Prescription drug addiction can happen when people take more of their prescription drugs than prescribed, take them for longer than needed, or abuse them in some other way.
Prescription drug use is the leading cause of prescription drug addiction, an issue that acts as a precursor to addictions to more severe drugs, like heroin.
If you or a loved one are facing an addiction to your medication, help is available. At Harmony Treatment and Wellness, we offer intensive treatment programs to help you quit prescription drug abuse, reach wellness, and enter recovery.
What Is Considered Prescription Drug Addiction?
To understand prescription addiction, you need to know what prescription drug abuse is. Prescription drugs require a medical prescription from a qualified healthcare provider and are obtained at pharmacies.
They are not over-the-counter drugs. One of the definitions of drug abuse is using medication without a qualified prescription.
Prescription drug abuse is also using medication in a way for which it wasn’t prescribed. An example of when people abuse prescription drugs is trying to alter a mental state (getting high).
This misuse of prescription drugs can lead to addiction and compulsive, obsessive seeking and taking prescription drugs despite these substances causing harmful effects.
Harmony Treatment and Wellness offers recovery programs to help our clients break addictive behaviors in order to restore their health and wellness.
What Are the Causes of Prescription Drug Addiction?
There is not a single cause of prescription drug addiction. The direct cause is due to the way these medications affect the brain and body, leading to brain changes that cause a person to continue to abuse them and, eventually, become addicted.
Yet addiction tends to result from multiple contributing factors, also known as risk factors, that make a person more likely to develop an addiction.
Here are the most common contributing factors that lead to prescription drug addiction:
- Pain management: More than 30% of Americans have acute or chronic pain due to health problems. Because of this, opioid analgesics are the most common prescription medicines in the U.S.
- Unaware of addictive nature: People may be unaware of how addictive prescription drugs can become. Some may think that these drugs are safe because their healthcare provider prescribed them. Patient education is necessary to inform about the benefits and risks of prescription drugs.
- Mental health disorders: Conditions like anxiety or depression may cause people to self-medicate. People who self-medicate may not understand prescription drug addiction risks.
- Genetics: The brain’s receptors can make you more susceptible to addiction. This is due to how these drugs work on your central nervous system and reward pathways, producing pleasurable feelings and replacing your natural feel-good chemical production.
Who Is at Risk for Prescription Drug Addiction?
Prescription drugs are addictive across ages, genders, social class, and race. Anyone can become addicted to prescription drugs.
However, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the rates of prescription drug abuse and addiction are greatest among 18 to 25-year-olds.
Other facts about substance use disorders involving prescriptions include:
- 14.3 million people reported misusing prescription drugs in 2021.
- Of those, 3.7 million people reported misusing prescription stimulants.
- 4.9 million reported misusing prescription tranquilizers or sedatives.
- 3.9 million reported abusing benzodiazepines (a form of CNS depressants).
- 8.7 million struggled with prescription pain relief abuse (opiates).
- Women are more likely to misuse prescription drugs, particularly opioids due to medical conditions causing chronic pain.
- Stimulant-involved overdose deaths increased faster among Black/African American, American Indian, and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations compared to all other racial/ethnic groups.
- Opioid overdose death rates have taken a great toll in Black/African American communities, with individual overdose deaths increasing by 38% from 2018 to 2019 in four U.S. states
- Overdose rates for other racial/ethnic groups decreased or stayed the same in these states.
What Are the Warning Signs of Prescription Drug Addiction ?
Prescription drug addiction affects people mentally, physically, and behaviorally. Knowing the warning signs can help you get help for yourself or a loved one when needed.
Signs of prescription drug abuse include:
- Feeling that taking the drug is necessary
- Getting cravings when not taking it
- Taking higher doses
- Taking your prescription in ways not prescribed, like crushing and snorting it
- Going to multiple doctors to get a prescription
- Spending a lot of money to get the medication
- Neglecting finances to get the drug
- Shirking responsibilities
- Not paying attention to health or hygiene
- Neglecting personal appearance
- Track marks (in people abusing prescriptions via injection)
- Sleep loss
- Dilated or pinpoint pupils
- Mood swings
- Hostility, irritability, and agitation
- Changes in eating patterns
- Job loss
- Poor school performance
If someone you love is showing signs of prescription drug addiction, contact Harmony Treatment and Wellness Today to learn how we can help.
List of Common Prescription Drugs That Cause Addiction
Several classes of prescription medications cause addiction. Harmony Treatment and Wellness can help you overcome these addictions and address the mental health issues or healthcare issues they were prescribed to treat.
Common prescription addictions we treat include:
- Opioids: Drugs that block pain. These include oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin, Norco), codeine, fentanyl, buprenorphine, methadone, and tramadol.
- Benzodiazepines: Anti-anxiety medications. Common benzodiazepines are alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium), lorazepam (Ativan), clonazepam (Klonopin), and temazepam (Restoril).
- Stimulants: Used to treat conditions like ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and narcolepsy. The most common are amphetamines like Adderall (dextroamphetamine) and Ritalin. Concerta, Vyvanse, and methylphenidate are other stimulants.
- Sedative-Hypnotics: Also called z-drugs, as they help with sleep and relaxation. Common sedative-hypnotics are zolpidem (Ambien) and eszopiclone (Lunesta) and zaleplon (Sonata).
- Barbiturates: Used for sedatives and anti-seizure medications. These include phenobarbital, secobarbital (Seconal), and amobarbital (Amytal Sodium).
Complications of Untreated Prescription Drug Addiction
Complications of untreated prescription drug addiction vary by drug type. Here are a few side effects and complications you can expect with continued prescription drug abuse:
- Opioid addiction effects: constipation, overdose, respiratory depression, liver damage, infections, and death.
- Benzodiazepine effects: cognitive impairment, memory issues, severe withdrawal symptoms including seizures, emotional instability, and increased risk of accidents.
- Stimulant effects: cardiovascular problems such as high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attack; anxiety, paranoia, psychosis; and weight loss/malnutrition.
- Barbiturate effects: serious health conditions such as respiratory issues, coma, increased risk of accidents, and life-threatening withdrawal symptoms.
- Sleep aid effects: memory problems, sleepwalking, respiratory distress, and worsening of sleep disorders.
At Harmony Treatment and Wellness, we work to help you heal from these long-term effects and restore full-body wellness. That way, you are set up for success in addiction recovery.
Prescription Drug Addiction Treatment Options in Stuart, Florida
Here at Harmony Treatment and Wellness recovery center in Stuart, Florida, we provide evidence-based care to help you rid your body of excess prescription drugs and learn ways to stay drug-free long-term.
Here are our most effective recovery programs for prescription drug addiction.
The outpatient medical detox program at Harmony begins with a medical and psychiatric assessment. This determines if you need medications and the dosage that will work best.
All medication administration is closely supervised by our licensed and certified staff members. Other services to support you are routine vital checks (such as body temperature and blood pressure), individual treatment sessions with qualified clinicians, and nutritional focus.
The goal of detox is to break your physical dependence on prescriptions, so you can move on to formal treatment.
Harmony Treatment And Wellness Center offers a medication-assisted treatment solution to people who have found it hard to achieve long-term sobriety in abstinence-based programs.
We use medications that are clinically proven to counter drug use. Naltrexone, Vivitrol, and Suboxone are the three options available for opioid or alcohol addiction.
At Harmony, we offer multiple outpatient program choices for you or your loved one.
Here are our outpatient options for addiction:
- Partial hospitalization: intensive therapy, support, and education that takes place 3-5 days a week for up to six hours per day
- Intensive outpatient: slightly less intensive treatment with similar services to PHP that helps you work toward more independence in recovery. Both day and evening options are offered.
- Outpatient services: offered as needed once you complete more intensive treatments to help you stay the path of recovery.
Harmony offers a variety of therapies for you or your family members. Therapy can take place one-on-one or in a group. There are many different goals in therapy, like working on your individual issues, receiving support, or learning skills and coping methods to prevent relapse.
Here are therapies we offer to address prescription drug addiction and co-occurring mental health issues:
- 12-step facilitation therapy, or group therapy that encourages you to surrender to a higher power
- Cognitive behavioral therapy, or talk therapy to help people with mental health disorders or substance abuse issues become aware of negative thought patterns and better manage stressful situations.
- Trauma recovery/EMDR therapy that addresses trauma which may be hindering recovery.
- Adventure therapy which utilizes exciting activities to build confidence and enhance mindset.
- Family counseling to heal family issues that act as a barrier in recovery.
- Education workshops to support your recovery.
Prescription drug addiction isn’t just in the body, so healing the mind is critical to full recovery. Our clinicians are trained to help with both substance abuse and mental health issues.
Realizing prescription drug addiction doesn’t have one origin and cause, we treat a combination of several factors causing your addiction.
Our treatment centers address both the body and the mind. We treat all patients with strict confidentiality and respect for their life paths.
Now is the perfect time to begin to heal!
Find Prescription Drug Treatment at Harmony Treatment and Wellness
Prescription drug addiction can cause misery in your life and life-threatening consequences. At Harmony Treatment and Wellness, we treat your addiction with compassion and empathy.
Whether it is opioids, sleeping aids, stimulants, or other prescription addictions, our staff is ready to help you conquer it.
Find the right prescription drug addiction treatment at Harmony Treatment and Wellness and start your journey toward recovery and healing. Contact us today.
Prescription Drug Addiction FAQs
Opioids are the most-abused prescription drug type, with almost 50,000 people dying every year from opioid overdoses.
Over ten million people misuse opioids as prescription painkillers in a year.
Yes, prescription drug abuse can lead to illicit drug use. An example is that opioid misuse can lead to misuse of drugs like heroin
If you become addicted to your prescription, you should contact your healthcare provider to find resources and treatment programs to help you stop your addiction.
A healthcare provider should help you find a recovery center to help you break free from addiction.
Sources
- American Family Physician. “Benzodiazepine Use Disorder: Common Questions and Answers.” Retrieved from https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2023/0900/benzodiazepine-use-disorder.html Accessed on October 21, 2024.
- American Family Physician. “Risks Associated with Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use.” Retrieved from https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2013/0815/p224.html Accessed on October 21, 2024.
- Cleveland Clinic. “Addiction: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms, Types & Treatment”. Retrieved from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/6407-addiction. Accessed on October 19, 2024
- Cleveland Clinic. “Barbiturates: Definition, Types, Uses, Side Effects & Abuse” Retrieved from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/23271-barbiturates Accessed on October 21, 2024.
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). “How is heroin linked to prescription drug misuse?” (n.d.). Retrieved from https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/heroin/how-heroin-linked-to-prescription-drug-misuse Accessed on October 21, 2024.
- National Library of Medicine. “Gender differences in prescription opioid use.” Current Opinion in Psychiatry. Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5675036/ Accessed on October 21, 2024.
- National Library of Medicine. “Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders by Race and Ethnicity, 2015-2019—NCBI Bookshelf.” Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK606603/ Accessed on October 21, 2024.
- New England Journal of Medicine. “Opioid Abuse in Chronic Pain—Misconceptions and Mitigation Strategies.” Retrieved from https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1507771 Accessed on October 21, 2024.
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