Affect on the Individual:
You
fall and break your leg, after surgery and a few days in the hospital
its time to go home. The doctor sends you with instructions on how to
care for your healing leg. Along with the instruction
comes a prescription to pain medication. You take the entire
prescription but after a few weeks, the dose just doesn’t seem to be
enough. “What’s the problem with taking four pills at a time instead of
two?” “Two pills just doesn’t get rid of the pain anymore.”
The addiction begins.
Over
a period of time, pain medications may loose their effectiveness on an
individual’s pain level. They being to think they can’t coup without
there meds and it consumes their daily routine.
Are they afraid of the pain that will occur if they don’t take the
medication? Are they truly suffering or is it just a figment of the
imagination? Is their body in a habit of receiving this drug and can’t
function properly without it? What sets off an individual
to become addicted to prescription pain medications?
Affect on family
When a family member is addicted to a prescribed pain medication, how would the family members be affected? How would there
lives change? Depending on which family member is addicted, would
the amount of affection change? If a parent is addicted to a pain
medication, would there children become more likely to become addicted?
In a family, could having a family member who
is addicted to pain medication make the family more likely to become
destroyed, or is the affection not that drastic? Would the family
distance themselves from the addicted family member before they would
let there family fall apart? If a parent is addicted
to pain medication, are there children more likely to rebel and
distance themselves from that parent more than in a “normal” family
situation?
This article is silly. It directs you to consult your doctor if you feel like you're becoming addicted. If you feel like you're becoming addicted then you're already hooked, and the only reason you'd consult your doctor is for another prescription.
ReplyDeleteThe article also states that the chances of becoming addicted to opiates are very low under medical supervision. That may work in a lab environment, but not in the real world. No one is going to be looking over your shoulder or counting how many Vicodan you have left.
And the trap is especially snaring when it is compounded by the "don't worry" nature of an article like this. The article states that you can become physically dependent and tolerant of the drug and not be addicted. Hmmmmm....
I definitely agree with Greg about this article. It seems like the author wanted to establish a difference between tolerance and addiction, but did a terrible job. When a person feels that their medicine isn't doing the trick anymore, what are they going to do? Most of the time people say "Another pill won't hurt" but in the end, they just want the good feeling of the medication, and they'll take as much as needed to achieve that feeling. It doesn't take very long for a person to do this a certain amount of times before they become addicted. The worst part is that this article says that taking more is okay, and an addiction most likely wouldn't develop. The author didn't really clear up the differences, and for that reason it leaves anyone that reads article confused about whether something is an addiction or if our bodies are tolerant of the drug.
ReplyDeleteTo me it seems like the author of this article isn't looking at addiction in the same way that most of us are. We see addiction as a habit we can't control or something we really like to do and we do all of the time. The author is making it seem like addiction can't happen if you follow the rules. He says that people that take their pain medication as directed by their doctor do not become addicted, which I feel isn't true at all. I think that the addiction can start the moment the first dose is taken. The patient realizes how good it makes them feel and starts to like it a lot, so they continue to take it as a habit.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Laken; anyone is susceptible to addiction whether their medication is prescribed or over the counter. The author of this article, though he has a very strong opinion, has very odd beliefs. A patient with a strong want to get better may think they are just taking another dose to relief pain then end up enjoying the feeling it gives them. In my opinion, it may only take one time in order for a person to become strongly dependent on a prescribed medication. A person that is getting prescribed pain relieving medication may also realize that in order to financially support their addiction they can sell their pills to other addicts. This, in turn, causes yet another problem and causes addicts to be on the rise. Again, prescribed medication has the ability to give one an extremely euphoric feeling and therefore is a perfect candidate for immediate addiction.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that this article is kind of ridiculous in its claims about how to prevent addiction. It just doesn’t make sense. It almost sounds like the article is saying that one should increase dosage and not worry about addiction. Perhaps there is a lack of understand that pain killers are supposed to be a temporary fix. What I don’t understand is why some people don’t consider the consequences of pain medication dependence before they decide to increase dosage. Another thing that raises red flags is that the article said that your doctor should prescribe you medication based on whether or not you have a history of addiction. Does that change how affective the medication is or is pain medication just a placebo?
ReplyDeleteThis article is helpful and informative. It says who is most likely to become addicted which gives some initial insight into the problem. Addiction is then told to be avoided by taking medication as prescribed. This is great information--take the right amount and you'll be fine. The doctor then continues to say that it's okay to take more once tolerance is reached. This is expected by doctors, and therefore it cannot be addiction. The phrase "addiction to pills" is meant in this article to mean taking pills even if one does not have pain or something wrong. Tolerance and physical dependence are things that mean pain is involved and it is still necessary to take the pills.
ReplyDeleteI think Laken makes a really good point. Pain med addiction can happen from the first dose if the person really notices a large difference in how much better the medication makes them feel.
ReplyDeleteI have always thought Pain medications are a really interesting type of addiction. This is because like the article asks, is it that you wont stop because you really like the feeling of the medication or is it because your body cant deal being without it?
i think Laken has made a interesting point as well. When an addiction hits it is hooked from the first intake, especially with pain medications. They can become addicted to the quick relief of pain and the light feeling the experience
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the points posted. I personally think that even if a patient take the prescription drugs at a prescribed dose for a long time, maybe because he's suffering from a long term disease, he has a high chance of getting addicted. It's the same like when a person does something for a long time, it becomes a habit. So, for these kind of patients, taking pills might become a habit and addiction is more likely to happen from habits.
ReplyDeletei agree with Greg in the sense that after a couple of doses the patient begins to think that if he/ she does not take the drug the pain will continue and that creates the feeling of addiction in him/her. i guess the doctor is the best person to remedy this problem since he is highly inclined to the patient
ReplyDelete