Drugs
When a medicine is not taken the way it should be used and a person is addicted to it, the problem is called prescription drug abuse disorder. People with this disorder take drugs because the chemicals in the drugs have psychoactive effects.
Diagnosis
Prescription drug abuse is the use for purposes not intended by the health professional who prescribed them. Prescription drug abuse or problematic use ranges from taking your friend’s pain reliever for back pain to snorting or injecting crushed pills to get high. Drug abuse can become chronic and compulsive, despite negative consequences.
Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of prescription drug abuse depend on the specific drug. Due to their mind-altering properties, the most commonly abused prescription drugs include the following:
- Opioids used to treat pain, for example, medications that contain oxycodone, such as Oxycontin and Percocet, and those that contain hydrocodone, such as Norco.
- Anti-anxiety and sedative medications, such as alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium), and hypnotics, such as zolpidem (Ambien), which are used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders.
- Stimulants, such as methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, and others), dexamfetamine and amphetamine (Adderall XR, Mydayis), and dexamfetamine (Dexedrine), which are used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and some sleep disorders sleep.