Overcoming Prescription Medication Addiction
NIDA Weighs In
The National Institute on Drug Abuse pinpoints just how bad prescription
Why Does Addiction to Prescription Medications Happen?
You are in a car accident. You have a bad injury requiring surgery. Your doctor prescribes painkillers to alleviate the pain. However, the injury leads to chronic back pain, leading you to continue using the painkillers in increasing amounts.
This is a typical situation with painkiller addiction. Here is another one:
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In any situation, prescription drug addiction is highly dangerous. It leads to several complications:
- Tolerance: Many types of prescription drugs, including opioids that work as painkillers, cause tolerance. That means you need to use more of the drug over time to get the same results from it. The more you take, the higher the risks are for
overdose. - Dependence: The drug changes the way the brain and body communicate, leading to a triggering of the pleasure center in the brain. As this occurs, your body becomes dependent on the drug, wanting more and more of it. You cannot stop using.
- Addiction: Addiction forms when you recognize that continuing to use the medication is risky and puts you in danger in some way. Nevertheless, you continue to do so.
Because of the risks associated with prescription medication abuse, most doctors recommend not taking these medications for longer than required and, whenever possible, to avoid using them if alternative options can work just as well.
How to Stop Using Prescription Medications Safely
The key to remember is that not all prescription drugs create these risks. The most commonly abused drugs (those that create addiction) according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse include:
- Opioids: These are used to treat pain, including both chronic (long-lasting) and acute pain
- Stimulants: These drugs are used to treat conditions such as ADHD
- Central Nervous System Depressants: These drugs work to treat sleep disorders and anxiety (they include sedatives, hypnotics, and tranquilizers)
If you are taking any of these drugs, do not just stop doing so. Speak to your doctor first. Ask for alternatives. Discuss your concerns about addiction.
How Do You Know You Have a Prescription Drug Addiction?
The other complication with prescription
- Running out of your prescription before you should
- Craving more of the drugs before your next dose is due
- Needing to purchase drugs illicitly
- Using prescriptions that are not yours
- Feeling anxious about the drug if you don’t use it
If you experience withdrawal when you do not have access to the prescription medication, that could be a sign of an addiction. Again, do not simply stop taking the medication.
How Is Prescription Drug Addiction Treated?
At Victory Addiction
We offer
Some people do not need
You may also benefit from outpatient therapy and an intensive outpatient program. Over time, our
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