Are There Treatments for People Addicted to Prescription Drugs?

The nonmedical use of prescription drugs increased dramatically in the 1990s and remains at high levels. In 2007, approximately 7 million people aged 12 or older reported nonmedical use of a prescription drug. The most commonly abused medications are painkillers (i.e., opioids: 5.2 million people), stimulants (e.g., methylphenidate and amphetamine: 1.2 million), and central nervous system (CNS) depressants (e.g., benzodiazepines: 2.1 million). Like many illicit substances, these drugs alter the brain's activity and can lead to many adverse consequences, including addiction. For example, opioid pain relievers, such as Vicodin or OxyContin, can present similar health risks as do illicit opioids (e.g., heroin) depending on dose, route of administration, combination with other drugs, and other factors. As a result, the increases in nonmedical use have been accompanied by increased emergency room visits, accidental poisonings, and treatment admissions for addiction. Treatments for prescription drugs tend to be similar to those for illicit drugs that affect the same brain systems. Thus, buprenorphine is used to treat addiction to opioid pain medications, and behavioral therapies are most likely to be effective for stimulant or CNS depressant addiction—for which we do not yet have medications.

For more information on Prescription Drug Abuse, Addiction and Treatment Visit us on the Web.

Prescription Drug Addiction Treatment for Adults and Young Adults: 1-888-387-6237
http://www.covecenterforrecovery.com


Prescription Drug Addiction Treatment for Teens: 1-888-757-6237
http://www.inspirationsyouth.com
http://www.inspirationsteenrehab.com

Prescription Drug Rehab

Prescription drug abuse means taking a prescription medication that is not prescribed for you, or taking it for reasons or in dosages other than as prescribed. Abuse of prescription drugs can produce serious health effects, including addiction.

Treatments for Prescription Drug Abuse
Several options are available for effectively treating addiction to prescription drugs, depending on the medication being abused. Approaches to treating addiction to pain relievers are drawn from research on treating addiction to heroin, also an opioid, and include medications such as naltrexone, methadone, and buprenorphine, combined with behavioral counseling.
NIDA's National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network is sponsoring the first large-scale, multi-site study to test the effectiveness of buprenorphine/naloxone – a medication used to treat heroin addiction – as a treatment for addiction to prescription pain medication.

Commonly abused classes of prescription medications include:
Opioids (for pain), central nervous system depressants (for anxiety and sleep disorders), and stimulants (for ADHD and narcolepsy). Opioids include hydrocodone (Vicodin®), oxycodone (OxyContin®), propoxyphene (Darvon®), hydromorphone (Dilaudid®), meperidine (Demerol®), and diphenoxylate (Lomotil®). Central nervous system depressants include barbiturates such as pentobarbital sodium (Nembutal®), and benzodiazepines such as diazepam (Valium®) and alprazolam (Xanax®). Stimulants include dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine®), methylphenidate (Ritalin® and Concerta®), and amphetamines (Adderall®).

Common Street Names for Prescription Drug:
Depressants; methaqualone, Street Term: Ludes
OxyContin, Street Term: Hillbilly heroin
Ritalin (methylphenidate), Street Term: Vitamin R

Effects of Prescription Drug Abuse
Long-term use of opioids or central nervous system depressants can lead to physical dependence and addiction. Opioids can produce drowsiness, constipation and, depending on amount taken, can depress breathing. Central nervous system depressants slow down brain function; if combined with other medications that cause drowsiness or with alcohol, heart rate and respiration can slow down dangerously. Taken repeatedly or in high doses, stimulants can cause anxiety, paranoia, dangerously high body temperatures, irregular heartbeat, or seizures.

Risks of prescription drug abuse
Treatment of addiction to prescription stimulants, such as Ritalin, is often based on behavioral therapies that have proven effective in treating addiction to cocaine and methamphetamine. While no medications have yet proven effective for the treatment of stimulant addiction, NIDA is supporting a number of studies examining medications with this potential.

Opioids:
 - High risk for addiction and overdose. This is a major concern, particularly for recently synthesized slow release formulations, which abusers override by crushing the pills and injecting or snorting the contents, heightening their risk for respiratory depression and death.

- Dangerous combination effects. Combining opioids with other drugs, including alcohol, can intensify respiratory distress.

- Heightened HIV risk. Injecting opioids increases the risk of HIV and other infectious diseases through use of unsterile or shared equipment.

CNS Depressants:
-  Addiction and withdrawal dangers. These drugs can be highly addictive and, in chronic users, discontinuing them absent a physician's guidance can bring about severe withdrawal symptoms that must be properly managed by a medical professional.
- Risk of overdose. Overdose can cause severe breathing problems and lead to death, especially when these drugs are combined with other medications or alcohol.

Stimulants:
-  Reputation as performance enhancers. Incorrectly perceived as safe for enhancing academic achievement and weight loss, these drugs are highly addictive and potentially harmful.
-  Range of risky health consequences. These include risk of dangerously high body temperature, seizures, and cardiovascular complications.

For more information on Prescription Drug Abuse, Addiction and Treatment visit us on the web

Prescription Drug Addiction Treatment for adults and young adults: 1-888-387-6237
http://www.covecenterforrecovery.com

Addiction Treatment for Teens: 1-888-757-6237
http://www.inspirationsyouth.com
http://www.inspirationsteenrehab.com/