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Kids And Prescriptions

The New Fix-Its

U.S. teens are abusing illegal drugs such as marijuana less, but abuse of legal prescription drugs is rising, according to a new study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.  However, an increase in abuse of prescription and over-the-counter medications has left anti-drug campaigners confused as to how to combat the problem of legal drugs. Nearly one in 10 high school seniors reported using the prescription painkiller Vicodin without a prescription, while roughly one in 20 said they had used Oxycontin without a prescription.  Overdoses of prescription and over-the-counter drugs accounted for about one-quarter of the 1.3 million drug-related emergency room admissions in 2004.  Some kids are self-medicating undiagnosed depression or anxiety, while others are using stimulants to try to get an edge on tests and studying.  Sadly, prescription drugs are familiar mood-altering substances for a generation that grew up as prescriptions soared for Ritalin and other stimulants to treat maladies such as attention-deficit disorder.  A staggering five million kids take prescription drugs every day for behavior disorders.  Pharmaceutical companies’ production of two often-abused prescription drugs — hydrocodone and oxycodone, the active ingredients in drugs such as Vicodin and OxyContin — has risen dramatically as the drugs’ popularity for legitimate uses has increased.  To try to reduce the supply of prescription drugs on the black market, authorities have shut down several “pill mills” — where doctors prescribe inordinate amounts of narcotics — as well as Internet pharmacies that ship drugs with little medical consultation, says Catherine Harnett, chief of demand reduction for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).  Essentially what is most important is not locking up the narcotics it is better parenting and more involvement.

The Dark Side of Sex…

Can't Stop?

Sexual addiction is best described as a progressive intimacy disorder characterized by compulsive sexual thoughts and acts.

Like all addictions, its negative impact on the addict and on family members increases as the disorder progresses. Over time, the addict usually has to intensify the addictive behavior to achieve the same results.  Contrary to popular belief, sex addicts are not all sex offenders, and vice-versa.  The National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity has defined sexual addiction as “engaging in persistent and escalating patterns of sexual behavior acted out despite increasing negative consequences to self and others.” In other words, a sex addict will continue to engage in certain sexual behaviors despite facing potential health risks, financial problems, shattered relationships or even arrest.

The same compulsive behavior that characterizes other addictions also is typical of sex addiction. But these other addictions, including drug, alcohol and gambling dependency, involve substances or activities with no necessary relationship to our survival. For example, we can live normal and happy lives without ever gambling, taking illicit drugs or drinking alcohol. Even the most genetically vulnerable person will function well without ever being exposed to, or provoked by, these addictive activities. Sexual activity is different. Like eating, having sex is necessary for human survival.

There are many co-occurring disorders that go hand in hand with sex addiction.  For example, Alcohol and drugs are used to cover the guilt and shame of the inability to stop the “sexual behaviors”  which in turn lead to the same demoralizing behavior which begins a vicious cycle. Drugs alter libido, enhancing it early in drug addiction and inhibiting it later. There is a pattern in cocaine addiction of selling sexual favors for cocaine. As the cost of drug addiction increases, the drug addict usually can’t afford the drug from ordinary job income, and must resort to (either/or) stealing, drug dealing or prostitution to support their habit. Many drugs cause blackouts or amnesia during the drug using experience, and if sex is coupled with that drug using experience then the details of the sexual experience may not be remembered.

Sex addiction is very real and there is help for this disease.  It is not hopeless.  More and more the public is coming forward with their issues and seeking a better life and a permanent solution.

Want vs. Consequences

Relapse

Relapse prevention is crucial to an addict’s recovery.  Relapse, although it doesn’t have to be, is a prominent feature of addiction, and one of the most painful.  Most people who struggle with addiction will have one or more relapses – the return to drug use after a drug-free period – during their ongoing attempts to recover. This can be extremely frustrating for patients and for families, as they have already experienced great pain.  Even more interesting, researchers could prevent these relapses by treating rats with a molecule that blocks glutamate signals, suggesting that this chemical might be investigated as a new treatment to prevent relapse in former cocaine-addicts. “Since wanting a drug is more directly connected to relapse [than liking it], glutamate could prove a promising target for new drug developments designed to treat cocaine addiction,” Vorel says. “Considering all the social and economic aspects of drug abuse, pharmacological intervention alone may not solve the burden. But it could help cocaine abusers which number 1.8 million in the U.S. alone.”

Relapse happens with all addictive drugs not just cocaine there are multiple – and often interactive – factors can increase the likelihood of relapse. These are some of the commonly cited precursors:

• drug-related “reminder” cues (sights, sounds, smells, drug thoughts or drug dreams) tightly linked to use of the preferred drug(s) can trigger craving and drug seeking
• negative mood states or stress
• positive mood states or celebrations
• sampling the drug itself, even in very small amounts

The motivation to seek a drug, once triggered, can feel overwhelming and sometimes leads to very poor decision making: the user will pursue the drug, despite potentially disastrous future negative consequences (and many past negative consequences).  The most confusing part about relapse for someone who is not an addict, is that decision to relapse is made from a sober state of mind.  The importance of a strong program and a defined support group is the foundation upon which a better decision process can be made.

Brain-imaging is aiding the medical field to understand the paradox of the decision to pursue a drug reward despite knowing the consequences. For example, very recent imaging research shows that visual drug cues as short as 33 milliseconds can activate the ancient reward (“go”) circuitry, and that this process does not require conscious processing – it can begin outside awareness.  By the time the motivation does reach awareness the reward circuit has a strong head start. This head start means the area of the brain is responsible for weighing the consequences of a decision and for helping to “stop” the drug thoughts is already behind in the process and without a sufficient block or contrary action the addict is well on their way to relapse.

At War With Alcoholism

In America, where there is an “epidemic” of mental health problems and alcohol abuse that have been reported in the troops returning home from war zones in recent years.  Overall, more than one in ten (13 percent) of the respondents said that they were drinking alcohol in quantities defined by researchers as hazardous, according to the World Health Organization’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test .

Soldiers and Alcoholism

It is a concern for officials in Britain and America to focus on prevention of PTSD, whereas a culture of binge drinking and alcohol misuse could be more of a problem, both before and after each soldier’s tour of duty.  American’s serve at least a 15 month deployment compared to the 5-6 months in other countries.  This has added to the mental unstability of the troops returning from duty. In Britain The charity Combat Stress said, however, that it had seen a 66 per cent rise in demand for its services in the past five years, with veterans taking an average of 14 years to seek help after being discharged. Support services were now seeing about 4,000 new veterans each year, but this could rise to 9,000 a year within a decade, the charity added.

A recent Army mental health report concluded that most service members need closer to two years between tours before their battle-related symptoms resolve themselves. Studies show that alcohol consumption is up 13% amongst armed forces.  There are several factors which lead to the higher rate of PTSD, alcoholism, and mental instability within returning troops.  Although our troops are fighting our country’s battles, sadly they return to only 5 years of coverage after their duty is completed.  Compare that with Britain’s lifetime care and it is absolutely unacceptable considering soldiers do not report their symptoms on the whole for quite some time after their return.