| Show Prescription drug abuse is a growing problem Charlotte Edwards Contributing Writer More people all over the country are developing a dependency on prescription n drugs every every day According g to a study by the US U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Utah leads the nation in non- non medical painkiller abuse We actually are number one in the world said Robert Beatty Clinical Director and Assistant Administrator of Highland Ridge Hospital in Midvale In a study done about a year and a half ago Utah had more people per capita else in n the world that were dependent on antidepressants or pain medication Beatty says that he is sure that we are still in the top five if not number one In recent years the Drug Enforcement Administration has really been cracking down on doctors especially pain management doctors They are trying to catch the ones who are giving out too many prescriptions too easily Many prescription l painkillers are being over- over prescribed to patients When patients can get more than they need they take more than they need That is how ho v the addiction begins According to Beatty part of the problem is that when the doctor realizes the patient might have havea a a dependency he or she prescribes less or stops prescribing the medication all together However the patient is now addicted and feels the need for more medication At this point the patient begins to d do what is called doctor shopping This is when a patient goes from clinic to clinic telling different doctors about the pain and collecting prescriptions from all of the various doctors I thought o I needed it said a former patient of Highland Ridge Hospital She started doctor shopping when her doctor wouldn't prescribe her any anymore anymore anymore more painkillers It worked for a long time until she eventually overcame her addiction Brett and Mary Johnson names have been changed to protect privacy are currently struggling with Bretts Brett's addiction to methadone Methadone is isan isan isan an opiate often used to help patients in rehab cope with withdrawal symptoms When the surge of teen deaths due to overdoses gained public attention doctors stopped prescribing it as often Instead they started prescribing methadone more regularly as a painkiller Ten milligrams of methadone is equivalent to ten milligrams of morphine Brett takes methadone for chronic back pain 11 II years ago he was in a car accident and was thrown into the windshield The impact of it caused stress fractures along his spine Now he experiences arthritic pain where the fractures healed He le has been prescribed medication by a pain management doctor for the thelast thelast thelast last five years His monthly prescriptions include methadone for pain 30 for sleeping and 30 for anxiety The normal dose of methadone is 20 to 80 milligrams at the most in a day Brett takes about milligrams of methadone and about 60 milligrams of per day Sometimes he runs out ou t of medication before the month is even over He overdoses on it like every night said Mary She says it always scares her when she has a hard time waking him up or his eyes start rolling back in his head Some of the symptoms of an overdose arc are an inability to stay awake heavy eavy snoring and a pause in breathing Methadone contains a breathing depressant Brett also drinks alcohol which intensifies this effect When a person dies from methadone it is usually because his hisor hisor hisor or her breathing stops Rather than an overdose it is typically called death due to the toxic effects of methadone He used to stop breathing in his sleep all the time said Mary Methadone contributes to more deaths every year than heroin or cocaine According to the Associated Press overdose deaths rose about percent between 2000 and 2004 Every year there are nearly methadone- methadone related deaths Highland Ridge Hospital is one of many clinics that can offer help for people with drug and alcohol abuse problems They have patient in-patient psychiatric care to help patients cope with the long term emotional social and legal consequences of substance abuse They also have a 28 day rehab program It is a step 12 program similar to the one used in Alcoholics Anonymous The first three steps are completed during their stay at the clinic When the patients arc are released they are on their way to the fourth step with a sponsor to help them along the way I went through here years ago and they were really good said a former patient She was there with her teenage son who was checking into the clinics clinic's detoxification program She went on to say that she is confident that the clinic will help her son just like it had her so many years ago globe |
