{"id":3684,"date":"2018-09-14T22:17:50","date_gmt":"2018-09-14T22:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.americasrehabcampuses.com\/?p=3684"},"modified":"2023-04-12T11:38:11","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T11:38:11","slug":"prescription-drug-abuse-symptoms-statistics-and-getting-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.americasrehabcampuses.com\/addiction\/prescription-drug-abuse-symptoms-statistics-and-getting-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Prescription Drug Abuse: Symptoms, Statistics, and Getting Help"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PrescriptionOne of the biggest drug abuse problems the United States is currently facing is prescription drug abuse. Unfortunately, many of the people who develop a prescription drug addiction start out with a legitimate prescription from their doctor. As they continue taking the prescription drug, they develop a tolerance, meaning they need to take more and more of the drug to receive the same painkilling effects. This leads them to take more than prescribed or seek out stronger medications.<\/p>\n

Over time, many of these people\u00a0develop a dependence<\/a>\u00a0on prescription painkillers, meaning their body adapts to always having the drug available. Because the body is so reliant on the painkillers, when a person stops taking them, they\u2019ll experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Many people give in just to make the symptoms stop, creating an endless cycle of drug abuse that\u2019s difficult to escape.<\/p>\n

Commonly Abused Prescription Drugs<\/h2>\n

The most commonly abused prescription drugs are opioids, with\u00a0an estimated 5.1 million abusers in 2010<\/a>. These are frequently prescribed to people for pain relief after an injury or surgery. Since the 1990s, doctors have\u00a0drastically increased the number of opioid prescriptions<\/a> they\u2019ve written, which is one of the biggest causes for this surge in abuse. Examples of commonly abuse opioids include the following:<\/p>\n