Published:
02/23/2011 01:04am
Pills for Pain are Often Addictive
It does not have to be narcotic to be addictive. When is the medical community ready to try other options for patients instead of drugs called medication? One more time a young woman from Tacoma, WA. Tina C., received pain pills to resolve hurting from a car accident. After seven months she realized she was addicted to the pills, which her doctor told her would not happen, because they were not narcotic. And her doctor replaced one drug with another which is merely "switching habits."
Never was the woman asked if her family had a history of alcoholism. This is the first question to ask, because it determines factors for addiction because of predetermined genetics in the family medical history. This is a family disease.
Because mind and mood altering medications have a similar chemical formula to alcohol the body can not tell the difference. This produces great anguish for those ignorant to this information. Valium, Xanax, Ativan, Librium, Paxipam, Restoril, Serax, Tranxene, and Centrax are older versions of medications often prescribed to resolve all kinds of emotional issues causing pain in the body. They are in the same class of drugs as alcohol and barbiturates. You can get drunk on them; you can become addicted to them; and you can suffer delirium tremens when they are withdrawn, according to The book, "Licit and Illict Drugs: The Consumers Union Report on Narcotics, Stimulants, Depressants, Inhalants, Hallucinogens and marijuana-including Caffeine, Nicotine and Alcohol" by Edward M. Brecher and the Editors of Consumer Reports. He states, that they resemble alcohol in almost all respects.
Another group of commonly used and abuse drugs in the United States are the Tri-Cyclic anti-depressants, or mood elevators, such as Elavil, Triavil, Trofranil, etc. The amphetamines as Benzedrine, Dexedrine, etc. have also equal hazards inherent in their use. Interestingly, the use of amphetamines as diet pills doesn't really work in weight control and does create tolerance, dependency and addiction. Other drugs that fit this pattern are: Phenobarbital, Belladonna, Thorazine, Stellazine, Ritalin, Seconal, Nembutal, Miltown, Doriden, Placidyl, Noludar, Sopors, and Quaaludes. More recently, Paxil, Effexor, and OxyContin are emblematic for a larger problem: the inappropriate use of all prescriptions pain medications.
Most doctors do not refrain from multiply prescriptions. Polydrugs or one drug in combination with another, more than doubles the danger potential inherent in each drug separately. The former Dean of Pharmacy and chairman of the UA's Interdisciplinary Committee on Alcohol and Drugs, noted, "Mixing drugs is dangerous. There can be a serious interaction, a multiplication rather than addition." When one of the drugs is alcohol, there is six times the effect. Especially in the elderly there is a common practice of piling one on top of another.
Nevertheless, in the search to solve emotional problems manifesting as pain, the search begins and ends with a "chemical answer" commented Dr. Paul Ohliger. They may be over the counter, as a beverage, or prescriptions. More unique to our time, is the powerful mass media's influence to taking drugs.
Wet or dry booze called prescriptions are mood-changers. The medical profession needs to better realize that the action of the chemicals is often at direct cross-purposes with the objective of the program attempting to be integrated into their patient's lives. Joseph Zuska, M.D. director of Alcoholism Recovery Services at St. Joseph Hospital, Orange, CA. said, "Pain is a message that something is wrong. We need to get to the source of the pain of anxiety (emotional pain) and do something to help it go a way in a healthy fashion. Taking a sedative [pill] merely suppresses and represses it."
Colleen D., now free of chemicals for nearly eight years, states it simply, "If I don't put it in my body, it can't hurt me." Just verbalizing the feeling with someone we can trust gives relief. Or, if we indulge in a hobby, we can' think about our problems. Using hypnosis for pai
