Q. Our daughter, who is in her late 40s, has become addicted to pain medication. She was taking it as prescribed for injuries received in a car accident, and now she is taking eight or nine pills a day. Could you please explain the dangers of these medications so that she and others will understand the problems of pain pill addiction?
A. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the opiods that most addicts use are: hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (Oxycontin or Percocet), morphine and codeine. Taken incorrectly, these medications are extremely dangerous because they can kill by stopping a person from breathing. This is the reason the United States has seen a dramatic increase in deaths from accidental overdose of pain killers.
Many people need pain medication and use it as prescribed. These people should never be placed in the same category as those who are addicted. Your daughter likely began as someone who needed pain medication, but gradually fell into addiction. That is why patients need to be carefully monitored by physicians and pain management specialists.
According to the article “Neurobiology of Opiod Dependence” by Dr. Thomas Kosten and Dr. Tony George, published in “Science and Practice Perspectives,” in the early stages of abuse, people continue to take pain medications because they stimulate the “feel good” system of the brain. Over time, pleasure is decreased and people must use the medications to feel normal. Often they will increase the dosage in an attempt to recreate the feeling of initial euphoria. The more medication they take, the more they become addicted.
Although most people think of pain pill addiction as being a problem for young people, that is no longer true. According to Pauline Anderson, writing for Medscape.com, individuals 50 to 69 years old are the fastest growing segment of opiod addicts. The number of people over 65 who abused opiods grew 34 percent from 2011 to 2012.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, every day 46 Americans die from an overdose of prescription pain medication. In 2013, health care providers wrote enough prescriptions for opiods for every American to have a bottle of pills. Every three minutes a woman goes to the emergency room for prescription misuse or abuse.
Several states now have a tracking system in place where a physician must refill only a month’s worth of pain medication. However, without a sophisticated cross-referencing computer system connecting physicians and pharmacists, someone who is an addict will continue to see several doctors and use different pharmacies.
To help your daughter, you should contact her prescribing physician or physicians immediately. She will need everyone’s help in monitoring and lowering her dose of medication. At this point, she is risking death. Even though she is an adult, you need to do everything possible to be certain that her addiction is stopped.
When she has agreed to seek help, she will need a strong support system. I suggest that she schedule an appointment with a mental health counselor who specializes in addiction treatment, and, if possible, attend meetings of Narcotics Anonymous. Opiod addiction is difficult to overcome, but with the support of you and a team of professionals, she has an excellent chance of recovery.
— Nancy Ryburn holds a doctorate degree in psychology from Yeshiva University in New York City. She now teaches at Southeast Arkansas College. You can reach her at nancyryburn@gmail.com.