Drug Prescription pills had always been a threat to all – even before the recent opioid epidemic. Yes, they are safe for people who have prescriptions for them and take them as prescribed. However, prescriptions can easily be abused and pills also can be purchased illegally. This is extremely dangerous and can even be life threatening. Today, Anchored Tides Recovery would like to spend some time highlighting the dangers of prescription pills.
According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, NCDAS, 53 million Americans had a case of drug abuse in 2018. And of the lot, prescription pills accounted for a significant 30%. Now, you see that prescription pills misuse and abuse poses a lot of health risk to everyone. With that said, what are those risks?
Before we discuss the risks of misusing or abusing prescription pills, let’s talk about the “what” and “why.”
What Are Addictive Prescription Pills?
Ordinarily, prescription pills are not necessarily meant to be addictive. The common prescription drugs fall into three categories, namely:
- Opioids
- Depressants
- Stimulants
As the name suggests, these pills are prescribed to people with certain health conditions. And the three major health conditions include pains, anxiety disorders, and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Even to “the administered,” doctors only prescribe the drugs under strict conditions and often as a last resort because they are strong medications.
Why Do People Misuse or Abuse Prescription Pills?
People abuse prescription pills for various reasons. Some do so for fun (to get high), and others may start to build a tolerance to their prescription, and need to take more to feel the same effects.
Others may abuse prescription pills in the bid to study better, lose weight, or keep fit. Whatever reason you have for misusing or abusing prescription medication, they all often face the same complications listed below:
Risks Associated With Prescription Pills Addiction
- Loss of Memory
Memory loss is often associated with depressants. Depressants generally increase the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. And that explains why it treats anxiety.
However, high levels of GABA lower brain activity. In the event of depressant abuse, your brain will then stimulate more GABA. That would eventually result in memory loss and a lack of concentration.
What’s worse is that if you suddenly stop taking depressants after a long period of use, you might experience life-threatening withdrawal seizures.
- Respiratory Complications
Opioids are responsible for respiratory challenges in prescription pills’ abusers. They can indeed help manage pain under a doctor’s supervision.
Nevertheless, at the slightest overdose, you can experience life-endangering breathing difficulties. It is even worse when you combine opioids with alcohol.
In addition to breathing problems, opioids deteriorate sleep patterns. Over time, your immune system suffers from your misuse or overdose of opioids.
- Paranoia
Prescription medications generally affect the internal workings of the brain. Put simply; they disrupt how the brain cells send and receive information.
In particular, they (opioids and stimulants) affect the brain’s reward sequences. As such, you get high and joyous when you take. But when you don’t use these pills, you start showing paranoia tendencies.
Stimulants especially can make you paranoid, and short doses make abusers go aggressive and withdraw.
- Organ Damage and Failure
Prescription pills can cause heart-related problems such as collapsed veins and eventual heart failure. For starters, the medications are strong. And for that reason, the heart starts experiencing abnormal heartbeat rates.
Another organ often affected by prescription medications are the liver and kidney. These pills often make your liver and kidney go on overdrive. In other words, the two organs require more work to digest the substances in opioids, particularly.
How Anchored Tides Recovery Can Help
In the end, whatever complications or risks you face for abusing any prescription drug, there is hope. It’s never too late to get help, and you don’t have to live a life abusing prescription pills. We can help you at Anchored Tides Recovery.
Our range of treatment services for women includes partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and other outpatient programs. Most importantly, we have some of the best guides to help you navigate your addiction! Trust us, and get help today!
