If you are worried about a friend or loved one abusing prescription drugs, you aren’t alone. The use and abuse of prescription drugs has amplified in the last 20 years.
According to the Center for Disease Control, narcotic prescription use rose 1,000 percent in the U.S. between 1990 and 2009. As well, nationally we experienced a 500 percent increase in the number of prescription narcotic-related deaths.
Psychiatrist and author, Stephen Seager, wrote an article on the dangers of abusing prescription health meds. In this article he states, in an effort to treat pain more effectively and with the advent of may newer forms of opiod (narcotic) pain relievers – Oxycontin, Lortab, Methadone, Percodan, Percocet, Tramadol, Fentanyl – millions of Americans now take these medications on a regular basis for a wide range of diagnoses. While generally meant for short-term use, opiate pain medications have slowly been used for longer periods and for many ailments previously untreated with narcotics. While some benefit has been noted, an unfortunate, tragic consequence ensued.
We find ourselves in the midst of what the U.S. government and many state health agencies have called an accelerating “epidemic of prescription drug misuse, addiction and overdose.” This new narcotic epidemic seems to be almost the exclusive province of middle-age and older people. The number of narcotic overdose cases peaks in the 34-54 age group, while the total number of people who overdose in their 60s, 70s and 80s has doubed in the past five years. Before you or some one you love becomes a statistic, be aware of the seven sure signs of narcotic addiction and impending problems.
• Has a trusted loved one or family member expressed concern about your prescription opiate use?
• Do you have more than one doctor who prescribes the same medication? Or multiple prescriptions from multiple providers?
• Do you have medications secretly hidden in more than one location around your home?
• Have you taken these medications on a regular basis for more than two weeks? Or a month?
• Do these medications help you to function? Have you returned to work? If not, why? What tasks do the medications help you to perform? If you cannot answer these questions and you continue taking opiates, this is a very dangerous sign.
• Take a step back and look at your life since you began taking opiate medications. Are things getting better or worse? Have bad things begun to happen? Lose your job? Wreck your car? Divorce? Arrest?
• Last, and most importantly, have you ever been admitted to a hospital, for any reason, due to prescription drug use?
Solutions to the national prescription opiate problem are elusive and multi-factorial. But two issues stand out. Doctors give these medications too liberally, for longer periods than are warranted and for pain issues that might better be treated by other modalities. But patients ask for these medications specifically and often insist upon them. More education on both parts seems to be in order.
If these medications are part of your life or the life of someone about whom you care, take a look at the issue of opiate use. Be honest. Talk with your family. Talk with your doctor. Ask if there aren’t other less dangerous medications that might also be effective. Ask if there are other treatment options — physical therapy, acupuncture, support groups — which might allow you to talk a lower dose of narcotic medications or perhaps wean off them entirely. And, equally importantly, discuss whether a formal drug detox and rehabilitation program might be needed.
Stephen Seager is a psychiatrist and author of “The God Gene: The Promise of Prometheus.” Please click here for more information.
