Posts Tagged ‘addiction in women’

As WV Senate Tackles Prescription Drug Abuse, Ambitious Business Women Battle Its Effects

Monday, March 8th, 2010

On March 2^nd West Virginia’s senate cleared a bill aimed at tackling prescription drug abuse. Modeled after New York’s program, it utilizes a national database physicians must use in order to prescribe or dispense painkillers and other drugs. Hoping to not only save the state money, but also tackle a problem robbing the nation of productive citizens left and right, bills like this have begun to emerge rapidly as numbers surface regarding just how many people die every year from prescription drug overdoses, specifically those of painkillers and mood-altering drugs like ADD/ADHD meds Ritalin and Adderall, fast becoming as common on the drug scene as pot, but wearing a much more accepted face.

The massive amount of women trying to make it big in the professional world who use as a means of staying focused and getting a leg up on the competition is particularly interesting to this growing problem. MSNBC recently published an article bringing to light the lengths women go to in order to stay ahead and the detrimental effects it has not only on their health, but also on the career they’re so intent on furthering.

Drugs like hydrocodone and vicodin rank high on the list of painkillers used, as they provide jolts of energy and provide focus. Unfortunately, they’re also incredibly difficult to quit using. As women become hooked they experience intense withdrawal, just like those using hard street drugs. Consequently, those who thought they had complete control over their lives and habits find themselves battling to stay alive.

This is quickly becoming commonplace, as the article explains, “According to IMS Health, a research firm that tracks prescription drug use, the use of stimulants has nearly tripled over the past decade,” and painkillers are no different.  Women are particularly vulnerable, as they are 55 percent more likely to be prescribed narcotics and anti-anxiety drugs, as the article points out, and with a mindset geared toward perfection, these victims quickly spiral out of control.

Addiction to painkillers like Vicodin, Norco and Oxycontin generally remains a tightly kept secret by those abusing, fearing reputation, backlash and career detriment. As the addiction takes hold, users must take more and more in order to keep the effects, teetering dangerously close to overdose and many times tumbling in. Because of its hush hush nature, many times treatment for painkiller addiction or prescription drug abuse remains neglected until it’s too late.

Hopefully with the increase in legislation, addiction and abuse will become more visible, and those who need painkiller addiction treatment will receive it. With more national media attention on this problem and popular shows like VH1’s Celebrity Rehab and A&E’s Intervention, painkiller addiction symptoms are coming to the forefront, helping those affected more easily identify and seek treatment, and in so doing, lifting the veil from this secretive world after the glass ceiling.

Tags: addiction, addiction in women, addiction intervention, medication addiction, painkiller addiction
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