A Silent Crisis: Prescription Drugs in America

In the shadows of small towns and big cities alike, there has been a monster of sorts slowly but gradually growing, and festering, right under our noses. In fact, many may think they understand the scope of the problem, and I would have never imagined the size of the epidemic. I’m referring to prescription drugs in our country. While most would contend they’re not quite morally as bad as let’s say, cocaine, heroine or crystal meth, it’s taking over as the leader of all abused drugs.

Combined.

No, I didn’t throw nicotine, alcohol, caffeine or even marijuana on that list. There’s a number of reasons this trend excelled beyond the traditionally abused hard drugs, but I’d like to keep the topic on my focus today. If any of you know or have known somebody abusing prescription medications, it’ll be easy to relate. But for those of you out there who haven’t, I’d like to explain in better detail in the event it happens to someone you know. Unfortunately for me, I had to be alerted to this secretive world by way of someone I witnessed abusing prescription drugs.

Some may be wondering what type of prescription drugs I’m referring to. To be frank, I didn’t really know much about prescription drugs or what types are being abused until very recently. Because I was curious, I recruited the help of a good friend of mine, Jennifer. When I explained what was going on with the person I knew was abusing them, she agreed to allow a brief  interview on the subject. She’s a social worker (official title is Case Worker I) that has seen her fair share of drug abuse. Her job revolves around working with folks to get them back to sobriety with a number of tools at her disposal. Jennifer has about 10 years experience in this field, so I was paying close attention.

I kept the questions simple, but often I could tell how dedicated Jennifer was by how she went above and beyond to explain the pain and destruction prescription drug abuse does. First, she identified the primary drugs she is seeing abused.

“There are all sorts of substances, but prescription medications surpassed the traditional crystal meth and cocaine. The most commonly abused prescription drugs are Xanax (pronounced zanax) and Oxycodone,” she says. When asked to describe the typical abuser, the message hit home with familiarity.

“These addicts will give up everything to get another fix. They will sacrifice their job, friends, and even worse, their family. No one is safe when they get between a drug addict and their next high. Many family members try to justify or make excuses for those they love, but all they’re doing is condoning that behavior and in turn play a big part and blame in the destruction of everyone around them, and eventually the demise of the drug addict. Instead of getting them help in the beginning they make excuses and choose denial over common sense.”

When I thought about sharing this with readers, I wondered what the long term effects were for the prescription drug abuser. I also wanted to alert readers to what signs they should be looking for in the event there’s someone they may know or care about exhibiting certain behaviors. When I did my research, it was a spot-on match to what I had seen with my own eyes.

I’ll begin with Xanax (short for Alprazolam). It’s used to treat anxiety disorders and panic disorder (sudden, unexpected attacks of extreme fear and worry about these attacks). Alprazolam is in a class of medications called benzodiazepines. It works by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain. Alprazolam is also sometimes used to treat depression, fear of open spaces (agoraphobia), and premenstrual syndrome.

Next is Oxycodone. Oxycodone is also available in combination with acetaminophen (Endocet, Percocet, Roxicet, Tylox, others); aspirin (Endodan, Percodan, Roxiprin, others); and ibuprofen (Combunox). Oxycodone is used to relieve moderate to severe pain. Oxycodone is in a class of medications called opiate (narcotic) analgesics. It works by changing the way the brain and nervous system respond to pain.

The side effects of these medications range widely, but here are some to look for: Drowsiness, light-headedness, headache, tiredness, dizziness, irritability, talkativeness, difficulty concentrating, dry mouth, increased salivation, changes in sex drive or ability, nausea, constipation, changes in appetite, weight changes, difficulty urinating or joint pain.

Some side effects can be serious. The following symptoms are uncommon, but if you witness these side effects, call a doctor immediately: shortness of breath, seizures, seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist (hallucinating), severe skin rash, yellowing of the skin or eyes, depression, memory problems, confusion, problems with speech, unusual changes in behavior or mood, thinking about harming or killing self or trying to do so and problems with coordination or balance.

With a list of possible side effects like these, it’s no wonder some prescription drugs are frightening.

Jennifer explained something else sobering. “When they get to a certain point in their usage, the only way to remedy the serious situation is to have them committed or in worse cases, jailed for any crimes they may commit in the commision of obtaining their drug of choice,” she warns. Jennifer also stressed that legislation or other regulations need to be put in place to make it more difficult to obtain prescription drugs for abuse. “Doctors seem to just hand them out like candy and we must be here to clean up the mess,” Jennifer continued. “Also, making it difficult for addicts to duplicate prescriptions from multiple doctors and multiple pharmacies should be a priority.”

Jennifer is correct. It has been realized that there is no network among many of the different pharmacy brands. In Georgia, for instance, CVS Pharmacy doesn’t have a way to confirm with Walgreens whether or not a prescription has been filled elswhere. Some states have enacted networks such as these, but only a few. A push must be made to make it mandatory in every state, and I hope those states take action on their own instead of allowing the problem to be addressed on a federal level.

It’s ultimitely about the individuals’ choices in life too. People need to be held accountable as do the ones who enable it, doing nothing at all.

Grow, with the know.

Source: PubMed Health