Prescription Drug Addiction Treatment

RECO Intensive offers innovative and personalized prescription drug treatment services.

Our unique treatment program combines different approaches, including intensive outpatient assistance, to create a highly effective and comprehensive treatment regimen. Contact us today if you or someone you care about is struggling with prescription drug addiction. You can phone us at (855) 799-1035 or fill out our confidential online form to start the recovery process, or you can learn more about prescription drug misuse and addiction below.

Prescription Drug Abuse and Recovery

More and more Americans are abusing prescription drugs. Designed to treat or cure diseases, prescription medications are now ironically contributing to the development of another disease entirely: addiction.

Unfortunately, prescription drug abuse is quickly becoming part of the growing drug abuse problem facing the country, which the Drug Enforcement Agency has recognized by placing many medications associated with substance abuse into highly restrictive schedules. According to estimates by the National Institute On Drug Abuse, nearly 48 million people, or 20 percent of the U.S. population, have used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons at some point in their lives.

Everyone has their own reasons for starting down the path of prescription drug abuse, including many people who were introduced to drugs as legitimate medical treatment. Some people take opioids to conquer pain. Some take tranquilizers to calm down. Others simply want to get high.

In any case, their ability to alter someone’s mental state makes certain prescription drugs highly desirable—and highly addictive. What starts as a voluntary decision soon turns into a habit-forming dependency continued so that the person can avoid withdrawal symptoms or just feel OK rather than get high at all. Before long, the drugs wrest control from a person’s hands, and prescription drug addiction is born.

Understanding Commonly Abused Prescription Drugs

Most abused prescription medications can fall into one of two broad categories: CNS depressants and prescription stimulants. In the category of CNS depressants, you will find opioid painkillers.

Notoriously, these drugs are responsible for spurring a raging epidemic of prescription opioid addiction. This in turn fueled a wider spread epidemic of opioid dependence as those struggling with addiction to prescription opioids switched from prescription painkillers to cheaper and deadlier illegal drugs like heroin.

The depressant category of commonly abused prescription medication also includes benzodiazepines, which are usually used to treat anxiety. Somewhat more rarely, some addicts will abuse other tranquilizers prescribed for sleep disorders, such as Z-drugs like Ambien, or the older-school barbiturates. Since they can slow breathing and other essential functions, prescription drug abuse involving depressants comes with a serious risk of a drug overdose, especially if more than one of these medications are mixed.

Others struggling with prescription drug addiction abuse stimulants, which may be prescribed to treat ADHD or narcolepsy but are frequently abused for their psychoactive effects. While depressant drugs cause a sense of relaxation and calm, stimulants cause a sense of being “amped up” which can result in unpleasant and dangerous symptoms like anxiety, paranoia, and mania as well as a sense of euphoria. They can also cause potentially life-threatening spikes in blood pressure, heart rate, or body temperature.

More rarely, abuse of over-the-counter drugs may also result in substance use disorders. Over-the-counter cold medications like dextromethorphan or pseudoephedrine can have hallucinogenic or stimulant effects if taken in excess, and can also have dangerous health consequences if routinely abused.

The sooner a person gets into prescription drug addiction treatment, the more likely it is that they will be spared these consequences, and the easier it will be for them to combat their destructive behavior since their addiction will likely only become more ingrained over time if not promptly addressed.

What To Expect In Prescription Drug Addiction Treatment

Prescription drug addiction treatment may be provided in an inpatient rehab facility or on an outpatient basis. Depending on the prescription drug they were addicted to, the withdrawal symptoms they experience upon getting clean may range from intensely unpleasant to immediately life-threatening, so they may need to detox under a doctor’s care before they can move on to the rest of the healing process.

After detox, individual therapy will generally form the core of the patient’s treatment plan. Behavioral treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy can help combat underlying mental health conditions as well as prescription drug addiction by helping patients to become aware of and then to alter their reflexive negative thought patterns and destructive behavior. Another common form of behavioral treatment is dialectical behavioral therapy, which is more focused on building mindfulness, distress tolerance, and communication skills.

Medication-assisted treatment, which involves the use of other medications that can help the person addicted to prescription drugs to manage cravings for drug use, may also be provided. Though it may seem counterintuitive to treat addiction to one prescription drug with another, the FDA approves the use of buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone in patients recovering from opioid addiction because of the positive treatment outcomes associated with the drugs.

Medications may also be prescribed over the course of addiction therapy in order to treat comorbid mental health conditions that could pose an impediment to lasting recovery from substance abuse if not properly addressed.

Family therapy sessions are also often offered in prescription drug addiction treatment. In these family sessions, family members are given a chance to process their feelings about the prescription drug addiction of their family member and to begin to repair damaged family relationships with the help of a treatment provider.

Then, there is group counseling. In group therapy, a treatment provider will guide clients in discussion and reflection on addiction-related topics. Group therapy can serve an educational purpose, and can also give patients a chance to give and receive emotional support from one another, facilitating lasting bonds between group members and a shared commitment to recovery.

Treatment options for prescription drug abuse also often include holistic options along with the more established forms of treatment discussed above. These round out a person’s substance abuse recovery by helping them to heal from prescription drug addiction physically and spiritually as well as psychologically.

Which treatment options may be offered will vary by treatment center, but some provided by Reco Intensive include expressive arts therapy, yin and vinyasa yoga, equine facilitated psychotherapy, and adventure therapy.

Prescription Drug Addiction Treatment with RECO Intensive

Addiction need not be a life sentence. Though it may be scary to seek treatment, there is hope for people who suffer from prescription drug abuse problems. RECO Intensive was built on the premise that recovery is not only possible but clearly attainable under the right conditions.

To help people struggling with addiction, we provide treatment services for all categories of commonly abused prescription drugs, including opioids, stimulants, and central nervous system depressants. We can also address addiction to other drugs that may have been used concurrently and any co-occurring mental health problems.

We are accredited by or a member of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers, the Florida Alcohol And Drug Abuse Association, Treatment Professionals in Alumni Services, and many other reputable organizations with outstanding reputations in the world of drug addiction treatment.

To learn more about what insurance coverage we accept at our treatment center, you can check out this list. Or, to learn more about how you or a loved one can begin treatment for drug use at Reco Intensive, you can call us anytime at (855) 799-1035 or contact us online here. There’s no time to waste in getting into treatment and back on the road to a drug-free future.