The Dangerous Painkiller Addiction Trend
In light of a few high profile deaths that have been potentially linked to the abuse of prescription drugs, it has pushed to the forefront an issue that has grasped America but is rarely talked about for how many lives it has impacted.
We tend to hear about painkiller addiction here and there, with the occasional celebrity coming out and admitting they have or have had a problem with prescription pain medications, but with the recent death of Michael Jackson being linked to possible pain med addiction, it has really forced a much needed dialogue about this epidemic.
Michael Jackson wasn’t the only one to have struggled with addiction to painkillers. Apparently Heath Ledger and Anna Nicole Smith, both deaths being attributed to deadly combinations of prescription medications, including antidepressants and pain medications, also were victims of this drug addiction for the new millennium.
The stories started when news was circulating about how regions in West Virginia were being inundated with epidemics of Ocycontin addiction. Oxycontin, dubbed “hillbilly heroine” because of the region it mostly affected (not the most politically correct name, I know), had become so addictive that people were becoming irreversibly hooked on it since when ground up rather than swallowed whole, this powerful pain medication had physiological effects on the body, much chemically identical to the street drug heroine.
People were basically getting high off of a “legal” pharmaceutical drug, which started an outcry from long time critics of the pharmaceutical industry, that their drugs were just as bad as illegal street drugs, and that they were so addictive people were going to extremes to getting them, even ordering them on the black market or obtaining them through bogus or illegal prescriptions to fee their insatiable addiction.
Rush Limbaugh is another celebrity who came out about his struggle with addiction to the powerful opiate drug, but only after being caught with prescriptions that were questionably obtained. Other celebrities who have admitted past problems with painkiller addiction are Paula Abdul, Courtney Love, Kathleen Turner, Eminem, Mathew Perry, and the list goes on and on.
Most times, the addiction started off innocently, with them being prescribed powerful pain relieving drugs for a legitimate injury, but quickly turned into an addiction when they realized how good they felt while on the drug, and how bad the “come down” feeling was afterwards.
Critics argue that opiate pain drugs are addictive by nature, and it’s virtually impossible to even take them for a short time without having some sort of at least psychological addiction, if not a quick physical one that requires some discomfort coming off, making it tempting to keep taking them instead of experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
However, there is no doubt that there are some types of pain that simply cannot be treated effectively without these types of heavy duty narcotic pain medications. Post surgical pain and pain resulting form serious injuries won’t be touched by your more conventional pain meds such as ibuprofen, acetominophen and naproxen sodium.
The abuse of these medications has become so widespread that most rehabilitation centers for substance abuse offer specific painkiller addiction programs, and even offer specific programs targeted for the addiction to name brands of these meds. That says something about how much of an epidemic this has become, as does the FDA’s recent recommendation that doctors only recommend a few different pain relievers, and cut out the biggest offenders when it comes to addictive qualities, helping to reduce the likelihood of dependency.
Here’s the problem with opiate pain relievers. Your body adapts to them very quickly, so what used to be a pill a day may quickly become a few pills a day to equal the potency and the “high” that the original dose gave you. Also, because the pain reliever is an opiate, it replaces the production of endorphins in your body, which makes the crash period almost intolerable, which inevitably forces users back to the medication, just to feel “OK”.
I’ve personally experienced the powerful grasp of Vicodin. After having a very intense and painful oral surgery, I was prescribed Vicodin extra strength. I was instructed to take one every few hours or as the pain came back. I did as I was told, and even told my boyfriend how great I felt when on them, and how awful I felt when coming down. I can honestly say that they made me feel euphoric, happy, energized (I know some people say they make them sleepy, it did the opposite for me), and I’m sure because of the opiates, I actually felt creative.
For me, this was the perfect recipe for disaster, and I knew it. I finally finished the bottle, and the day that I was finished, because I didn’t know I had to not just stop cold turkey, I experienced the worst feeling of withdrawal. I was so irritable that I was barely tolerable even to myself, and yet I felt that I couldn’t control my miserable attitude. The closest thing I can compare my withdrawal experience to is uncontrollable rage.
I know how easy it would have been for me to become addicted, because I did find myself considering calling to renew the prescription, just to stop going through this awful withdrawal, however I knew how dangerous that could be after reading about the medication online and seeing why I was feeling that way.
Others aren’t so lucky, or they are under a lot of other pressures in their lives that make them seek the comfort of a substance, and this one seems OK because it’s “legal”. If you ever have to go on one of these medications, please be aware of their addictive nature, and take them only in moderation. It’s the only way to help ensure you don’t fall victim to addiction.
Danna Schneider owns, writes for, an operates several natural health and beauty websites and blogs that are dedicated to the latest news and information on well being. You can find information on men’s health and well being, as well as support for male issues that are related to virility at Male Enhancement and Health Product Reviews. Also, if you’re looking for ways to stay as vibrant, healthy and young and help to eliminate the feeling of needing other drugs to feel as good as you can, see GenF20 HGH Releasing Supplement for information on a supplement that can help energize you, make you feel more positive, and help to keep the signs of aging at bay.
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- A Few Different Ways of Dealing With an Opiate Addiction
- Trend of Drug Abuse Among Teenagers
- Addiction Treatment
- What Leads To Drug Addiction?
- Prescription Pill Addiction
- Why Oxycontin Is A Prescription Drug Which Many People Are Prone To Abuse
- Methadone Treatment, Addiction and Detox
- An Introduction to Opiate Addiction and Detox
