Posts tagged ‘Addiction’

Causes of Pain Killer Addiction among Teenagers

Teenage painkiller drug abuse is one of the major health concerns in US as many of the teenagers are getting addicted to these harmful drugs. According to a NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) report, about 5.3 million were current abusers of painkillers in 2009. About 1 in 10 high school children were abusing painkiller, Vicodin and about 1 in 20 reported using OxyContin for non-medical purposes.

The teenagers experience a high or euphoric effect for the first time as they intake painkillers. They may start taking these drugs in order to experience these effects but later, it may lead them to addiction. There are numerous causes of painkiller addiction among the teenagers like influence of other people, escape and self-medication, boredom, rebellion, instant gratification, lack of confidence, misinformation etc. Each of these can contribute to a life-long habit of taking painkillers.

Teen painkiller addiction involves non-narcotic and narcotic painkillers
In order to get relieved from emotional and physical pain, teens get addicted to non-narcotic and narcotic painkillers. Non-narcotic painkillers are the over-the-counter medications, but they can also be prescription drugs. They are very easily accessible by the teenagers which may lead to drug abuse. Narcotic painkillers are mainly used for chronic illnesses or they are prescribed to the people who are severely injured or while dealing with a surgery. Commonly abused painkillers are Opiates like Vicodin, Codeine, OxyContin and Demerol.

Causes for teen painkiller addiction
The teenagers may get addicted to painkillers because of various reasons which may include experimentation, emotional and physical stress, family history of painkiller addiction, low self-esteem, family tension, relationship problems etc. The other causes include:

Peer pressure
The most common reason for painkiller addiction among the teenagers is because of the influence of their friends. Sometimes these friends even urge them to try these harmful painkillers. They imitate other addicted peers in school or the addicts in their neighborhood. They generally start with experimentation of these hazardous painkillers but end up with addiction.

Easy to get prescription drugs
It is easy for the teenagers to get painkiller medications prescribed for others. Painkiller medications are readily available for the teenagers in many households. Due to their easier availability, many of the teens are getting addicted to painkiller medications without knowing the dangerous effects of them. They may forge the prescription of their parents or elders who are using pain medications to get the prescription drugs. An addict may also take painkiller prescription from different doctors by stating some false illness to get the prescription medications.

Believe that prescription drugs are not harmful
Many of the teenagers wrongly perceive that the prescription drugs are not harmful as they are medically prescribed by doctors. They believe that prescription drugs are safer than the illegal street drugs such as Heroin or Cocaine. Many of them fail to understand that they are powerful drugs that need to be monitored and dosed properly.

The painkiller addiction among teenagers can cause many adverse effects on their health. The health effects of painkiller medications include nausea, constipation, dizziness, dryness of mouth, cardiovascular issues, hallucinations, hives, delirium, low or high heart rate, muscle rigidity, elevated intracranial pressure etc. The intake of prescription medications without the direction of a doctor may even lead to death.

Lack of supervision and communication between parents and teenagers may lead to pain killer drug addiction among the teenagers. Therefore, parents or elders should always keep an eye on teenagers. Teens should be regularly checked if they are stealing prescriptions, medications or money. These pain medications should be kept out of reach of teens and the unused medications should be discarded. Creating awareness and educating teenagers about the harmful effects of painkiller medication abuse will prevent them from getting addicted to the painkiller medications.


The Rise of Pain Medicine Addiction

Addiction has always been considered to be a disease of both the mind and the body. Nowadays, the term addiction is most commonly associated with drug abuse.


In the United States, there is a growing number of individuals who are suffering from this disease.


According to a report released by the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, about 9 percent of the entire American population is addicted to pain killers.


In order to understand why millions of people are suffering from this deadly addiction, it would be best to know how it starts.


Among the main pills in the market, the most likely to be abused are the opioid medications, which contain morphine or codeine.


More commonly, health practitioners prescribe the non-opioid drugs because they do not contain addictive substances.


But when the hurting can no longer be tolerated, the opioid drugs are finally prescribed.


Unfortunately, the body easily becomes dependent and then tolerant and the initial dose no longer works. When this happens, the dosage is increased.


As time passes, your body becomes accustomed to the presence of the opiates in your system and removing the would result to severe withdrawal symptoms. Without realizing it, you have become addicted.


Withdrawal symptoms experienced when suffering from opiate addiction include chills and shakes, headaches, insomnia, nausea, diarrhea, sweating and clammy skin, and stomach pain.


Experiencing any of these symptoms when you stop taking your prescription is a sure sign that you have a dependency problem. Unfortunately, you might need professional help before you can kick this nasty addiction.


In most cases, you will need to enter a detox facility for opiate addiction where trained doctors can help manage your withdrawal symptoms.


In addition to this, you can join support groups composed of people who are going through the same things as you.


Many people are surprise to find out that pain killer addiction is pretty much identical to heroin addiction. A lot of people who are addicted to opiate pills often switch to heroin because it is much cheaper.


Pretty much everyone who uses heroin says that they NEVER imagined themselves ever touching that drug.


But when you are up against the disease of addiction, anything can happen.


Not to mention that when the withdrawal kicks in, you will do anything to get rid of it, including heroin. Imagine the sickest you have ever been, now imagine being ten times sicker than that; that is what withdrawal is like.


Some individuals come out of detox facilities fully-treated. On the other hand, there are those who relapse time and time again.


These individuals usually have trouble controlling themselves especially when it comes to the abuse of opiates.


As soon as they start using opiates, even at a low dose, they are inevitably addicted once again. In no time at all, they will have developed physical dependence and after a short time, tolerance.


Now that you have an idea how a person can eventually succumb to an addiction to opiate pills and have that quickly lead to heroin addiction, you must also be aware of the risk factors.


Many health experts believe that family history plays a major role as well as psychological issues.


Rehabilitation from opiate addiction may involve psychotherapy as well, in order to address control issues as well as other personal problems that lead to this drugs abuse.


Pain Killer Addiction Is A Real Problem For Many

It’s kind of become the designer addiction of the week. With more and more stars stepping forward admitting their addiction to prescription drugs, the topic makes headlines all the time.

It’s practically become a joke in the entertainment industry, but it’s anything but funny. For those in the throes of its hold on them, pain killer addiction is a very serious, life altering problem.

Pain killer addiction happens for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it must be stated that most people who are addicted to them, don’t intend to become so. In fact, many who are addicted to the drugs began taking them to fight off serious pain and at the request of a doctor who thought it as best to treat that pain with medication.

The problem here is the best drugs for treating pain in most cases are also addictive.

Since they are both useful and harmful, the problem doctors and patients face in using these drugs is a big one. It’s a very delicate balance to make sure a patient gets the pain relief her or she needs without becoming addicted to medications.

Sometimes, unfortunately, that balance is not maintained. The reasons for this are many, but perhaps most prominent is the fact that each person tends to respond to pain killers differently. One person might become addicted within a few weeks whereas another might never become addicted.

What is pain killer addiction?

Basically, it is any dependency on pain killers. The addiction can be psychological, physical or both. The extent will depend on the type of pain killer involved, but unfortunately oftentimes it’s a combination of both.

When physical dependencies are included, breaking a habit can be even more difficult. This is because the body begins to actually depend on the drug to function correctly.

When physical dependency is present, those who want to make a serious attempt to kick and addiction often need to seek medical advice. Sometimes hospitalization is needed to help a person get through the cleaning out phase.

Some drugs can present very serious issues when a person is withdrawing from them. These can include tremors, sweats, heart palpitations, and more. The consequences can be as severe as death in some cases unless close medical supervision is included in the mix.

So, why do people bother with pain killers at all?

The simple fact of the matter is that sometimes people need pain killers to get over a hump. Car accidents, surgery and so on can present with very extreme pain. For a person’s body to begin to heal, the pain must be subdued or blocked to allow relaxation and rest.

Avoiding pain killer addiction might not always be possible, but patients can do their part to minimize the risk. Only use pain killers that have been prescribed by a doctor. Don’t use them longer than you need to. If the pain goes away before the prescription does, stop taking the medication. Use common sense.

Sadly for many, the addiction isn’t something they can avoid getting. However, there is help out there to assist those dealing with this most difficult condition. It might make headlines, but pain killer addiction is anything but a joke or a fad.

Copyright (c) 2006


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