Pain killers can be addictive, can mix badly with other prescription drugs, and can lead to toxic overdose and even death. But in this society, pain killers are often viewed as just another set of prescription drugs. When we are in pain, we just want to feel better. Pain killers can temporarily make the pain lessen or go away.
Doctors prescribe drugs to alleviate physical pain, such as Vicodin, Oxycontin or drugs to soothe emotional pain killers, such as Valium. When used temporarily, these drugs are invaluable. When you have just suffered a severe injury or are now recovering from a surgical procedure, pain killers can ease the pain and allow the healing process to begin. When you are suffering from a severe emotional crisis, such as the death of a loved one, Valium can restore your mind and body to a peaceful state.
However, a National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) published in 2003, revealed that about 4.7 million Americans used prescription drugs inappropriately, that is, without medical necessity. 2.5 million of the drugs used were opioid, highly addictive pain relievers, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine.
One important and unsettling discovery was that 5.0 percent of 12th graders had used OcyContin and 9.3 percent had used Vicodin, without a prescription. And where did they acquire these drugs? Often the drugs were taken from their parents’ medicine cabinets.
Another important finding was that prescription drug abuse was often linked to psychological problems, specifically mood or anxiety disorders. Twice as many patients with a mood or anxiety disorder are also abusing drugs and conversely, twice as many drug abusers are diagnosed with mood disorders. The problems tend to go hand and hand, each exacerbating the other.
People with a history of drug abuse can have difficulty distinguishing between their use of the drug to alleviate pain or because of their desire to escape from facing problems. There appears to be one simple way to determine if a person is using a pain killer just to alleviate the pain or if the substance is being abused. I someone is using the drug to relieve pain, then once the pain is lessened he or she will return to normal activity. However, when someone is abusing, he or she will voluntarily give up activities to continue using the drug.
Patients and their families need to be advised about the dangers of using prescription drugs, especially if the patient has already dealt with a substance abuse problem. Parents need to be aware that leaving their own prescription drugs in the medicine cabinet can lead to unwanted consequences for their children, especially teenagers.
