Prescription Drug Addiction

The opioid crisis in the United States has come about because of excessive use of these drugs for both legal and illicit purposes and unprecedented levels of consequent opioid use disorder (OUD). More than 2 million people in the United States are estimated to have OUD, which is caused by prolonged use of prescription opioids, heroin, or other illicit opioids. OUD is a life-threatening condition associated with a 20-fold greater risk of early death due to overdose, infectious diseases, trauma, and suicide. Mortality related to OUD continues to escalate as this public health crisis gathers momentum across the country, with opioid overdoses killing more than 47,000 people in 2017 in the United States. Efforts to date have made no real headway in stemming this crisis, in large part because tools that already existâ€"like evidence-based medicationsâ€"are not being deployed to maximum impact. To support the dissemination of accurate patient-focused information about treatments for addiction, and to help provide scientific solutions to the current opioid crisis, this report studies the evidence base on medication assisted treatment (MAT) for OUD. It examines available evidence on the range of parameters and circumstances in which MAT can be effectively delivered and identifies additional research needed.

In 1966, Joan Gadsbys four-year-old son died of a brain tumour. In response, her family physician prescribed a 'chemical cocktail' of tranquillisers, sleeping pills and anti-depressants -- an act that initiated Gadsbys slow descent into an abyss of unrecognised addiction. Over the next 20 years, Gadsbys career, her family relationships, her financial security and her health were all threatened. She was on various occasions arrested, restrained, and sedated as a result of the paradoxical side effects of the drugs. It was only after she unintentionally overdosed in 1990 that she found out the insidious effects of the drugs, stopped taking them and went through the 'hell' of withdrawal -- alone. Gadsby has emerged from her addiction to become a health and wellness consultant to corporations, governments, healthcare organisations. She is a tireless advocate for systemic change and accountability of prescribed sedative/hypnotic drugs. She interviewed thousands -- from consumers to doctors to pharmaceutical representatives and government officials as she conducted extensive international research -- in her quest to expose the shocking truth of the depth and breadth of addiction by prescription which affects hundreds of thousands of men and women world-wide who become 'accidental addicts'.

Drug overdose, driven largely by overdose related to the use of opioids, is now the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The ongoing opioid crisis lies at the intersection of two public health challenges: reducing the burden of suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of the harms that can arise from the use of opioid medications. Chronic pain and opioid use disorder both represent complex human conditions affecting millions of Americans and causing untold disability and loss of function. In the context of the growing opioid problem, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an Opioids Action Plan in early 2016. As part of this plan, the FDA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee to update the state of the science on pain research, care, and education and to identify actions the FDA and others can take to respond to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on informing FDA's development of a formal method for incorporating individual and societal considerations into its risk-benefit framework for opioid approval and monitoring.

An automobile accident started Ken Start's fifteen-year prescription drug addiction cycle. Taking handfuls of pills off and on during the day, he was often high, passed out, or throwing up in the toilet. He did whatever it took to buy or steal what he wanted and needed the most--drugs. He never thought about those he was hurting and continued to destroy the trust once shared with his loved ones. In rehabilitation clinics, he learned how to manipulate doctors into giving him more--and better--drugs. He was living in total denial of his addiction to prescription drugs--until the whisper of suicide got louder.A Prescription for Addiction is this author's journey through a life-changing auto accident, multiple surgeries, addiction to drugs and alcohol, manipulation of medical professionals, chronic pain and the miracle of a hard fought recovery.

DIVDIV Prescription drug addiction is now one of the nation's most serious drug problems. More Americans are abusing controlled prescription drugs more than cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants, and heroin combined. With the exception of marijuana, prescription painkillers are the most widely abused drug in the U.S. Many who are addicted to prescription drugs are &“unwitting addicts&”—they have no history of drug abuse, but become addicted after taking a drug for legitimate reasons. Rod Colvin understands this problem. His 35-year old brother died as a result of his long-term addiction to painkillers and tranquilizers. Drawing from his personal experience and his background as a counselor, Colvin offers help to those suffering from addiction as well as their families. In this new, third edition, Colvin discusses dynamics of addiction and the newest treatment options; he also offers compelling personal stories from addicts who describe their journeys into recovery. These anecdotes are accompanied by advice from addiction medicine specialists. The Book Answers These Questions: &· How does addiction &“rewire&” the brain? &· What are the symptoms of addiction? &· Who's at risk for addiction? &· Why are more teens abusing prescription drugs? &· When does proper medical use of a drug turn into addiction? &· What happens if the drugs are stopped abruptly? &· What are the symptoms of withdrawal? &· What is the difference between addiction and physical dependence? &· What are the top 20 most-abused prescription drugs? STRONGHow Can You Leave Prescription Drugs Behind? Read stories of recovery from individuals who are in recovery &· Learn how they become addicted &· Find out how they made it into recovery &· What were the turning points in their lives that made them seek recovery?

WINNER OF THE BIG RED READ PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION IN 2013. Cathryn Kemp was a successful travel journalist who was struck down by a life-threatening illness, pancreatitis. After four years of operations and mis-diagnoses she left hospital with a repeat prescription for fentanyl, a painkiller 100 times stronger than heroin. Within two years she was taking more than ten times the NHS maximum, all on prescription. Her family struggled to understand; her boyfriend left her, she hit rock bottom. Discovering she had only six months to live if she didn't give up the drugs she sold everything she owned and checked into rehab. In the addiction treatment centre she was told that she was unlikely to recover from 'the highest level of opiate-abuse in the clinic's history'. To everyone's amazement, she proved them wrong. This is an extraordinarily poignant, vivid and honest memoir. Based on the twenty-four diaries that the author kept during this period, we travel with Cathryn through her hospital agony, descend with her into the hell of addiction and cheer her as she pulls herself out and upwards. It is a love story, a horror story, a survival story, and one that shows only too clearly the very real dangers of the over-prescription of painkillers and tranquillisers. There is also a resource section for sufferers and their loved ones.

Describes the effects of abusing prescription drugs upon the body and mind.

All across the United States, individuals, families, communities, and health care systems are struggling to cope with substance use, misuse, and substance use disorders. Substance misuse and substance use disorders have devastating effects, disrupt the future plans of too many young people, and all too often, end lives prematurely and tragically. Substance misuse is a major public health challenge and a priority for our nation to address. The effects of substance use are cumulative and costly for our society, placing burdens on workplaces, the health care system, families, states, and communities. The Report discusses opportunities to bring substance use disorder treatment and mainstream health care systems into alignment so that they can address a person's overall health, rather than a substance misuse or a physical health condition alone or in isolation. It also provides suggestions and recommendations for action that everyone-individuals, families, community leaders, law enforcement, health care professionals, policymakers, and researchers-can take to prevent substance misuse and reduce its consequences.