Opioid abuse, unfortunately is more common than many realize – affecting 2.5 million Americans and causing 130 fatal overdoses every single day. The problem is that opioids are commonly prescribed to treat pain after surgeries, injuries, dental procedures, and even chronic conditions like cancer. Sadly, 21 to 29% of these patients will eventually misuse their …
An opiate addiction is not to be taken lightly. No friend or family member of an opiate addict believes the addiction is anything but life-threatening and dangerous. Those closest to the addict can play the most important roles in either enabling them or helping them get clean. In fact, a little bit of tough love …
Continue reading “For Those Dealing with Opiate Addicts, These Tips are for You”
Every 32 hours, Pinellas County loses a member of our community to prescription drug abuse. This means in the next 32 hours, someone will lose their loved one to drug abuse – a parent may lose their child, a child may lose their parent, and someone will lose their friend. Something has to be done. …
Continue reading “Pinellas County and Their Fight Against Prescription Drug Abuse”
There is no reason to beat around the bush; our country is in the middle of an opioid crisis. Each of us either knows someone personally or shares a mutual friend with a person or family struggling with an opioid addiction. When we hear a story of someone who is struggling to beat addiction, we …
Continue reading “Opioid Abuse & What It’s Doing to Children”
With drug use more frequently than ever causing deaths in Florida, one group of substances is the leading cause of that frightening trend: opioids. Opioids are most often used medically to relieve pain, with some examples of prescribed opioids being hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl and morphine. However, the use of the illegal drug heroin, which is …
It’s not easy to stand by and watch a relative or loved one suffer from drug addiction. This is especially true when you’re looking at statistics from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) like “44 people die every day in the United States from overdose of prescription painkillers.” Gaining true insights into …
Continue reading “Opioid Abuse and What It’s Doing to You or Someone You Know”
“Four in five new heroin users started out misusing prescription painkillers.” Hearing about drug abuse and addiction is a lot different than dealing with the real thing. Statistics show that among adolescents ages twelve to seventeen years old, a whopping 467,000 adolescents were “current non-medical users” of pain relievers, such as hydrocodone or morphine, with …
Continue reading “Opioid Abuse in Your Adult Child – Getting Help”
Across the nation, statistics report “Opioid addiction is driving [an] epidemic, with 18,893 overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers, and 10,574 overdose deaths related to heroin in 2014.” This staggering statistic is taken from a 2016 report released by the American Society of Addiction Medicine. More often than not, users do not make it …
If you’re thinking someone in your life is abusing prescription drugs, it’s important to observe their behavior and try to get them the proper help. What to Look For Prescription drug abuse and overdose are rapidly growing in the United States and many European countries, yet treatment for this has yet to match. Prescription drug …
