Abusing Prescription Medication? ......an Addiction All The Same!!!

Do you know that addiction to prescription medications is 10X the problem of illegal drugs? If you are abusing tranquillizers, painkillers and stimulants, these are the questions you need to ask yourself.

1. Are you exceeding the recommended dosage?

• There is a recommended dosage for a reason – more than the recommended amount can cause addiction, psychological as well as physical.
• Did you know the psychological addiction is much, much harder to break than the physical?
• I had a client that exchanged all his blood so he would no longer be physically addicted.  He was no longer physically addicted, but he couldn't stop taking pills; he was psychologically addicted.

2. Do you take these pills in secret?

• Is this your little secret? 
• Does anyone else know you do this?
• If the actual medical reason for taking these pills is no longer applicable but you are still taking them, than you are taking them in secret.

3. Are you aware of the short and long term adverse side effects?

• Every prescription medication that you take has long and short term side effects.
• You need to read about these either in the literature or looking up the drug on the web.  Read the small print.  Anything that so drastically changes your mood, will also change your physiology. 
• Addictions build slowly and have a cumulative affect.

4. Do you know the withdrawal symptoms?

• When you abuse your prescription medication (either by exceeding the dosage or taking them when it is no longer indicated) you will experience withdrawal symptoms when you cut back or stop.
• Withdrawal symptoms are often worse than what you originally took the medication for.
• Do not stop these drugs unless you are under a physician's care and know how to gradually withdraw.

5. Do you drive a car or have you had accidents?

• I have a client who was recently arrested in a Publix parking lot. A policeman was parked there and found her having trouble getting into her car. When he approached her, she was slurring her words, etc. On the front seat was a plastic container of Xanax.
• If you are stopped and have a controlled substance (without a prescription) in the car, your license will be taken away and you will be charged with a felony.
• Do NOT drive or get in the car with someone who has taken mind/mood altering medication.