Short-term effects may cause dizziness, nausea, or euphoria, while long-term abuse can trigger organ damage, mental health decline, and dependence. Millions of people in the U.S. use benzodiazepines (Ativan, Valium, Xanax) to treat anxiety and sleep disorders, including insomnia. They affect a chemical in your brain called GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). Prescription drug abuse in older adults is a growing problem, especially when they combine drugs with alcohol. Having multiple health problems and taking multiple drugs can put people at risk of misusing drugs or becoming addicted.
Teen Facts
Many teens (and some adults) believe prescription drugs are safer than “street drugs” because a medical or mental health provider prescribes them, but this is not the case. As previously mentioned, a common and dangerous misconception among teens is that prescription drugs (whether theirs or someone else’s) are safer or less harmful than other kinds of “street drugs” such as heroin or cocaine. However, there is a broad range of short and long-term health consequences for each type of prescription drug when misused. Also, the risks of overdose, permanent health consequences, and even death are genuine dangers connected to prescription drug abuse. Commonly abused prescription drugs among teens fall into several categories or types of medication. Since the late 1990s, there has been an increase in prescription opioid medications, contributing to the widespread misuse of prescription and non-prescription opioids.
Drug Abuse Prevalence
Inhalants include paint thinners and other substances inhaled for quick effects. Long-term use can cause physical dependence, withdrawal symptoms and intense cravings. All information provided in this FAQ is provided for drug addiction informational purposes only. Although every reasonable effort is made to present current and accurate information, the Department of Health and Human Services make no guarantees of any kind and cannot be held responsible or liable for any outdated or incorrect information. Please do not act upon or rely on any such information without first seeking qualified professional counsel on your specific matter.
- Our drug rehab at Healthy Life Recovery offers individualized treatment plans to help you overcome addiction.
- For example, abusing prescription medication may be perceived as “safer” than abuse of illicit drugs (Fleary, Heffer, & McKyer, 2013; Mateu-Gelabert, Guarino, Jessell, & Teper, 2014).
- Teens commonly abuse antianxiety medications such as Xanax or sedatives used to treat sleep disorders such as Ambien.
- Spotting and reacting to early warning signs, which may include mood swings, increased doses, or stimulant misuse.
Physical symptoms of prescription drug abuse
Barbiturates — including amobarbital (Amytal), pentobarbital (Nembutal), phenobarbital (Luminal), and secobarbital (Seconal) — are also CNS depressants. Some people using them illegally snort or inject them to get that effect faster. Injecting drugs raises your chances of getting diseases like HIV and hepatitis C.
Prescription Medicines
- But growth hormone also comes in drug form to help children grow if their own bodies don’t make enough of the hormone.
- Opioids bind to and activate opioid receptors on cells located in many areas of the brain, spinal cord, and other organs in the body, especially those involved in feelings of pain and pleasure.
- We provide therapy, medicated-assisted treatment, and sober-living so that you can maintain the motivation needed to live a healthy life.
- At this stage, you may be wondering how you can find help for prescription drug abuse.
- Prescription drug misuse can affect anyone at any age, including teenagers and older adults.
- Consulting an intervention professional, an addiction specialist, a psychologist or a mental health counselor can help you plan an effective intervention.
Other drug treatments for opiate withdrawal include methadone and the blood pressure medicine clonidine. If you take them with medications that work on your central nervous system — including alcohol, barbiturates, or benzodiazepines such as alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam (Klonopin), or diazepam (Valium) — you have a higher chance of breathing problems or death. Early identification of prescription drug abuse and early intervention may prevent the problem from turning into an addiction. Typically, high school and college students abuse these drugs for different reasons, “both for what I consider typical drug abuse reasons, for its intoxicating or inebriating qualities, to feel good or feel high,” Compton says. “But they’re also taking it as a performance-enhancing substance to increase their ability to stay up late and to work and concentrate.”
- Click here to learn more about what an addiction to sleeping pills might look like.
- Affecting the lives of many people in the United States, trying to put an end to it can feel helpless.
- Many people become addicted over a gradual process without even noticing.
- In addition to therapy and support at Hillcrest, there are several other “at home” options.
When used, even appropriately, they can cause drowsiness, nausea, and constipation. When taken in larger quantities, they can also result in severely slowed breathing. Users may also crush the pills to achieve a more substantial, more immediate effect, resulting in lower blood pressure and even leading to coma and death. Your primary care provider may be able to help you overcome prescription drug abuse. But if you have an addiction, your provider may refer you to an addiction specialist or to a facility that specializes in helping people withdraw from drugs.
They’re safe when taken as directed, but misuse or combining multiple drugs increases the risk of negative effects and even death. Teens, those with ADHD or sleep disorders, elderly patients on multiple medications, and people with past substance abuse or mental health problems are at higher risk. Some teens say that prescription prescription drug abuse medicines are much safer to abuse than illegal drugs. But just because prescription drugs aren’t cooked up in someone’s garage doesn’t mean that they’re safe. Two-thirds of teens who misused pain relievers last year indicate that they got them from family and friends. This can include taking them from medicine cabinets within their home or asking other family members for their medications.
Since PDM varies across the lifespan, our primary aim is to address how PDM prevalence rates, sources, motives, correlates and consequences vary by age. As noted, the literature on PDM across the lifespan is growing, and accumulating evidence strongly suggests differences in medication sources, motives, and, to a lesser extent, correlates across the lifespan. Finally, we will use the limitations of the current literature to propose topics for future research.
