The misuse and abuse of prescription drugs is proliferating in our community, most commonly amongst youthful people who have little idea of what they are consuming! They use ‘uppers’ to pick themslves up, and ‘downers’ to settle themselves back down, regularly with startling, and on occasion lethal, results.
Most folks who take prescription medications use them responsibly. However, the inappropriate or non-medicinal use of prescription meds is a serious public health concern. Non-medical use of prescription drugs like opioids, central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and stimulants can lead to addiction, characterized by compulsive drug cravings and use.
Patients, doctors, and pharmacists all have roles to play in preventing ill use and addiction to prescription medicines. Patients should read all information provided by the pharmacologist. Healthcare providers must monitor for any type of drug abuse during standard history-taking, with questions concerning which prescriptions and over-the-counter (OTC) medications the patient is taking and why, and ought to note any rapid increases in the amount of a medication needed or frequent requests for refills before the quantity intended must have been used, as these may be signs of abuse.
While many prescription meds can be abused or used incorrectly, these three classes are most commonly abused:
* Opioids - regularly directed to treat pain.
* CNS Depressants - used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders.
* Stimulants - prescribed to treat narcolepsy and attention-deficit disorder.
Opioids
Optoids are commonly prescribed because of their effective analgesic properties. Studies have proven that appropriately administered medical use of opioid painkilling compounds is safe and hardly ever results in addiction.
Taken exactly as directed, opiates can be used to control pain efficiently. Among the compounds that fall within this class - occasionally referred to as narcotics - are morphine, codeine, and related medicines.
Taken exactly as directed, opioids can be used to control pain successfully. Among the compounds that fall within this class - sometimes referred to as narcotics - are morphine, codeine, and related medicines.
Morphine is often used before or after surgery to alleviate severe pain. Codeine is used for milder pain.
Opioids act by attaching to particular proteins termed opioid receptors, which are set up in the brain, spinal cord, and gastrointestinal tract. When these compounds attach to particular opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord, they can efficiently change the way a person experiences pain.
Opioids may interact with other medications and are only safe to use with other medications under a GP’s guidance. Typically, they ought to not be used with medications such as alcohol, antihistamines, barbiturates, or benzodiazepines.
Opioids may interact with other meds and are only safe to use with other drugs under a general practitioner’s direction. Typically, they should not be used with medications such as alcohol, antihistamines, barbiturates, or benzodiazepines.
Since these drugs slow breathing, their combined results may lead to life-threatening respiratory failure. Long-term use also can lead to physical dependence, where the body gets used to the existence of the substance and withdrawal side effects occur if use is reduced abruptly. These indicators can include ‘tolerance’, which means that greater doses of a medication must be taken to achieve the same initial effects.
Central Nervous System (CNS) Depressants
CNS ‘downers’ can be divided into two groups, based on their chemistry and pharmacology: Barbiturates, such as mephobarbital (Mebaral) and pentobarbitalsodium (Nembutal), which are used to treat anxiety, tension, and sleep problems. Benzodiazepines, such as diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide HCl (Librium), and alprazolam (Xanax), which can be prescribed to treat nervousness, severe stress responses, and panic attacks.
CNS depressants can be divided into two groups, based on their chemistry and pharmacology: Barbiturates, such as mephobarbital (Mebaral) and pentobarbitalsodium (Nembutal), which are used to treat anxiety, tension, and sleep problems. Benzodiazepines, such as diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide HCl (Librium), and alprazolam (Xanax), which can be prescribed to treat anxiety, severe stress responses, and panic attacks.
There are many CNS depressants, and most act on the brain similarly - they influence the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that aid communication between brain cells. GABA operates by lessening brain activity.
CNS depressants ought to not be combined with any medication or substance that causes drowsiness, including prescription pain meds, specific OTC cold and hypersensitivity meds, or alcohol. If combined, they can slow breathing, or slow both the heart and breathing, which can be fatal.
CNS depressants should not be combined with any medication or substance that causes sleepiness, including prescription pain medicines, specific OTC cold and hypersensitivity medications, or alcohol. If combined, they can slow breathing, or slow both the heart and respiration, which can be lethal.
Stimulants
Stimulants intensify alertness, attentiveness, and energy, which are accompanied by increases in blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiration. Historically, stimulants were used to treat asthma and other lung difficulties, obesity, neurological problems, and a collection of other ailments.
Stimulants increase alertness, attentiveness, and energy, which are accompanied by increases in blood pressure, pulse rate, and breathing. Historically, ‘uppers’ were used to treat asthma and other lung problems, overweightness, neurological disorders, and a variety of other illnesses.
As their potential for abuse and addiction became apparent, the use of stimulants started to wane. Now, ‘uppers’ are prescribed for treating only a few health conditions, including narcolepsy, attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and depression that has not responded to other therapies. Stimulants may also be used for short-term treatment of obesity and for people with asthma.
Stimulants such as dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) and methylphenidate (Ritalin) have chemical structures that are similar to key brain neurotransmitters named monoamines, which comprise of norepinephrine and dopamine. Stimulants intensify the levels of these chemicals in the brain and body. This, in turn, increases blood hypertension and pulse rate, constricts blood vessels, increases blood glucose, and opens up the pathways of the respiratory system. In addition, the increase in dopamine is concomitant with a sense of euphoria that can accompany the use of stimulants.
Research shows that folks with ADHD do not become dependent to stimulant medications, such as Ritalin, when taken in the form and dosage prescribed. However, when ill-used, stimulants can be addictive.
The results of stimulant abuse can be extremely dangerous. Taking high doses of a stimulant can result in an uneven heartbeat, seriously high body temperatures, and/or the potential for heart failure or fits. Taking high doses of some stimulants frequently over a short period of time can lead to hostility or feelings of fear in some individuals.
Treatment of addiction to prescription ‘uppers’, such as methylphenidate and amphetamines, is based on behavior therapies that have established helpful for managing cocaine or methamphetamine addiction. At this time, there is no one proven medication used for the management of stimulant addiction. Antidepressants, nonetheless, may be used to handle the side effects of depression that can accompany initial abstinence from stimulants.
Treatment of addiction to prescription ‘uppers’, such as methylphenidate and amphetamines, is based on behavioral therapies that have established helpful for treating cocaine or methamphetamine addiction. At this time, there is no one confirmed medication used for the management of stimulant addiction. Antidepressants, however, may be used to deal with the symptoms of depression that can accompany initial abstinence from stimulants.