drugs around and two of
the hardest to stop. For a long time user and
considering the type of drug and daily dosage,
stopping cold turkey could result in serious
damage to the brain, neurological disorders,
seizures, convulsions and possibly death.
Stopping by yourself is not recommended. As
with any prescription medications, a medical
detox may be required before starting a
treatment program.
By: Patrick McLemore
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