Precsription Drug Addiction, Same as Any Drug Addiction
When one conjures up the image of an addict, they are more often than not predisposed to see him or her as a common “street junkie”, spiking their veins with hypodermic needles; or, one is given to think of the cocaine-addled businessman, snorting up in the bathroom to get him through all-nighters and fly-by-night business deals. They think of famous actors and musicians, from John Belushi to Jim Morrison to Curt Cobain to McKenzie Phillips, strung out or overdosing in hotel rooms. But the truth is actually quite different. Drug addicts come in all shapes, ages, and sizes and many don’t have to go to the street corner and see a dealer to get high. They merely have to go to their local pharmacy, and hand in their RX. It should be remembered, Elvis Presley did not die by lethal speed ball; he dies of prescription drug addiction. It is only now becoming clear how epidemic the problem of prescription drug addiction has become.
By the turn of the millennium, it was projected by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that nearly nine million Americans were using prescription drugs for non-medical purposes. One recent study performed by the National Center on Drug Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University showed that nearly half of primary care physicians have reported problems dealing with their patients’ substance abuse. The problem has gotten to the point where physicians are leading training seminars on how better to deal with the question of patient prescription drug addiction.
Drugs like OxyContin (oxycodone), a controlled substance used to treat chronic-to-severe pain, have been in the news because of several fatalities associated with their use; as well as the high-profile drug addiction to the drug (and drugs like it) cited by celebrities like Michael Jackson and David Guest. OxyContin, a narcotic that acts like morphine, is composed of high-doses of oxycodone, and was believed to be safe because of its twelve-hour time release. However, if anything has been proven over the years, it is that anything can be abused; whether crack cocaine, Robitusin, or Flintstones Vitamins.
One of the more dangerous aspects of prescription drug addiction is the lack of stigma associated. People are not inclined to see drugs their trusty pharmacists give them as controlled substances; and so do not hear the alarm bells going off when the addiction takes hold. As well, the practice of “doctor shopping“, consulting another professional when your doctor has caught on to your addiction, has become the norm for prescription drug addicts. A person in desperate need for a nose job will always find a plastic surgeon they can manipulate into putting them under the knife; likewise the prescription drug addict can find a doctor willing to write their RX.
Although the FDA has strengthened their warnings for drugs like OxyContin, the need for prescription medications and thus the potential for addiction has not subsided. Both Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash had legitimate medical ailments while overseas in the Service which required the use of prescription pain killers, and both were unable to resist the pull of addiction once other factors influenced their use of the drugs. The threshold one crosses from the simple alleviation of pain to the salving of emotional wounds with such drugs is all too subtle and perilous for many who take them.
However, there are precautions prescription drug users can take to moderate their use of controlled substances: Follow the directions on the bottle or pillbox carefully, never increase your dose without consulting your physician, always inform your doctor about your past history of drug addiction, if you have one.
We understand it is not always easy to keep tabs on your growing addiction, or manage the use of controlled substances. For many, the need to narcotize is too difficult to resist. If you believe there is even an infinitesimal chance you are developing a dependency on controlled substances, no matter what; you should not hesitate to call us.
Many prescription drug users are ashamed to find themselves in a clinic, where they will be in the presence of those they believe to be “real” addicts; people addicted to more conventional illegal substances such as heroin or cocaine. They should remember that both drugs were once used to treat physical ailments and that once alcohol, perhaps the most widespread physical and emotional addiction this country suffers from, was once a domestic cure-all for minor ailments. You may find it impossible to believe that you too are a drug abuser; your dependency on prescription meds no different than that of the heroin addict who takes to the street to spike his vein.
For help with prescription drug addiction call, the national addiction helpline at 1-800-511-9225.
