By Jessica Szabo
WINNEMUCCA - Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and other street drugs are frightening. They're illegal, so anyone who gets caught with them risks severe legal consequences. They are processed by people who care only about the money they are going to make, with no thought to what could happen to the person who is going to use them. One never knows how strong the substance might be or what else might be mixed into it until they've used it.
Many people attempt to get around this danger with the recreational use of legal substances, such as prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications. They believe that because the substance is monitored by everyone from employees of the FDA to the local pharmacist, it cannot hurt them. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The official website of the Mayo Clinic notes that the physical and cognitive symptoms of the abuse of prescription or over-the-counter medications depends on the type of substance being misused.
Abusing opoid painkillers like Oxycontin and Vicodin can lead to constipation, depression, low blood pressure, confusion and poor balance or an unsteady walk.
Sedatives and tranquilizers such as Valium and Ativan may lead to drowsiness, confusion, an unsteady walk, poor judgment and irritability when taken for reasons other than their intended and prescribed use.
When stimulants like Ritalin are used to get high, weight loss, agitation and high blood pressure are some possible indicators.
While each type of drug will have different effects on the person's mind and body, there are some behavioral warning signs common to the abuse of all over the counter and prescription drugs. Many of these may happen with any type of substance abuse, such as a loss of interest in things the person used to find absorbing or fun, changes in their eating and sleeping patterns, suddenly hanging out with new friends and sudden shifts in their personal tastes, speech and the way they dress or maintain their appearance. It is not uncommon for a person who has taken to abusing legal drugs to become uncharacteristically secretive about their living space or how they've spent their time.
Housemates and friends might notice their own prescription or over-the-counter medications missing or depleted. If the person is purchasing prescription medications illegally, or buying especially large amounts of over-the-counter substances, stealing others' money or valuables, or selling off their own things may also occur.
Other red flags are unique to the abuse of legal drugs. A person who is abusing one of their own prescription drugs or an over-the-counter substance might seem to be ruining or losing their medication much too frequently for it to be happening by chance. Behaviors such as telling others their prescription pills all fell down the sink several times, or acting like they're searching their bathroom for misplaced pills or syrups, followed by dropping and breaking another package on the way home, then claiming the medication fell into the clothes hamper and scattered a few weeks later are likely to be invented excuses for why they need more of the substance much too soon.
"Doctor shopping" is an especially strong warning sign of prescription drug abuse. This term refers to the practice of visiting a series of doctors, describing the same symptoms each time and attempting to get each medical professional to write the patient a prescription for the substance.
While there is certainly nothing suspicious about getting a second opinion on a health issue or refusing to make follow-up appointments with a physician a person is not comfortable seeing, someone who is seeing more than one doctor for legitimate reasons will be upfront and honest about what has already been prescribed to them and what substances they are currently taking or have at home.
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