Vicodin Abuse
Q) What is Vicodin addiction?
A) Many people taking Vicodin longer than medically necessary keep using it thinking that if they were to stop taking Vicodin, their pain would return. In reality, the fear of Vicodin withdrawal can be a strong motivating factor in the continuing use of Vicodin, and more importantly, the feeling that more Vicodin is needed to combat the same pain. Over a period of time more and more Vicodin is needed to have the same pain relieving effects and to ward off Vicodin withdrawal symptoms. Many people end up taking more and more Vicodin or changing medications and switching to a strong medication such as oxycontin or loritab and taking more and more of these, due to the highly addictive qualities of these medications.
Prescription Fraud
Prescription
fraud is a crime that is committed by people who have become
addicted to Vicodin and then have their supply cut off without
being referred to treatment. The Vicodin addict rationalizes
this behavior, which includes fabricating or exaggerating
pain symptoms in order to illicit sympathy, seeking Vicodin
from many doctors at the same time, and using fraudulent prescriptions,
often created by altering the quantity of number of refills.
Most
people who obtain Vicodin by committing prescription medication
fraud are good citizens who wouldn't commit any other crime.
They are motivated to do this by the physical symptoms of
their Vicodin addiction, which may remain unrecognized by
physicians. They are feeling desperate and can see no way
out other than the downward spiral of Vicodin addiction. Many
Vicodin addicts exaggerate or fabricate symptoms to a doctor
hoping to convince them to prescribe more or stronger drugs
than are necessary. Upon recognizing this, the doctor may
refuse to prescribe any more medication. The Vicodin addict
at this point may do one of several things. He may see one
or many other physicians simultaneously to obtain Vicodin.
This is called physician hopping. Finding prescriptions for
Vicodin written by more than one physician is evidence of
this.
Often
times, Vicodin addiction goes unrecognized by all, including
the Vicodin addict until an abrupt change occurs. This change
can come in the form of arrest and incarceration of the Vicodin
addict for prescription fraud. When this happens, Vicodin
user cannot obtain Vicodin and goes into Vicodin withdrawal.
Q) How often is Vicodin abused?
A) It is estimated that in 1999, 4 million people were currently using prescription drugs non-medically. Of these, 2.6 million misused pain relievers the most common of which is Vicodin.
