First Name: Sean Barry Current Event Posting Number: 2
Topic: Health
Title of Article: Prescription Painkillers: When Are They Too Much of a Good Thing?
Author: Michael Friedman
Publication Name: The Huffington Post
Date of Publication: March 1, 2012
Length of Article: 886 words
Taking prescription painkillers to manage chronic pain can become very dangerous, due to the fact that patients often find themselves heavily dependent on their medication. In extreme cases, patients will overdose, and some of them die as a result. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), overdoses of prescription painkillers have become a national epidemic. It is critically important to watch for symptoms of addiction if you or someone you care about is taking a prescription painkiller. Many people do not notice the insidious development of dangerous drug dependency, and this is why a strong knowledge of these symptoms is key. The CDC has recently released a list of important signs that suggest that the use of a prescription painkiller has become a dangerous addiction. These signs include increased poor performance at work and/or at home, change in relationships, changes in mood or other psychiatric symptoms. In addition, changes in overall activity, changes in appearance, and putting drugs before all else in a person's life are other signs of a severe addiction. Out of all these symptoms, the most obvious is that the patient is using more and more medication. Significant behavioral changes in a patient is a strong indication of possible addiction. For example, a man who used to play with his children sits silently in front of the TV, ignoring there basic needs. Changes in a patients mood can include becoming edgy, quick to anger, abusive, and paranoid.
In conclusion, as the number of patients abusing painkillers rises, awareness of symptoms and signs becomes increasingly important. The most successful treatment option for this national epidemic includes public education. Determining if someone has an opioid dependency can be as simple as noticing a negative change in their mental and physical state.
Personally, I find opioid addiction and abuse a serious issue that seems to be greatly forgotten by society. Society encourages the use of pills and stimulants as a quick and easy fix to health problems. Have back pain? There is a drug for that. How about anxiety? There is a drug for that also. This widespread attitude of acceptance of prescription drugs results in the idea that drugs prescribed to you aren't harmful. I believe this attitude in America is creating an increasingly dangerous opioid addiction problem.
Derek
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I think the use of prescription painkiller and any other clinic drugs should be restricted, or at least the CDC should put an effort on teaching the applicable use of drug. Just like Frank B, many people think it's convenient and cheap to purchase medication from a pharmacy. They are making a huge mistake of not consulting with a doctor. Aside from addiction, patients might even experience emotional side effect such as mood swing.
The story of Frank B. and Stella S. are sad, but ones that are becoming more and more common around these times when prescription pills are the immediate remedy for almost any ailment. It seems that doctors are writing prescriptions faster than the patient can describe his or her symptoms.
ReplyDeletePeople should pay more attention to how much of a drug they are taking, and whether or not it is having any adverse effects. The list of "the signs that use of a prescription painkiller [is] too much of a good thing" explains ways that we may be more aware of the condition of ourselves and others who are on painkillers. For example, people addicted to painkillers will exhibit a noticeable change in behavior; a father ignoring his children, a man or woman in a relationship losing interest in sex, etc. Hopefully information like this will become more widespread, so that people will be able to notice the signs and stop the damage being done.
Well written summary, by the way :]
Although prescription painkillers are necessary to cope with chronic pain, the risk that comes with these drugs is potentially fatal since addiction can occur and lead to overdose. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) made it clear that overdosing is becoming increasingly common: in both patients that are aware of the addiction and those that aren’t. Besides the obvious reason that overdosing is harmful because it can kill you, overdosing is dangerous because some patients are not aware that they are addicted until it is brought to their attention. These patients need others to tell them to stop taking the drugs because they are highly influenced by the drug and have little control over their decisions. An increase in public education on the terrors of prescription painkillers is necessary because others can help spot the symptoms of addiction, which include: decrease performance at home or school, change in mood, change in relationships, or a change in appearance. The attitude of the public of using painkillers for all health problems is sending the wrong message to the users because it hides the fact that these painkillers can have lethal effects on one’s body and only reveals the positive effects.
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