There a clear rise in the amount of prescription drug addiction cases reported yearly. Getting addicted to prescription drugs really nothing new, but with the introduction of more modified molecules of old favorites, the choices have increased tremendously. Opiate analgesics are the worst offenders simply because they are opiates and are close to street-obtained opiates.
For example, oxycodone which an opiate analgesic formulated Percocet, Percodan, OxyContin, Combunox. These are just the popular brands; lots more are available, especially from online pharmacies. These drugs may regulated, but they not too difficult to obtain. People placed on oxycodone can abuse it to get better pain relief or get high. Oxycodone is available in liquid, tablet, and capsule forms, and its addict also takes chew, crush, inhale, snort, and inject it for faster action. The drug molecule blocks pain receptors in the brain and along the spinal cord. It also produces stimulatory effects similar to opiates like morphine. And like morphine, the body develops a tolerance to it, which drives those who abuse it to take higher doses and become opiate addicts.
A prescription drug abused when it taken when it not prescribed when taken in higher than therapeutic doses those for whom it prescribed. Most prescription drugs abused are pain relievers, stimulants, tranquilizers, and sedatives. They strong psychotropic compounds used to manage deep pain and treat mental illness.
Taking prescription opiates can, in unapproved, high doses, lead to drowsiness, constipation, depressed respiration, cardiac events, coma, and death. Most people addicted to prescription drugs rarely take one of such drugs only. Because the body has developed a tolerance to one, it is common for addicts to spike one drug with another in the hope of achieving a synergistic psychotropic effect. This is a dangerous practice that often precedes fatalities.
When two drugs combined, they can block or potentiate each other’s effects. This can be the amplification of an indicated response or a side effect. Worse, and as is often the case, the two drugs combined produce cross-amplification leading to a complex of symptoms that accelerate each other.
Opiate addiction is really no different from prescription drug addiction. Both cause the disruption of normal body functions, and both are difficult to reverse. Prescription drug addicts should not taken off those drugs totally and immediately. Instead, the doses of the prescription drug should tapered off until there are no withdrawal symptoms. Similarly, detoxing a prescription drug addict can require replacement with another drug, such as methadone.
Replacement drugs are not the only component of prescription drug detox. Drug rehab centers often provide other forms of therapies to help addicts understand their addiction, address the root causes and overcome their habitual recourse to prescription drugs. Adjunct therapies to methadone will include counseling sessions, individual, group, and family therapies, and meeting with self-help groups.
Full detox from a prescription drug is achievable by following methadone replacement and adjunct care from qualified professionals, friends, and family. However, the path to improving the patient’s quality of life and kicking prescription drug addiction begins with recognizing the addiction and deciding to overcome it.
