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Information on Pill Abuse
Information on Pill Abuse
The abuse of prescription pill medication is a serious public health concern. Prescription medications such as pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives are very useful treatment tools but sometimes people do not take them as directed and can become addicted (chemically dependent). Non medical use of prescription pill medications like opioids, central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and stimulants can lead to abuse and addiction, characterized
by compulsive drug seeking and use.
While many prescription pill medications can be abused or misused, these three classes are the most common:
- Opioids - often prescribed to treat pain
- CNS Depressants - used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders
- Stimulants - prescribed to treat narcolepsy and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Opiate pill abuse
Chronic use of opiate pills can result in tolerance to the medications so that higher doses must be taken to obtain the same initial effects. Long-term use also can lead to physical dependence, the body adapts to the presence of the substance and withdrawal symptoms occur if use is reduced abruptly. Individuals taking prescribed opioids medications should not only be given these medications under appropriate medical supervision, but also should be medically
supervised when stopping use in order to reduce or avoid withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms of withdrawal can include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps (cold turkey). Opioids drugs, such as oxycodone, work primarily through their interaction with the opioid receptors, especially in the brain and spinal cord. When activated, these receptors mediate the drugs' analgesic effects. However, they also
mediate the ability to produce the euphoric state. Moreover, opioids like oxycodone have similarities to virtually every other drug of abuse, including nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, in that they elevate levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain pathways that control the experience of pleasure.
Stimulate pill abuse
Stimulants increase alertness, attention, and energy, which are accompanied by increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration. Historically, stimulants were used to treat asthma and other respiratory problems, obesity, neurological disorders, and a variety of other ailments. As their potential for abuse and addiction became apparent, the use of stimulants began to wane. Now, stimulants are prescribed for treating only a few health conditions, including
narcolepsy, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and depression that has not responded to other treatments. Stimulants may also be used for short-term treatment of obesity and for patients with asthma. The consequences of stimulant abuse can be extremely dangerous. Taking high doses of a stimulant can result in an irregular heartbeat, dangerously high body temperatures, and/or the potential for cardiovascular failure or seizures. Taking high
doses of some stimulants repeatedly over a short period of time can lead to hostility or feelings of paranoia in some individuals. Stimulants should not be mixed with antidepressants or over-the-counter cold medicines containing decongestants. Antidepressants may enhance the effects of a stimulant, and stimulants in combination with decongestants may cause blood pressure to become dangerously high or lead to irregular heart rhythms.
Depressant pill abuse
Despite their many beneficial effects, barbiturates and benzodiazepines have the potential for abuse and should be used only as prescribed. During the first few days of taking a prescribed depressant, a person usually feels sleepy and uncoordinated, but as the body becomes accustomed to the effects of the drug, these feelings begin to disappear. If one uses these drugs long term, the body will develop tolerance for the drugs, and larger doses will be needed
to achieve the same initial effects. In addition, continued use can lead to physical dependence and - when use is reduced or stopped - withdrawal. Because all depressants work by slowing the brain's activity, when an individual stops taking them, the brain's activity can rebound and race out of control, possibly leading to seizures and other harmful consequences. Although withdrawal from benzodiazepines can be problematic, it is rarely life threatening,
whereas withdrawal from prolonged use of other depressants can have life-threatening complications. Therefore, someone who is thinking about discontinuing depressant therapy or who is suffering withdrawal from a depressant should speak with a physician or seek medical treatment. Prolonged use of these drugs eventually changes the brain in fundamental and long-lasting ways, explaining why people cannot just quit on their own, and why treatment is essential.
In effect, pill abuse take over the brain's normal pleasure and motivational systems, moving drug use to the highest priority in the individual's motivational hierarchy, thereby overriding all other motivations and drives. These brain changes, then, are responsible for the compulsion to seek and use drugs that we have come to define as addiction. This is likely the state people are in when they are reportedly "doctor shopping", feigning illnesses,
and stealing from pharmacies. |
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