Health

Chronic Pain Pill Addiction

One of the most common forms of chemical addiction that Americans are dealing with is prescription drug abuse. How many celebrities have we read about entering rehab or even succumbing to a lethal overdose? However, not everyone abuses these substances in an attempt to get high. Much like many of the people who end up in alcohol rehab, addicts to prescription drugs started taking these medications with no intent to abuse them.

One group in which prescription drug abuse is all too common is those patients who suffer from chronic pain conditions. This includes orthopedic patients, the elderly, and those dealing with chronic conditions like back pain or arthritis. Unfortunately, even a rehab program to deal with dependency can’t always address the larger issue at hand — the chronic pain that these individuals must deal with on a daily basis.

While some conditions can be improved upon with physical therapy or surgery, painkillers often offer dramatic, fast relief of the symptoms that these people are dealing with. That might seem like enough of a fix that they will ignore other possible methods of treatment that could serve to provide a more permanent alleviation of the pain.

As anyone who has spent time around an addiction center can tell you, the effect of many substances, including medications, will decrease over time as the individual develops a tolerance for that substance. While pain medication can certainly provide a satisfying level of relief in the short term, the long term usage of these medication can result in painful and damaging consequences, particularly in the case of those people who forego doctors’ orders and self-medicate with excessive amounts of the painkillers. This is usually a good sign that the patient is in need of addiction treatment.

The medications generally used for chronic pain conditions are Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID). While many people take ibuprofen or acetaminophen regularly and don’t have problems with drug addiction, the situation is dramatically different for those facing constant suffering. Consequences like stomach ulcers or cancer can seem like distant risks in the face of easily available relief.