Vicodin - National Treatment Referral
Vicodin is one of the most commonly abused prescription pain medications today. One of the most widely prescribed medications, vicodin and its related medications, loricet, loritab percodan, and oxycontin are opioid-based pain medications. vicodin is a derivative of opium, which also used to manufacture heroin. vicodin successfully diminishes pain, but it is highly addictive and withdrawal symptoms of vicodin addiction are very similar to the pain it was relieving.Many persons taking vicodin longer than medically necessary keep using it thinking that if they were to stop taking vicodin, their pain would return. In reality, the fear of vicodin withdrawal can be a strong motivating factor in the continuing use of vicodin, and more importantly, the feeling that more vicodin is needed to combat the same pain. Over a period of time more and more vicodin is needed to have the same pain relieving effects and to ward off vicodin withdrawal symptoms. Many people end up taking more and more vicodin or changing medications and switching to a strong medication such as oxycontin or loritab and taking more and more of these, due to the highly addictive qualities of these medications.
Pain that once was the physical problem is replaced by vicodin. Instead of being used to help tolerate the pain, vicodin itself becomes the problem. The patient becomes addicted to vicodin and the problem actually gets worse instead of better. It is estimated that in 1999, 4 million people were currently using prescription drugs non-medically. Of these, 2.6 million misused pain relievers the most common of which is vicodin. Pain is one the most common reasons cited to visit a doctor. Pain is also a very common reason to become addicted to vicodin and or alcohol. People often self-medicate themselves with vicodin for pain or abuse vicodin and become addicted. These reasons also lead to prescription medication abuse or combining medication with alcohol, which causes addiction problems.
The combination of vicodin with alcohol compounds the problem to an unparalleled degree. When the effects of vicodin no longer ease the pain or anxiety, people combine vicodin with alcohol. Combining vicodin with alcohol multiplies the effects of both substances. This is due to the quantitative effects of combining 2 different drugs. The effect of vicodin is increased without increasing the dose. Alcohol and vicodin are socially accepted and persons who use these substances are not seen as drug addicts. This compounds the problem as many people that are addicted to vicodin and alcohol go to great lengths to hide their addiction. This is called the process of denial.
Many people addicted to vicodin find that after a while, they have difficulty in getting a physician to prescribe vicodin. When physicians become concerned that their patients are becoming addicted to vicodin, they tend to stop the supply or detox the patient gradually. At this point many people who are addicted turn to other means to obtain vicodin. Addicted persons may choose not to stop using vicodin out of fear of severe withdrawal or simply because they no longer know how to function without vicodin. At this point the vicodin addict turns to illicit means to obtain vicodin. Along with the obvious problems associated with this activity, other problems begin to surface. Poor decision making, deception to family members, inability to work, relationship problems, and prescription fraud.
Prescription fraud is a crime that is committed by people who have become addicted to vicodin and then have their supply cut off without being referred to treatment. The vicodin addict rationalizes this behavior, which includes fabricating or exaggerating pain symptoms in order to illicit sympathy, seeking vicodin from many doctors at the same time, and using fraudulent prescriptions, often created by altering the quantity of number of refills.
posted by John @ 8:34 AM
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