What Are Common Prescription Drugs?
Commonly abused prescription drugs include opioids, stimulants, and depressants. Additionally, some over-the-counter (OTC) medications cause dependency problems when not taken as instructed. Both prescription and OTC drugs may cause serious health risks when you take them together or with alcohol. The prescription drug addiction treatment center at Recovery Ranch Tennessee assists those who suffer from a substance use disorder for drugs prescribed by a doctor. There are three main categories of prescription drugs, as follows:- Opioids. Physicians prescribe opioids to patients with chronic or acute pain. Examples include morphine, codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, propoxyphene, and fentanyl. Opioids reduce the brain’s perception of pain and may create a euphoric feeling by activating the brain’s pleasure centers. Those with substance use disorders often modify how they take the drug for greater impact. For example, snorting or injecting OxyContin enhances the euphoric effects — and greatly increases the risk of an overdose.
- CNS Depressants. Doctors provide CNS depressants to clients with sleep disorders or anxiety. Depressants slow brain function and include barbiturates, such as benzodiazepines (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), and triazolam (Halcion).
- Stimulants. Stimulants such as dextroamphetamine (Adderall) and methylphenidate (Ritalin) can help individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy. These stimulants increase blood pressure, heart rate, and blood glucose.
Over the Counter (OTC) Medicines
This classification includes sleep aids (Unisom), antihistamines (Benadryl or Dramamine), and cough suppressants (DXM). These medicines have psychoactive effects when taken in great enough quantities.Prescription Medication Abuse
Elders and adolescents are most susceptible to commonly abused prescription drugs.- Adolescents. In 2018, 369,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 had misused prescription stimulants. An alarming trend amid adolescents, called pharming, involved mixing prescription medications and taking them without understanding the impact of mixing the drugs.
- Elderly Adults. Older people tend to have more prescription medication available due to various health concerns. This sometimes leads to accidental misuse. Some older Americans also develop addictions through intentional misuse. Drug metabolism changes with age, leaving the elderly at a greater risk of health issues when they take commonly abused prescription drugs.
