Understanding the signs of RX addiction

Addiction is a disease of the brain, and not a personal choice. The disease of addiction affects some people more intensely than others. This means that consuming opioid painkillers, stimulants, or central nervous system depressants can lead to addiction without warning.

What signs do you look for to learn if your pattern of prescription drug consumption is abusive in nature? If you take larger doses than your doctor recommends if you take pills even when you don’t experience the symptoms that your doctor prescribes those pills for, if you find yourself running out of pills sooner than you would if you went by your prescription, or if you find yourself calling the doctor for refills sooner than your prescriptions indicate, you may safely assume that you’ve been indulging in prescription drug abuse, and need help.

CALL LEGACY HEALING CENTER 24/7 TO SPEAK WITH AN INTAKE SPECIALIST. CALLS ARE COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL.

Why RX addiction is on the rise

Statistics show that American pharmacies filled about 75 million prescriptions for opioid painkillers in the year 1991, but that this number tripled to about 220 million prescriptions by the year 2011. During this period, doctors were encouraged by pharmaceutical corporations to prescribe opioid painkillers for simple, painful conditions such as sprains, a practice that put too many opioids into the hands of too many people. Interestingly, the number of deaths attributed to opioid overdoses tripled in this period, as well. A study published in JAMA Psychiatry in 2014, called The changing face of heroin use in the United States: a retrospective analysis of the past 50 years, attributes the rise in prescription drug addiction to ready availability.

The most abused RX medications

Prescription medications tend to be subject to abuse when they deliver a widely desired side-effect. Barbiturates such as Nembutal and Phenobarbital, benzodiazepines such as Valium and Xanax, and sleep medications such as Ambien and Sonata, can deliver mild euphoria and a sense of well-being. Pain relievers such as codeine, methadone, fentanyl, Percocet and Vicodin deliver a pleasant lowering of the consciousness. Stimulants such as Adderall, Concerta, and Ritalin have the opposite effect and can deliver alertness and focus.

These medications used to be easily available by prescription at one time, and now, in a time of tightened prescription practices, are pushed by drug vendors on the street.

CALL LEGACY HEALING CENTER 24/7 TO SPEAK WITH AN INTAKE SPECIALIST. CALLS ARE COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL.

The dangers of RX addiction

Substance abuse may deliver desirable effects in the short term, but they turn risky very quickly. It’s important to understand why substance abuse leads to overdose deaths in so many cases: it is hard for anyone to judge how much of a drug to consume without sending the brain into a coma, and the body into respiratory collapse. One error in judgment can be all it takes for things to go badly wrong.

Other dangers commonly associated with prescription drug abuse include choosing to drive while under the influence, and, the ever-present risk of addiction. Once addiction sets in, these drugs can bring about permanent structural changes in the brain that cannot be undone. In rehab, when you work hard to escape addiction, you don’t actually cure it; instead, you learn avoidance strategies. Once you become addicted, you essentially struggle with the condition of life. Prescription medicines are simply not worth playing around with.

While it may be tempting to believe that you can quit drugs on your own, without rehab, it’s important to give your attempt the best shot possible. This is something only a well-planned rehab program can offer. Quitting drugs in the short term is only one part of rehab. Most of the rehab, instead, is aimed at offering patients psychological and psychiatric therapy to help them address the conditions that lie at the root of their addictions. It is a therapeutic intervention that delivers people successfully from addiction in the long run.

Sober-friendly attractions near Coral Springs

Coral Springs is a wonderful location to choose and experience what is rehab like. Not only are you close to wonderful beaches and nature centers to explore whenever you feel like it, businesses in the area host a vast number of interesting events and activities on a regular basis, as well. Documentary screenings, karaoke nights, couples’ events, standup comedy, music performances and other entertainment features on a daily basis. All you need to do is to check a local event calendar and find out what kind of clean, sober fun you can have at the end each day, when you’ve put in a good deal of work into getting better, and are ready to enjoy all that life has to offer.

Legacy Healing Center, in Coral Springs, offers high-quality, evidence-based rehab treatment in line with the best that modern addiction medicine has to offer. When you come to Legacy, you can be confident that you receive scientifically proven treatment that helps you get better and helps you return to your life stronger, and better than ever.