Prescription Drug Abuse Symptoms

Prescription drug abuse is defined as consuming prescription drugs and medication without any medical reason. The symptoms, if not spotted in time, can lead to drug addiction, which can be life-threatening in case of overdose.

Symptoms

Signs vary according to the drug abused. Ritalin or Methylphenidate, which acts like a stimulant, tranquilizers such as Activan and Valium and painkillers containing opioid are the most commonly abused prescription drugs.

Stimulants
Unintentional weight loss, high blood pressure, inability to sleep or insomnia and irregularity in heartbeats are common symptoms of stimulants. Abuse of stimulants used to treat sleep related ailments and mental disorders such as ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder show these symptoms.

Tranquilizers
Tranquilizers, if consumed without a doctor's advice, can lead to symptoms such as abnormality in movement or walking, loss of control over the movements of eye balls, excessive urge to sleep for longer duration, lack of judgment and state of confusedness. Ativan or Lorazepam and Diazepam are most commonly abused tranquilizers.

Opioid
Reduction in rate of respiration, constipation, state of feeling melancholy and low blood pressure are the most common signs to be spotted in case of opioid abuse.

Apart from the above, there are other behavioral symptoms such as taking prescriptions from multiple physicians, forging prescriptions, trying to get prescriptions frequently, sudden mood swings and consuming the excess dosage. Apart from these, a person lacks decision-making and remains in a confused state, when it comes to taking the decision. It's essential to consult the doctor before the severity of abuse increases

Laudanum and morphine sale was uncontrolled by the government in 19th century. These used to be prescribed by doctors amply, since they were unaware about the addictive ingredients in prescription drugs. Many patients had to be treated during that era for cocaine addiction, which used to be administered during anesthesia. Statistics, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, show that more than 200,000 people in the US were addicted to abuse of drugs in 20th century. As a pain killer, Morphine started getting prescribed as a pain killer to soldiers. After civil war, significant number of people fell prey to the drugs like morphine, cocaine and heroin addiction.

Treatment

Treatment can be categorized into pharmacological and behavioral treatment. Behavioral treatment includes counseling a patient to quit drug abuse, educate the patient how to manage craving for drug abuse and the steps that need to be followed in case of relapse. Behavioral counseling can be through cognitive therapy, individual counseling and family or group counseling.

Preceding part of a treatment is detoxification. The objective of detoxification is to reduce withdrawal symptoms during drug free phase. Pharmacological treatments for prescription drugs include administering medications to combat withdrawal symptoms and to alleviate effects on cognition or thinking. Medication can also be effective to treat drug overdose and reduce craving for prescription drug. Especially in case of opioid abuse, which includes opioid side effects, such as damage to nervous system, research has shown that both behavioral and pharmacological treatment combined together works. In other cases, any one category of the treatment can help the person quit prescription drug addiction. Medications such as methadone, used commonly in drug rehab centers, Naltrexone and Buprenorphine are usually suggested in case of opioid addiction. Methadone, a synthetic opioid alleviates withdrawal symptoms and craving and blocks the effects. However, if consumed without doctor's advise for long time, symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea and vomiting can be observed on stopping the drug suddenly. Naltrexone is administered in case of drug overdose. Buprenorphine gives long-lasting effects while treating prescription drug addiction and the possibility of respiratory failure is less in case of Buprenorphine, as compared to other medication.

It is best not to consume any of the prescription drugs without advise of a physician and in worst case, if you get addicted to prescription drugs, seek counseling and doctor's help immediately. Stay away from drugs and live healthy. Take care!