When asked what victims of drug dependency look like, most people would depict a dirty and destitute street addict, arms etched with track marks from shooting up heroin, stealing from the local convenience store just to feed his daily habit. Or she may be a prostitute, numb to the sad fact that she is selling herself for a line of cocaine. However, you would not likely hear someone describe a business professional tackling client meetings who also visits multiple doctors to get prescriptions for Vicodin. Unfortunately, prescription medicine is now second only to marijuana among the drugs most abused by adults and young people, and many of those battling dependencies to prescription
painkillers could be your closest colleagues.
According to the Los Angeles-based
Waismann Institute’s 2004 Opiate Dependency Report, 56 percent of their patients’ opiate dependencies began with doctor-prescribed medication, which includes common painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin, Lortab and Percocet. Doctors often prescribe these medications to treat discomfort ranging from common ailments such as migraine headaches or a sports-related injury to chronic pain suffered by a cancer patient. For those seeking relief from pain, painkillers can enable them to function at work and home. The down side is that patients can find themselves unable to stop taking the pills in as little as two week’s
time. Although a negligent doctor over-prescribing medication
to a patient can result in dependency, the 2004 Opiate Dependency
Report indicated that of those that were prescribed OxyContin
by their doctors, 73 percent claimed the prescribing doctors
gave directions for use that were clear, easy to understand
and enforced.
Dependency to prescription painkillers
is a medical problem that can occur in anyone. As the body
becomes tolerant to the original dose, the person may find
himself needing to take more to achieve the same result. In
this case, the body has developed an opiate physical dependency.
Opiate physical dependency occurs when, due to continuous use
of opiates, the person taking the medication now requires the
medication in order to simply feel “normal.” The
body stops producing endorphins because it is receiving opiates
instead. This results in the user's physical dependency to
the external supply of opiates. A sudden discontinued supply
of opiates will cause often unbearable withdrawal symptoms
including irritability, profuse sweating, abdominal cramping
and diarrhea. This agonizing withdrawal is the reason most
of those with dependencies cannot stop taking the drugs. For
the pain patient it is extremely difficult for them to distinguish
between the original pain and the discomfort of withdrawal,
providing even greater incentive for them to continue taking
the drugs.
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Although
the drug addict on the street is easy for most of us to recognize,
the professional suffering from an opiate
dependency can go unnoticed
even to those closest to them. This functioning dependent will
typically maintain the same drive to succeed as they did before,
easily hiding their dependency from others. This is what can
make the problem more dangerous than the stereotypical addiction.
Because functioning addicts know they are often the last people
you would expect to be dependent on drugs, they can be even more
compelled to hide the dependency due to the social stigma historically
associated with drug addiction. They can’t imagine explaining
to their supervisors that they are seeking treatment for narcotics.
But everyone should know that opiate
dependency is a serious medical issue for a growing number of
people and, as with any other medical ailment, should be addressed
with the correct medical treatment as soon as possible. Many
executives rule out treatment because they could not imagine
abandoning their workplace and family for a lengthy stay in a
rehabilitation program. They also fear the social stigma of informing
colleagues that they are battling a dependency to drugs. Many
of these people have the same common misconception due to the
stigma attached to a person who cannot stop taking drugs – that it must be cured using treatment that includes elements such as psychological evaluation and group therapy. The pain management patients described often don’t
need any level of social characterization or treatments that
involve psychological reprogramming, making long term therapy
an inappropriate treatment option. Since dependency for these
patients began because their bodies developed a chemical imbalance
due to prescription drugs, the reliance is purely a chemical
issue and can be treated with medication like many other ailments.
The majority of my patients at the
Waismann Institute seek out the treatment for this reason; they
want to rid their bodies of physical dependency as quickly and
discreetly as possible. Boasting a success rate of over 65 percent,
The Waismann Method introduces special medications that facilitate
the cleansing of opiates from the patient’s receptor sites
while he or she is under anesthesia, allowing him to return home
within days. This method is ideal for people who need to return
to normalcy quickly and confidentially, and relief for those
that would otherwise continue to remain reliant on the drugs.
Prescription
drug dependency is one of the fastest rising drugs of abuse among professionals as it is a medical reaction that can occur very easily. Every person prescribed opiate-based painkillers should be aware of the risks and talk to their doctor if they feel that they are becoming physically dependent on medication. There is help for this medical disease.
For more information, please  call (310) 205-0808 or (888) 987-HOPE or  send us a confidential email.
Dr. Clifford A. Bernstein, a board-certified anesthesiologist specializing in pain management and opiate dependency, is the Medical Director for the Waismann Institute, located in Beverly Hills.
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