Drug Rehab Candidates May Include Those Using Cough Medicine

Abuse of OTC drugs may indicate a deeper problem, and the need for drug rehab

I read an article this morning on cough medicine abuse. Amazing. Nearly 17 visits to the ER, every day, for abuse of cough and cold medicines containing dextromethorphan. That’s ‘abuse’ – i.e. non-medicinal use. Just taking it to get high. One third of the visits from 18 to 20-year-olds also involved alcohol. I’m sure some people assume that this is primarily a problem with young people, but more than half the visits involved adults. Anyone at the point of using cough medicine to get high is a prime candidate for addiction, and there’s a good possibility that they’re already using street drugs and hit the cough medicine because they didn’t have any of the other stuff. Someone who cares about that person should get them into drug rehab.

Over 100 over-the-counter medicines contain dextromethorphan. If you’ve ever watched television, you’ve heard of them. Cute little TV commercials that depict people with a cold or cough going about their usual daily activities all bright and chipper, or sleeping peacefully through the night. Are they bright, chipper and peaceful, or are they high on Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough Medicine, Coricidin HBP Cough and Cold, Dayquil LiquiCaps, Dimetapp DM, Robitussin, Sudafed, Triaminic, Tylenol Cold products, Vicks 44 Cough Relief, or NyQuil?

Side effects: confusion, dizziness, double or blurred vision, slurred speech, loss of physical coordination, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, rapid heart beat, drowsiness, numbness of fingers and toes, and disorientation. And the ‘high’ end of it - mild distortions of color and sound or visual hallucinations, "out-of-body" dissociative sensations, and loss of motor control.

We live in a medicated society. For the person who is stressed out, looking for an escape from life’s problems and confusions, these over-the-counter drugs can easily lead to addiction. If your cough medicine supply is running low, but no one in the household has a cough, suspect the worst. Find out who’s using it, and you might well find someone with a drug addiction problem who is, or soon could be, taking serious drugs. Get them into a successful drug rehab program before they become one of the ER statistics.

Drug Rehab Saves Lives, but Millions Never Walk Through the Door

Successful drug rehab saves one lucky guy’s career – do the same for someone you love

This morning I read an article about the reinstatement of a pharmacist whose license had previously been revoked because of addiction to Vicodin. Reinstatement took two years, during which time he was subjected to random drug tests. He’s under drug watch for another five years, but, nevertheless, he’s one of the lucky ones. For every life that’s saved, there are millions out there who never get into a successful drug rehab program that can help them end their addiction.

What’s his story? A clean guy, no drug problem, he got started on Vicodin when suffering from a painful knee problem. Before you know it, he was hooked. At one point he was taking 45 pills a day. All told, he admitted to stealing thousands of pills from work.

Is it really that easy to get dependent on or addicted to a prescription drug? Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding yes. In fact, prescription drug addiction has become so common it’s threatening to overtake heroin and methamphetamine. That’s a big problem.

Don’t for a minute think that because a doctor prescribed a pill, you cannot become addicted to it. You can. And those drugs are no less dangerous than street drugs. If someone you know is taking prescription drugs, make sure you do something about it. Unlike this pharmacist, not everyone gets a second chance. The longer you leave it, the harder it will be. Get them into drug rehab.

Drug Rehab Q & A – When Is It Time for a Full Drug Rehab?

I recently heard about a fellow who has been in and out of drug detox, jail and halfway houses for 10 years. He started drinking and smoking pot at age 11, doing cocaine at 17, heroin at 18. During all those years, the longest detox program he did lasted about a week. What’s behind his story? Truthfully, until he gets into a drug rehab program, he’ll probably never know.

Going through detox after detox is not uncommon. Some people think that if they can just make it through withdrawal, they’ll have it beat. But that’s not all it takes. You need full drug rehab to get down to the bottom of things and get healthy.

The fellow above is now an older guy, still in a halfway house, and attending meetings three times a day to try to stay straight. That may be better than the life he had before, but it’s not a life. You can’t work, can’t have a career, can’t take care of a family. His whole life revolves around those meetings.

Don’t let this happen to someone you care about. If you know someone who has a
drug or alcohol problem, get them into drug rehab now.

Drug Rehab Q & A – When Do I Need an Interventionist?

Unfortunately, some people believe drug addicts and alcoholics when they say they’re going to quit. I’ve seen this go on for years. One broken promise after another. But the truth is, it’s very, very hard to quit drinking, and very hard to stop taking drugs. Don’t count on someone getting themselves into an alcohol or drug rehab on their own steam.

There are two factors at play. The first is withdrawal. For many drugs, and for alcohol, withdrawal can be excruciatingly painful. And anyone who’s been drinking or taking drugs heavily for a while has probably already gotten a taste of that when they’ve gone too long between doses or drinks. If they haven’t had it happen to them, they’ve heard about it. Someone on alcohol, for example, can start shaking and vomiting, get severe headaches and sweat profusely. That can move onto the DTs, panic attacks and seizures. Opiates have similar withdrawal symptoms, as well extreme muscle and bone pain. No one wants to go through that.

The second factor is addiction. Withdrawal symptoms are a result of physical dependency, but what about the rest of it? That person is using drugs or alcohol to cope with something – they need to find out what it is and address it before you can depend on them staying clean.

If you’re counting on someone you love quitting on their own, and they refuse drug rehab, get an interventionist to help. And get someone who really understands drugs and addiction and knows what your loved one is going through.

It’s no secret that drugs and alcohol ruin lives – for both the addicts and the people who love them. It’s not going to get better unless you do something about it. So, take matters into your own hands and get some help. Getting addicts and alcoholics into a successful drug rehab program is the best thing you can do for them.