Treatment of Prescription Drug Addiction

One of the most common forms of addiction in the United States and Canada is that of prescription drug addiction. This type of addiction can be particularly difficult to treat because the addict will often insist that they are justified in taking their large doses of prescription medications. After all, they were prescribed by their doctor. Or several of their doctors. Denial is king here.

Doctor shopping is a common occurrence with prescription drug addicts. If one doctor does not give them what they want, they go to the next doctor. Usually, if the doctor tries to set limits with the amount or frequency of a medication, or stop it altogether, the patient will become irate. If the doctor gives in, great! If not, it's off to the next doctor's office.

Even though they had to "shop for it", somehow getting the prescription is like a justification for taking the medication. "My doctor told me I need this. It's not that high of a dose". "Obviously I need it or the doctor wouldn't have prescribed it to me". Yet, when you look at the person's life, you see it falling apart at the seams. They are a shadow of the person they once were. Relationships are failing. Their job is faltering. Their marriage is full of strife. They no longer seem like the happy and productive person they once were.

As you can see, one of the first steps in treating prescription drug addiction is to get through the denial aspect. Next, you must begin to detox the person off of the prescription drugs. Drug detox for each individual drug has to be considered. With prescription drug addiction, usually there is more than one drug involved.

Experienced professionals are needed to tackle the difficult issues that occur in the early stages of prescription drug addiction. The best drug rehabs are able to offer a holistic, individualized approach to both the drug detox and the subsequent addiction treatment. Denial might be king with prescription drug addiction. But denial, in this case, will eventually kill you.

"Pharm Parties".... prescription drugs and college students

The Wall Street Journal reported this morning on a trendy but disturbing phenomenon called "Pharm Parties" at college campuses across the U.S. Instead of the traditional "kegger" (or in addition to the keg of beer), the students b.y.o.p. (bring your own pharmaceuticals) to the party and mix them in a big bowl and eat them like candy. Tragically, it is not surprising that there has been an increase in fatal unintentional overdoses recently that is 4 to 5 times that of what was seen in the black tar heroin epidemic of the 1970's!

There has been an alarming increase in narcotic drug use among college students of late. The annual prevelance of narcotic drug use among college students now stands at 8.8% according to the University of Michigan study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Specifically, the annual prevelance of OxyContin use doubled to 3%; the use of Vicodin rose to 7.6%.

What makes these drugs so available? Teens and young adults may be prescribed pain killers at one time or another and have saved them up. Mom and Dad's medicine cabinet or from a friend are other sources. Narcotics are much more widely available, in part, due to the soaring rates at which narcotics have been prescribed. Online pharmacies have sprung up by the thousands and offer additional impersonal access to narcotics.

Not only do you not know what you are taking when you reach into a bowl of narcotics, but people generally don't realize how addictive these pharmaceuticals can be. Repeated use by students, in particular those who may already have a genetic predisposition to addiction, can quickly lead to addiction.

What to watch for if you suspect something with a friend or with your child? Obviously, disappearing medications from the home medicine cabinet. A quickly disappearing bank account or going through money unusually quickly. A drop in grades, loss of interest in activities that used to interest them, a change in friends, unusual mood swings, lying behaviors, stealing, and personality changes.

If your friend or family member is suffering from any of these behavior changes, it is important to get help for them. Addiction and other mood disorders are very common and can have lethal consequences if they are not treated. Best to go with your gut instinct and err on the side of getting an evaluation with a mental health professional than doing nothing and risk losing a loved one.

John Neuhaus, M.D.