Prescription drug addiction is an increasingly common problem in the United States, including among adolescents. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 20 percent of high school students have taken a prescription drug without receiving a prescription, including such drugs as OxyContin, Vicodin, Xanax and other dangerous drugs. These drugs are highly addictive when misused, but there are some indicators of possible prescription drug addiction.
Doctor Shopping
According to psychiatrist Esther Gwinnell, M.D., in her book "The Encyclopedia of Drug Abuse," individuals addicted to pain medications may visit different physicians, complaining of pain and asking for pain medications. They then fill these prescriptions at different pharmacies. Such individuals do not use health insurance to pay for the doctor payment or the drugs, which would likely catch such over-prescribing. As a result, if a family member or friend is visiting many different doctors, complaining of pain, and has prescriptions for the same or similar drugs from each doctor, this could indicate that the individual is addicted to prescription drugs. Because some doctors are aware of this issue, they require regular drug testing of patients to ensure that they are not exceeding recommended dosages or taking drugs that were not prescribed by the doctor.
In a case described in "CQ Researcher" in 2009, a 52-year-old woman obtained the same number of opiates from five different doctors for years until she could no longer afford the drugs because of financial problems, and her addiction was flagged. She never sought to obtain drugs early and none of the doctors suspected the addiction.
Asking Others for Drugs
Individuals addicted to prescription drugs may make a habit of asking others if they have any narcotics, complaining of severe pain. Many people do not realize it is illegal to give others their prescribed medication and may willingly give several or more narcotics to a family member who reports extreme pain.
Awareness of Exact Number of Pills They Possess
For individuals addicted to prescription drugs, these drugs are central to their lives and they are likely to know exactly how many pills they have. Most people who are not addicted to drugs may know if they are running low on medication, but they cannot report the exact number of pills that they have.
Behavioral Indicators
Individuals who abuse or are addicted to prescription drugs may exhibit such behavior as increasingly isolating themselves from others, exhibiting poor personal hygiene, having trouble concentrating, sleeping a lot more or less than normal and experiencing memory lapses. According to a Johns Hopkins Health Alert, these symptoms may be missed when exhibited by an elderly person because others may assume such behaviors are normal for older people. Should these behaviors occur in a person of any age, the individual should receive medical attention and the issue of possible prescription drug abuse should be considered.
Stealing Drugs from Family and Friends
According to Dr. Gwinnell, some individuals raid the medicine cabinets of family members to steal addictive drugs for their own use or sell them to others to get money for drugs. If it is suspected that a family member or friend may have an addiction to drugs, individuals possessing these drugs because of a genuine pain or psychiatric problem should not leave drugs in obvious places such as bathroom medicine cabinets. If possible, potentially addictive drugs should be locked up.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: CDC Survey Finds That 1 in 5 U.S. High School Students Have Abused Prescription Drugs
- Johns Hopkins Health Alerts: Warning Signs of Prescription Drug Abuse in the Elderly
- "CQ Researcher"; Medication Abuse; Marcia Clemmitt; October 9, 2009
- "The Encyclopedia of Drug Abuse"; Esther Gwinnell, M.D., and Christine Adamec; 2008
