Detecting Prescription Opiates Addiction

While there are a lot of different kinds of drugs out there, one of the most commonly abused types are prescription meds – which are usually painkillers derived from the opium poppy, like morphine or oxycontin.

That’s great and all, but how can you tell if someone you know is addicted to prescription opiates?  Here are some signs to help you:

• Stealing money, other people’s prescriptions, or other people’s opiate-based medication.  If your friend or family member has other people’s prescriptions or other people’s medications, it’s time to get suspicious that they may be taking those medications.
• Long term or chronic use of prescription drugs.  If you know someone who is always taking something for some perceived ill, you may want to find out more about their issue.  While some people have long-term, painful conditions, others perceive their condition as painful because they have been on pain meds for so long they don’t know how to manage without them.  The second situation is the main one to worry about.
• “Track marks” or obvious injection sites on the body.  Some people can take prescription drug addiction to another level and dissolve the drug to inject it.
• Mood alteration.  A person with any kind of addiction will generally have various mood swings and generally not be dependable.  They may react to the same situation in various different ways that don’t all make sense.
• Constantly “popping pills”.  Ever seen the show “House”?  One way you can tell Dr. House has a Vicodin addiction is by his constant dry swallowing of his pain meds.

The long and short of it is: if you know someone acting irrationally, who appears to be stealing money or prescription medications from others, or they are consistently taking some pill or another, feel free to contact us. 

For nearly 50 years, Narconon has saved those who were thought lost to substance abuse forever.  Our success is measured in our ever-growing number of graduates who now lead new lives free from drugs.
 
Contact Narconon Suncoast today.