Rx rehab for Port St. Lucie Residents

While addiction or dependency on prescription drugs can be powerful, it is possible to break free from the grip of such a habit. The path to sobriety can be hard and demanding, however. Not only does rehabilitation involve a detoxification phase in which the user must endure painful or uncomfortable symptoms of withdrawal, it involves months of psychological therapy to help the user overcome their emotional and mental dependency, as well. It’s important to understand that addictive behavior is not a conscious choice that people make. No one chooses to be addicted. For this reason, they cannot simply use willpower to choose to be sober.

Addiction is a mental disorder caused by prolonged exposure to addictive drugs. In most cases, it cannot be wished away. Rather, coming off addiction requires treatment that only a professional rehab is able to offer.

Understanding the signs of Rx addiction

How do you know that you have a prescription drug dependency problem? To those who are caught up in addiction, it may not be immediately apparent. It’s possible to tell when you look for a few telltale signs, however:

• You exaggerate your symptoms to your doctor in order to obtain prescriptions.
• You take higher doses than the doctor prescribes.
• You seek prescriptions from more than one doctor for the same condition.

The symptoms of a prescription drug dependency problem can vary depending on the drugs that are abused. Abuse of opioids, anti-anxiety medications and sedatives can come with poor coordination, slowed breathing and confusion. The abuse of stimulants can show up in the form of unusual alertness, high blood pressure, agitation, insomnia or poor appetite. With any kind of drugs, dependence also comes with a need to take larger doses over time, to maintain a level of drug effect.

Why Rx addiction is on the rise

Prescription opioids are meant to help people who battle chronic pain. Prescription stimulants are meant to help people who struggle with attention deficit disorder. Prescription anxiolytics are intended for people who fight debilitating anxiety. These are critical medications that improve the quality of life for many people. Yet, years of over-enthusiastic marketing by pharmaceutical companies have resulted in the practice, among doctors, of prescribing these medications far too easily. Rather than treating the underlying cause of a painful condition, for example, doctors often rush to a painkiller to help with it.

When the underlying cause of a condition isn’t found and treated, the symptoms need to be treated for far too long. Exposure to these drugs for longer than recommended leads to dependency, and, sometimes, addiction. Prescription drugs such as fentanyl are also easily available illicitly on the street. This makes prescription drug abuse easy for people to try.

The most abused Rx medications

In a 2015 survey conducted by SAMHSA, close to 19 million Americans were found to have abused prescription medications at least once over the past year. Opioid painkillers such as oxycodone, codeine, meperidine, and fentanyl, are widely prescribed, are cheaply available on the street, and are commonly abused, often in combination with alcohol.

Benzodiazepines such as alprazolam, clonazepam, and diazepam, are used to help people who struggle with severe anxiety. Recreational use of benzodiazepines can produce alcohol-like highs, relaxation and a lowering of inhibition. These drugs, as well, are over-prescribed, and are affordably sold on the street.

Stimulants such as amphetamines and methylphenidate are commonly abused simply because they are easily prescribed. According to the government, in 2012, pharmacies filled more than ten million prescriptions for methylphenidate, the drug commonly known by the trade name Ritalin. Amphetamines, commonly sold under the brand name Adderall, were reported to be abused by close to 10 percent of college students that same year. People tend to abuse these drugs for their energizing effects. Stimulants help truck drivers stay awake when they are sleep-deprived, and they help college students work hard on their studies when they have an exam to prepare for.