Are the Benefits of Prescription Drugs Worth the Risks?
Are the Benefits of Prescription Drugs Worth the Risks?
Addiction is a rapidly growing problem in the United States as well as the rest of the world. Some of the biggest problem drugs come in the form of prescription medications. These prescription drugs include medications like various opiates for pain management, benzodiazepines for anxiety, and amphetamines to treat people with attention deficit hyperactive disorders. The medications can be helpful for most people, but for others, there can be a variety of different consequences. The benefits of prescription drugs are worth the risk for people with chronic pain.
Prescription drugs are the leading cause of fatal overdoses in the world today. The fatalities that come from prescription medications are higher than both heroin and cocaine combined. These types of statistics have people worried about whether or not they should even use these types of medications to treat their symptoms of pain or other illness.
What are the Benefits of Prescription Drugs?
The drugs trigger chemicals in the body to give a euphoric feeling. But, sometimes the brain enjoys that feeling too much and can’t turn it off. This scenario is what causes addiction. People should always look for a non-narcotic way to treat their symptoms before immediately taking these types of medications.
Painkillers aren’t the only prescription drugs that cause problems. Although many prescription drugs treat depression, weight problems, sleep disturbances, etc.in order to, they often come with a variety of side effects as well as the potential for addiction.
Following Up with a Doctor
If you are taking narcotic prescription drugs, you need to make sure that you’re regularly following up with your doctor. If you’re becoming tolerant to the medication and to feel well, this could lead to addiction. Besides knowing the benefits of prescription drugs, you should also be aware of the side effects that are possible.
What To Do When You’re in Recovery
For those in recovery from addiction, being prescribed painkillers can be a tricky situation. Unfortunately, accidents happen when we least expect them, and sometimes we’re in severe pain. Some recovering addicts are very anti-medications in their sobriety. They’re able to recover from their injuries without ever taking a single narcotic pain medication. They do this by using over-the-counter medications like Advil and ibuprofen. Also, they may see a physical therapist for help.
If you do get in a situation where the pain is unbearable and you require narcotic medications, just be careful. The best way to do this is by letting someone you trust and knows about your history with substance abuse have the pills. They’ll be able to help monitor you and only give you pills as they are prescribed. This will help you fight the temptation to potentially relapse. This person can be a trusted friend, family member or someone in recovery who knows of your problem with previous addiction to prescription drugs.
