Caring for elderly parents can be frustrating and confusing. But when your parent is living alone or with a spouse, is showing signs of depression and you suspect is also abusing alcohol or prescription drugs, it can be doubly confusing for you.
You may be afraid that any offer of help will be rejected since your parent wants you to believe – and makes frequent pronouncements – that everything is fine.
Americans are having a love affair with prescription drugs. They consider the pills they get from doctors less dangerous and less addictive than those they buy on the street, even though they are wrong on both counts.
The prescription drugs that are most abused are the ones that are prescribed most often. New kinds of sleeping pills, buoyed by clever and constant advertising on television, hit record sales in 2006 with 47 million prescriptions, and show no sign of decreasing. In 2011, these drugs were prescribed 60 million times, even though they are supposed to be used for only 14 days and most research finds they are only mildly effective.
Abuse of illegal and prescription drugs is on the rise across America. As published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 22.5 million Americans had abused a prescription medication or used an illicit drug in the previous month as reported in 2011-this means 8.7 percent of the population. Much of the rise can be attributed to use of marijuana and prescription drugs, although illegal narcotics such as cocaine and heroin are still major players.
It took over 60 years for the United States government to recognize that anabolic steroids are addictive. These synthetic male hormones do not cause a “rush” or intense feelings of euphoria, relaxation, or energy like heroin or cocaine, and people do not sell their children to get money to buy them. However, drug cravings, drug-seeking behaviors, and withdrawal are all medical criteria for a diagnosis of addiction, and anabolic steroids cause all three. People risk getting arrested to obtain these drugs, and they have undergone difficult withdrawal syndromes that require hospitalization and medical assistance.
Prescription drugs are pricey. Many Americans looking for a way to save on medications have turned to buying their prescriptions through out-of-country online pharmacies. One survey showed that as many as 25 percent of purchasers in the U.S. buy their drugs online in order to save money.
Thirty-nine year old Bartolo Colon of the Oakland A’s had been delivering a great season of play. With a 10-9 record, Colon had 24 starts and an earned run average of 3.43. Unfortunately, Colon’s most recent drug test showed elevated levels of testosterone, a sure sign that he has been using illegal steroids to help his game. Colon’s resulting suspension was the second to be handed down this week by Major League Baseball (MLB) and was the fifth such penalty this year. Major League Baseball began testing players for performance enhancing drugs close to 10 years ago, but the problem seems to be as bad as ever; some say worse.
Read more about Steroid Use Continues to Plague Major League Baseball
As fatalities from drug poisoning deaths climb in the U.S., pharmaceutical companies try to keep ahead of drug abusers by making drugs more difficult to inhale or inject. From 1999 to 2008 the number of fatalities had tripled.
Read more about As Pain Pills Change, Abusers Move to New Drugs
Ex NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf was arrested a second time this week in Montana. His arrest for criminal possession of dangerous drugs, highlights the increasing epidemic we have with prescription drug abuse in the U.S. The Seattle Times reported that Leaf posted $76,000 in bond for his arrest, according to a news article.
Read more about Police Get Millions But Drugs Cost Google and Ryan Leaf Big
The use of prescription drugs for non-medical purposes has become a serious public health issue, with prescription drug abuse ranking second among illicitly used drugs. In many cases, the abuse stems from a chronic pain complaint, in which a patient is prescribed an opioid, but without adequate warning about its addictive effects.
Read more about Standardized Monitoring Needed for Prescription Painkillers
The Los Angeles County coroner’s autopsy concluded that the drugs involved in actress Brittany Murphy’s death last December were apparently used to treat a cold or respiratory infection. An earlier statement from the coroner said Murphy’s death was an accident caused by a combination of pneumonia, an iron deficiency and "multiple drug intoxication."
Read more about Prescription Drugs Contributed to Actress Brittany Murphy’s Death
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