The Dangers Of Being Addicted To Painkillers

Americans may be surprised to learn that a large number of drug addicts are not addicted to "street" drugs.  No, these people are addicted to prescription medications such as painkillers.  Although these types of drugs may seem less harmful than drugs like cocaine and heroin, they are not.  Painkiller and oxycotin addiction is extremely harmful to an addict's health and well-being.

How Addiction to Pain Meds Starts

The majority of people addicted to pain medication were prescribed the drugs by a doctor.  At first they will have followed the doctor's instructions regarding dosage.

Then the addict will realize that their body has become reliant on the drug.  When they stop taking it they may experience mild symptoms of withdrawal.

Patients in this situation will usually go back to their doctor and say that they were still suffering from whatever problem that caused that the doctor to prescribe the medication.  The doctor may fill the prescription a couple of times however it is more than likely that he or she will suspect the patient has an addiction problem.

If the patient refuses to address this and get treated, the doctor will have no choice but to refuse to write a prescription.  This is often the turning point for most addicts.  They start looking for drugs on the street, neglect their real world obligations and start dabbling in crime.

The only way to prevent or stop this is for the addict to get treatment.  The best option is to pay for inpatient therapy.

Inpatient treatment centers work by asking clients to check out of their real life and check into treatment for a specified number of days.  During treatment addicts will undergo detox and participate in therapy.  Although other treatment methods are cheaper, they have lower success rates.