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Prescription Pain Killers- Rising Death Toll
Prescription Pain Killers Associated with Rising Toll of Death
“If people knew what drugs could be abused in their own medicine cabinet, they would be more careful of them,” comments Mary Rieser, Executive Director for The Atlanta Recovery Center. “Learn about the common types of prescription and over-the-counter medications that can be dangerous. Be safe. Don’t keep these around or unsupervised in your medicine cabinet.
“The most commonly abused medications are found right there, and abuse can lead to drug addiction and death. The Atlanta Recovery Center is here to help.
“Know the facts.”
Prescription pain killers are commonly prescribed because of their effective analgesic, or pain-relieving, properties. Studies have shown that properly managed medical use of prescription pain killer analgesic compounds (taken exactly as prescribed) is safe, can manage pain effectively, and rarely causes addiction.
Among the compounds that fall within this class are hydrocodone (e.g., Vicodin), oxycodone (e.g., OxyContin—an oral, controlled-release form of the drug), morphine, fentanyl, codeine, and related medications.
Morphine and fentanyl are often used to alleviate severe pain, while codeine is used for milder pain.
Other examples of prescription pain killers that can be prescribed to relieve pain include propoxyphene (Darvon); hydromorphone (Dilaudid); and meperidine (Demerol), which is used less often because of its side effects.
In addition to their effective pain-relieving properties, some of these medications can be used to relieve severe diarrhea (for example, Lomotil, also known as diphenoxylate) or severe coughs (codeine).
Prescription pain killers can be taken orally, or the pills may be crushed and the powder snorted or injected. A number of overdose deaths have resulted from the latter routes of administration, particularly with the drug OxyContin, which was designed to be a slow-release formulation.
Snorting or injecting prescription pain killers results in a rapid release of the drug into the bloodstream, exposing the person to high doses and causing many of the reported overdose reactions.
Prescription pain killers act by attaching to specific proteins called prescription pain killer receptors, which are found in the brain, spinal cord, and gastrointestinal tract. When these compounds attach to certain prescription pain killer receptors in the brain and spinal cord, they can effectively change the way a person experiences pain.
In addition, prescription pain killer medications can affect regions of the brain that mediate what one perceives as pleasure, resulting in the initial euphoria or sense of well-being that many prescription pain killers produce. Repeated abuse of prescription pain killers can lead to addiction, characterized by compulsive drug seeking and abuse despite its known harmful consequences.
Prescription pain killers can produce drowsiness, cause constipation, and, depending upon the amount taken, depress breathing. Taking a large single dose could cause severe respiratory depression or death.
These medications are only safe to use with other substances under a physician’s supervision. Typically, they should not be used with alcohol, antihistamines, barbiturates, or benzodiazepines. Because these substances slow breathing, their combined effects could lead to life-threatening respiratory depression.
Patients who are prescribed prescription pain killers for a period of time may develop a physical dependence on them, which is not the same as drug addiction.
Repeated exposure to prescription pain killers causes the body to adapt, sometimes resulting in tolerance (that is, more of the drug is needed to achieve the desired effect compared to when it was first prescribed) and withdrawal symptoms upon abrupt cessation of drug use.
Thus, individuals taking prescribed prescription pain killer medications should not only be given these medications under appropriate medical supervision, but should also be medically supervised when stopping use in order to reduce or avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Symptoms of withdrawal can include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps (“cold turkey”), and involuntary leg movements.
Source: NIDA
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