Addicted to Painkillers: Five Signs You May Have Crossed The Line

Chronic pain can be incredibly difficult to deal with in day to day life. The thought of waking up and starting your day in pain is enough to send many under. For the most part, it can be dealt with prescription drugs and over-the-counter painkillers.

Now, many of us probably won’t associate painkillers with addiction. After all, they’re developed to make us better, right?

However, painkillers offer that small sense of euphoria which many people become addicted to and you may not even realise it.

Prescription drug addiction can be hugely harmful to your body and lead to all manner of health complications and problems. That’s why it’s so vital to recognise the signs and get help, with many treatment centres around the country offering programmes to help deal with the problem. But how do you know you’re addicted to painkillers or prescription drugs? Well, there are a few tell tale signs…

Taking Different Amounts To Your Prescription

If a doctor has prescribed you with a particular drug to aid with a medical condition, then it’s important that you take the recommended amount that the doctor has suggested.

If you find yourself taking more than what has been prescribed by the doctor, then it could be a warning sign that you have a problem with the drugs. Ultimately this will then distort your prescription as you’ll be given an amount for a set number of days.

Picking Up Both Prescription & Over The Counter

If you’re picking up drugs from multiple sources and taking them alternately, then it could be a sign that there’s a severe reliance on taking such drugs, and not just for managing pain or any health issues you may have.

What’s more, if you find yourself picking up drugs from more obscure sources, then that could be a further indication. This could include ordering over the internet, stealing from family or friends’ cabinets, or even purposefully hurting yourself to gain through the hospital or your doctor.

You’re Thinking About Medication A Lot

For alcoholics, the thought of when the next drink is coming is a clear sign that a person’s relationship with alcohol isn’t healthy. Well, the same applies to prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

If you’re watching the time until you know you can take another dose, then the dependency on the drugs may be beyond what it should be. That emotional attachment to the drugs you’re taking is always concerning and understanding is always the first positive step to ending that addictive dependency.

Ignoring the Problem

Identifying the problem is always the first positive step to managing an addiction, but this usually comes after ignoring the problem for some time.

If loved ones are raising the volume of prescribed drugs you are taking, then it’s likely that you do have a problem. If you are ignoring those concerns, or worse still fighting back or arguing about it with loved ones, then it could be time to take a step back and listen to what they have to say.

Whether you like it or not, the fact other people are identifying you may have a problem, suggests that you probably do and it’s only coming out of a place of love and care. It isn’t easy to confront someone about addiction, so it will have taken a lot of courage for them to do so. Which in itself tells you that you need to listen.

What To Do Next

If there are identifiers occurring within your day-to-day life that you may be suffering with an addiction to painkillers or prescription drugs, then it could be time to seek professional help.

Prescription drug detoxes and rehab clinics are great for setting you back on the right path, working with your doctor so you’re still getting the treatment you need while also helping to manage and lessen that emotional need for the drugs.

There are plenty of resources online to find the right centre for you, while a number of charities are also available for you to sit down and talk to 24/7.