Posts Tagged ‘prescription drug addiction’

CDC Reports 1 in 5 High School Students Have Abused Prescription Drugs

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

From the CDC – One  in 5 U.S. high school students say they have ever taken a prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription, according to the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  This is the first year the survey assessed prescription drug abuse among high school students.  The YRBS has been conducted every other year since 1991.

The survey asked if they’d ever taken a prescription drug such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Adderall, Ritalin, or Xanax, without a doctor’s prescription.

While this is alarming, it shouldn’t be surprising, frankly.  Prescription drugs have been pushed on Americans for every feeling or malady imaginable and drug companies have marketed their products (often fraudulently) to doctors and consumers to get people to buy them.  So if millions of American adults think taking these drugs are okay, then of course our children will follow suit.

This is still in the beginning stages of the epidemic, as more people continue to seek drug rehab centers for prescription drug addiction than ever.  If you or someone you love is in need of help for being dependent on prescriptions or other drugs, contact us today for help finding a successful addiction recovery program.

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Hidden Heroin Epidemic

Friday, January 29th, 2010

The latest issue of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) claims that there are only about 200,000 past-month users of heroin in America, yet the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) said there were more than 260,000 people admitted to addiction treatment centers for heroin as a primary drug, and only a portion of those abusing or addicted to the drug receive help.

At the same time, the NSDUH claims that 4.7 million Americans abused, I mean “used nonmedically”, prescription painkillers.  Do you know what happens to someone addicted to say, Oxycontin for example, when they can’t get that drug or need something stronger?  That’s right – they turn to heroin in many cases.  So what’s happening here is either the Federal Gov’t is covering up that the pharmaceutical industry and negligent doctors are responsible for creating heroin addicts, or the true numbers just haven’t surfaced yet for how many people “graduate” from pain pills to heroin.  In either case, there is a hidden heroin epidemic that is currently going on or about to hit.

What do you think their solution is?  To push methadone and buprenorphine – neither of which actually cure heroin addiction or prescription drug addiction – but they can be cured.  Someone very dear to me was cured of Oxycontin and heroin addiction – no further symptoms or relapses – cured.  That is just one tiny example of what is coming down the pipeline with The New Face of Recovery – people going through successful drug and alcohol rehabs and never having to admit they are powerless or diseased, never having to go to meetings and certainly not being worried about “taking it one day at a time.”

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New Face of Recovery™ Denounces Medication-Assisted Treatment for Addicts

Sunday, December 13th, 2009
Advocacy group says putting drug abusers on more drugs is not a real solution for rehabilitation.

 

Alcoholism and drug addiction are not new, but a few decades ago they were labeled as diseases, and now there are millions of Americans being prescribed drugs that have abuse potential, heavy mental and physical side effects and may even be fatal.

The scary, inbred connection with the pharmaceutical industry and doctors has led to the current disastrous epidemic of prescription drug addiction, with legal drugs killing more people in many states than illicit substances. Despite this undisputable evidence of carnage, the majority of doctors and addiction treatment centers continue to prescribe more drugs to addicts instead of helping them end the problem permanently. 

One of the most common examples includes opioid replacement therapy for people who are addicted to drugs like heroin and oxycodone. These drugs often include buprenorphine or methadone, yet each are variations of synthetic opiates themselves and if taken over any substantial length of time require treatment just to get off them. There is also the fact that many states are seeing a significant rise in methadone and other opiate-related deaths.

Another commonly accepted practice includes an array of psychotropic drugs like anti-anxiety medication, antidepressants and atypical antipsychotics. However, sedatives such as benzodiazepines to cope with anxiety have an extremely high potential for abuse in themselves, antidepressants have been proven to cause erratic behavior and antipsychotics have been linked to causing diabetes, among other side effects.

“People seeking rehabilitation help for alcohol and other drug addictions are feeling lost and betrayed,” comments New Face of Recovery™ founding member Lucas A Catton, “They pay money to go to these treatment centers

with the hope of getting better, but many of the end up worse because of the drugs they are given there.” 

Catton says he has personally spoken with thousands of people throughout the country in recent years who share this sentiment and who are seeking a more effective form of rehabilitation program. This continuing pattern is what led to the formation of the New Face of Recovery as a patient advocacy group seeking to improve conditions in the addiction treatment field.

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Proposed Ban on Certain Painkillers

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

Exerpt from JoinTogether Online – “A federal advisory panel has recommended that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban the painkillers Percocet and Vicodin because of their damaging effects on the liver, the New York Times reported on July 1.

The two popular painkillers combine acetaminophen with a narcotic. High doses of acetaminophen are believed to cause liver damage. The panel noted that, over time, people who take Percocet or Vicodin need to take higher and higher doses of the drugs to receive the same effect.

At least seven other prescription drugs that combined acetaminophen with narcotics also would be banned if the FDA follows the panel’s recommendations.

The FDA asked the advisory panel to meet to address problems arising from the high demand for acetaminophen, which can be found in over-the-counter medicines such as Tylenol and Excedrin. In 2005, Americans bought 28 billion doses of products containing acetaminophen.

Although the medicine treats headaches and relieves fevers, liver damage can be caused in some people even when taking the recommended doses. More than 400 Americans die and 42,000 are hospitalized each year because of acetaminophen overdoses.

The committee also recommended that the FDA reduce the highest allowed dose of the ingredient in over-the-counter products such as Tylenol from 500 milligrams to 325 milligrams and to reduce the maximum daily dosage to no more than 4,000 milligrams.

Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Tylenol, said it “strongly disagrees” with the panel’s recommendations.”…

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Gee, no kidding! You have to take more to achieve the same effect? That’s the case with all drugs once an individual starts to build a tolerance to it. Why they would ban these drugs, but not something like Oxycontin, which kills more than 400 people per year, is beyond my comprehension. But then again, not much the FDA does makes sense.

Prescription painkillers have become one of the biggest substance abuse problems in America in recent years. Literally millions of people in this country are addicted to these drugs in their various forms.

However, there is help available. We can assist you in locating successful inpatient drug rehabs that are extremely effective at helping people achieve permanent recovery from painkiller addiction. Call 1-877-372-5719 today for more information.

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